Hepatitis B core antigen in serum during acute hepatitis B

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Abstract
Hepatitis B core antigen was measured in sera of patients with acute and chronic hepatitis B virus infection by a modified radioimmunoassay based on high molarity treatment of samples to avoid masking of antigen by homologous antibody. A good correlation between hepatitis B core antigen levels and serum HBV‐DNA was observed in sera obtained during chronic infection. In contrast, acute phase sera were often HBcAg positive but HBV‐DNA negative, particularly when obtained during maximum liver damage. Sequential studies in 5 patients with acute hepatitis B showed that HBcAg positivity persisted beside HBV‐DNA clearance and was often enhanced at the time of maximum liver damage, suggesting release of antigen from infected hepatocytes undergoing immunolysis, even after termination of virus replication.