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Variability of the hepatitis B surface protein in HBV-infected liver transplant recipients

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Biomedical Science

Abstract

Variations in the major surface proteins (HBsAg) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) have been implicated in the high rate of reinfection in HBV-infected recipients of orthotopic liver transplantations (OLT). Sera from 6 OLT patients positive for HBsAg and from 3 recipients negative for it prior to transplantation were analyzed over several years, and 39 HBsAg sequences were compared. Despite anti-HBs immunoprophylaxis resulting in the disappearance of HBsAg, HBV DNA was detectable by a sensitive nested PCR in almost all sera. In 1 patient, a significant temporary shift in HBV subtypes was observed, indicating a mixed infection or the presence of multiple HBV populations in this patient; this was also true for other patients. Amino acid substitutions compared to wild-type HBV subtypes in 7 patients and variations within patients in 5 patients were detectable over time; the ‘escape mutation’ at amino acid position 145 was detected in 2 patients. Our data suggest that the high rate of reinfection in OLT recipients seems not to be associated with specific sequence variations in the major HBs gene, but shows a remarkable inter- and intraindividual variability. Obviously, no correlation between heterogeneity in this gene and clinical outcome was present.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max von Pettenkofer Institute of Medical Virology, Germany

    Hermann M. Schätzl MD, Emilia Sieger & Hans Nitschko

  2. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Transplantation Group, Klinikum Grosshadern, University of Munich, Germany

    Reinhart Zachoval

  3. Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Regensburg, Germany

    Wolfgang Jilg

Authors
  1. Hermann M. Schätzl MD
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  2. Emilia Sieger
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  3. Wolfgang Jilg
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  4. Hans Nitschko
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  5. Reinhart Zachoval
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Additional information

The following investigators and institutions were members of the Liver Transplantation Group: U. Beuers, M. Bilzer, W. Caselmann, A. Gerbes, R. Hoffmann, C. Jung, G.R. Pape (Medical Department II), J. Briegel, J. Groh, M. Haller (Institute of Anesthesiology), H.J. Krämling, H. Rauh and M. Stangl (Department of Surgery).

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Schätzl, H.M., Sieger, E., Jilg, W. et al. Variability of the hepatitis B surface protein in HBV-infected liver transplant recipients. J Biomed Sci 4, 146–154 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02255643

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02255643

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