Quantitative HBsAg and HDV-RNA levels in chronic delta hepatitis.

Abstract

UNLABELLED:

Abstract Background: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) causes severe liver disease.

AIMS:

To investigate the quantitative HDV-RNA, HBsAg and hepatitis B virus (HBV)DNA levels in correlation to histological, biochemical and demographical parameters in patients with chronic HDV infection as similar data in a large series of HDV patients are missing.

METHODS:

Eighty HDV patients were recruited in Germany, Turkey and Greece; quantitative determination of HDV-RNA, HBsAg and HBV-DNA was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction, the Architect HBsAg assay and Cobas TaqMan HBV test respectively.

RESULTS:

All patients were infected with HDV-genotype 1. Thirty-five patients (48%) had significant fibrosis (Ishak 3-4) and 15 (20.5%) had cirrhosis. HDV viraemia ranged from 1.1 x 10(3) to 8.4 x 10(7) copies/ml with 60% of patients showing HDV-RNA levels above 10(5) copies/ml accompanied by low HBV viraemia (<10(5) copies/ml). However, HDV-RNA and HBV-DNA levels showed no direct inverse correlation. HDV-RNA correlated positively with HBsAg and negatively with age. HBsAg correlated negatively with age and positively with histological grading. Only gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase was independently associated with cirrhosis (P=0.032), while no biochemical parameter was associated with grading.

CONCLUSIONS:

(i) HBsAg levels correlated with HDV viraemia in chronic HDV. (ii) Biochemical parameters did not accurately indicate the stage and grade of liver disease in chronic HDV and thus liver biopsy seems to remain the major tool for the evaluation of delta hepatitis patients.

• Authors: Kalliopi Zachou, Cihan Yurdaydin, Uta Drebber, George N Dalekos, Andreas Erhardt, Yilmaz Cakaloglu, Halil Degertekin, Selim Gurel, Stefan Zeuzem, Hakan Bozkaya, Verena Schlaphoff, Hans P Dienes, Thomas C Bock, Michael P Manns, Heiner Wedemeyer, HIDT-1 Study Group
• Journal: Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver (Liver Int) Vol. 30 Issue 3 Pg. 430-7 (Mar 2010) ISSN: 1478-3231 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19840253 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• DNA, Viral
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
• RNA, Viral

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• DNA, Viral (blood)
• Female
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens (blood)
• Hepatitis B virus (genetics)
• Hepatitis D, Chronic (complications, pathology, virology)
• Hepatitis Delta Virus (genetics)
• Humans
• Liver (pathology)
• Liver Cirrhosis (etiology, pathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• RNA, Viral (blood)
• Viremia
• Young Adult