Prevalence and clinical relevance of occult hepatitis B in the fibrosis progression and antiviral response to INF therapy in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients.

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is diagnosed when HBc antibodies (HBcAb) and HBV DNA are detectable in serum while hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is not. This situation has been frequently described in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of occult hepatitis B in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients and its clinical relevance in liver histology and viral response after interferon therapy for HCV. A total of 238 HIV-HCV-infected patients,negative for HBsAg, were included. Serum samples were analyzed for the presence of HBV DNA and HBcAb.HBV DNA quantification was determined with the Cobas TaqMan HBV Test (detection limit 6 IU/ml). Data from liver biopsy and laboratory tests were also analyzed. HBcAb resulted in 142 (60%) patients, being the independent associated factors: male gender, previous history of intravenous drug use, age, CD4 count,and HAV antibody presence. Among 90 HBcAb patients that we could analyze, HBV DNA was positive in 15 (16.7% of occult hepatitis B infection in this group, and 6.3% in the whole HIV-HCV cohort studied). No baseline factors, liver histology, or HCV therapy response were related to the presence of HBV DNA. We found that occult hepatitis B is a frequent condition present in at least 6.3% of our HCV-HIV patients and in more than 16% of those with HBcAb. Despite the high prevalence, this phenomenon does not seem to affect the clinical evolution of chronic hepatitis C or modify the viral response to interferon-based HCV therapies

[1]  V. Soriano,et al.  Treatment of chronic hepatitis B or C in HIV-infected patients with dual viral hepatitis. , 2007, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[2]  C. M. Martin,et al.  The Prevalence and Significance of Occult Hepatitis B Virus in a Prospective Cohort of HIV-Infected Patients , 2007, Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes.

[3]  G. Raimondo,et al.  Occult hepatitis B virus infection. , 2007, Journal of hepatology.

[4]  J. Luk,et al.  Fibrosis progression in chronic hepatitis C patients with occult hepatitis B co-infection. , 2006, Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology.

[5]  D. Neau,et al.  Occult hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-infected patients with isolated antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen: Aquitaine cohort, 2002-2003. , 2005, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[6]  M. Opravil,et al.  Frequent chronic hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-infected patients positive for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen only , 2005, European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

[7]  N. Shire,et al.  Occult Hepatitis B in HIV-Infected Patients , 2004, Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes.

[8]  C. Cooper,et al.  Clinical significance of hepatitis B core antibody positivity in HCV-infected and HCV/HIV coinfected individuals. , 2004, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[9]  D. Neau,et al.  Isolated antibodies against the core antigen of hepatitis B virus in HIV‐infected patients , 2004, HIV medicine.

[10]  P. Bevilacqua,et al.  Occult hepatitis B virus infection does not affect liver histology or response to therapy with interferon alpha and ribavirin in intravenous drug users with chronic hepatitis C. , 2004, Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology.

[11]  C. Tiribelli,et al.  Hepatitis B virus maintains its pro-oncogenic properties in the case of occult HBV infection. , 2004, Gastroenterology.

[12]  P. Sax,et al.  Isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen in human immunodeficiency virus type-1-infected individuals. , 2003, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[13]  M. Manns,et al.  A comparison of fibrosis progression in chronic liver diseases. , 2003, Journal of hepatology.

[14]  S. A. Gomes,et al.  Frequent Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Patients Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 , 2003, European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

[15]  Ding‐Shinn Chen,et al.  Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C , 2002, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[16]  V. Soriano,et al.  Lack of 'occult' hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-infected patients. , 2002, AIDS.

[17]  M. Torbenson,et al.  Occult hepatitis B. , 2002, The Lancet. Infectious diseases.

[18]  K. Hu.  Occult hepatitis B virus infection and its clinical implications , 2002, Journal of viral hepatitis.

[19]  C. Binquet,et al.  The evolution of hepatitis B virus serological patterns and the clinical relevance of isolated antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in HIV infected patients. , 2002, Journal of hepatology.

[20]  M. Buti,et al.  Role of hepatitis B, C, and D viruses in dual and triple infection: Influence of viral genotypes and hepatitis B precore and basal core promoter mutations on viral replicative interference , 2001, Hepatology.

[21]  C. Bréchot,et al.  Persistent hepatitis B virus infection in subjects without hepatitis B surface antigen: Clinically significant or purely “occult”? , 2001, Hepatology.

[22]  E. Sagnelli,et al.  CV genotype and “silent” HBV coinfection: Two main risk factors for a more severe liver disease , 2001, Journal of medical virology.

[23]  M. Chevallier,et al.  High incidence of hepatitis B infections among chronic hepatitis cases of unknown aetiology. , 2001, Journal of hepatology.

[24]  M. Mondelli,et al.  Occult hepatitis B virus infection. , 2000, Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver.

[25]  M. Moriyama,et al.  The Clinical Features of Chronic Hepatitis C Are Not Affected by the Coexistence of Hepatitis B Virus DNA in Patients Negative for Hepatitis B Surface Antigen , 2000, Intervirology.

[26]  G. Raimondo,et al.  Occult hepatitis B virus infection in patients with chronic hepatitis C liver disease. , 1999, The New England journal of medicine.

[27]  K. Koike,et al.  Identification of hepatitis B virus integration in hepatitis C virus-infected hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. , 1997, Journal of hepatology.

[28]  M. Brunetto,et al.  Relevance of inapparent coinfection by hepatitis B virus in alpha interferon‐treated patients with hepatitis C virus chronic hepatitis , 1997, Journal of medical virology.

[29]  P. Bedossa,et al.  Natural history of liver fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C , 1997, The Lancet.

[30]  H. Schätzl,et al.  Individuals with antibodies against hepatitis B core antigen as the only serological marker for hepatitis B infection: high percentage of carriers of hepatitis B and C virus. , 1995, Journal of hepatology.

[31]  R. Pennie,et al.  Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA in the serum of Canadian hepatitis B surface antigen negative, anti‐HBc positive individuals, using the polymerase chain reaction , 1994, Journal of medical virology.

[32]  J. Prieto,et al.  Hepatitis B virus occult infection in subjects with persistent isolated anti-HBc reactivity. , 1993, Journal of hepatology.

[33]  P. Scheuer,et al.  Classification of chronic viral hepatitis: a need for reassessment. , 1991, Journal of hepatology.

[34]  Shibo Jiang,et al.  Hepatitis B virus DNA in sera of virus carriers positive exclusively for antibodies to the hepatitis B core antigen , 1991, Journal of medical virology.