Effects of interferon‐α treatment on hepatitis B virus antigen‐specific immunologic responses in patients with chronic hepatitis B

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Abstract
— Studies were undertaken to evaluate the relationship between the immune responses and the effectiveness of interferon‐α treatment in 21 patients with HBeAg‐positive chronic active hepatitis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), obtained on four occasions during an 8‐week course of IFN‐α therapy, were cultured with recombinant HBcAg, purified HBeAg or pokeweed mitogen (PWM). During follow‐up for 6 months after therapy, clearance of serum HBeAg was observed in eight patients designated as responders. Immunological responses of PBMC obtained before treatment did not differ between responders and non‐responders. In responders, IFN‐γ and anti‐HBc production was depressed during therapy, but recovered to above the pretreatment level at the end of and/or after cessation of therapy, while lymphocyte proliferation was enhanced during therapy with a subsequent decline to baseline value. In non‐responders, such changes were modest throughout the study, and anti‐HBc response remained decreased even after cessation of therapy. These results indicate that PBMC of responders have immunologically different responses to IFN‐α therapy when compared with non‐responders.