Identification of Two HBeAg Subspecificities Revealed by Chemical Treatment and Enzymatic Digestion of Liver-Derived HBcAg
Open Access
- 1 September 1979
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Journal of Immunology
- Vol. 123 (3) , 1415-1416
- https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.123.3.1415
Abstract
The complete hepatitis B virus (HBV)2 is now believed to be the 43-nm Dane particle composed of a 27-nm core (HBcAg) and an antigenically different coat (HBsAg). The core particle represents the nucleocapsid of HBV and contains a double stranded circular DNA molecule and DNA polymerase. HBeAg is considered to be the third HBV-specified antigen representing a complex of soluble proteins having a common reactivity toward sera containing anti-HBe in immunodiffusion tests. The diversity of the HBeAg system has been well documented by immunodiffusion: there appear to be at least three different reactivities: HBeAg/1, HBeAg/2, and HBeAg/3. A number of studies have demonstrated that the presence of HBeAg correlates well with that of Dane particles in serum and of HBeAg in liver cell nuclei. These correlations have recently been explained by demonstrating the presence of HBeAg in a cryptic form in core particles from serum (1) and liver (2).Keywords
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