The incidence rate of new infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has decreased significantly among children with the hepatitis B vaccination. However, the numbers of total chronic HBV-infected subjects have increased from 257 million in 2015 to 296 million in 2020. A substantial numbers of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients develop complications like cirrhosis of liver and liver cancer at later stage. Pursuing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative is one of the objectives of treatment in HBV infection.
Only about 10% CHB patients are aware of their infection and receive some sorts of treatment. While only less than 3% of chronic HBV patients per year turns HBsAg-negative in most populations after receiving therapeutic interventions, regardless of the intervention types, the negative conversion rate of HBsAg in some special populations is very high. It has been reported that patients with low replication level of HBV can get high conversion rate of HBsAg after combination therapy of nucleoside analogues and interferon; the number has even gone up to over 40% in the children under 12 years old. HIV/HBV co-infected patients have shown different HBsAg negative conversion rate in different stages of HIV infection, but all have some characteristics of HBsAg clearance.
Studies in chronic HBV adult patients have shown that the increase of total B cells and plasma B cells during pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment favours HBsAg seroconversion. Following PEG-IFN therapy, IFN- γ secretion and CD107α expression from NK cells in the patients who have achieved HBsAg seroconversion are significantly higher than those without HBsAg seroconversion in inactive HBsAg carriers.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide, mainly, but not solely, a forum to unveil the characteristics of these special populations’ immune profiles and the immune mechanisms underlying their high negative conversion rate of HBsAg, with the aim to explore innovative intervention targets and possible clues for HBsAg conversion of chronic HBV infection patients.
Special populations refer to, but are not limited to the groups below:
1) chronic HBV infected children (under 12 years old),
2) chronic HBV infected pregnant women, and
3) chronic HBV infected con-infected HIV patients.
The incidence rate of new infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has decreased significantly among children with the hepatitis B vaccination. However, the numbers of total chronic HBV-infected subjects have increased from 257 million in 2015 to 296 million in 2020. A substantial numbers of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients develop complications like cirrhosis of liver and liver cancer at later stage. Pursuing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative is one of the objectives of treatment in HBV infection.
Only about 10% CHB patients are aware of their infection and receive some sorts of treatment. While only less than 3% of chronic HBV patients per year turns HBsAg-negative in most populations after receiving therapeutic interventions, regardless of the intervention types, the negative conversion rate of HBsAg in some special populations is very high. It has been reported that patients with low replication level of HBV can get high conversion rate of HBsAg after combination therapy of nucleoside analogues and interferon; the number has even gone up to over 40% in the children under 12 years old. HIV/HBV co-infected patients have shown different HBsAg negative conversion rate in different stages of HIV infection, but all have some characteristics of HBsAg clearance.
Studies in chronic HBV adult patients have shown that the increase of total B cells and plasma B cells during pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment favours HBsAg seroconversion. Following PEG-IFN therapy, IFN- γ secretion and CD107α expression from NK cells in the patients who have achieved HBsAg seroconversion are significantly higher than those without HBsAg seroconversion in inactive HBsAg carriers.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide, mainly, but not solely, a forum to unveil the characteristics of these special populations’ immune profiles and the immune mechanisms underlying their high negative conversion rate of HBsAg, with the aim to explore innovative intervention targets and possible clues for HBsAg conversion of chronic HBV infection patients.
Special populations refer to, but are not limited to the groups below:
1) chronic HBV infected children (under 12 years old),
2) chronic HBV infected pregnant women, and
3) chronic HBV infected con-infected HIV patients.