IMMUNOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF ASYMPTOMATIC CARRIERS OF HEPATITIS-B VIRUS

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 44  (1) , 63-67
Abstract
The immune system of 69 asymptomatic HBsAg carriers with normal liver function tests was evaluated. B cell function, as documented by serum Ig levels, number of mouse rosette-forming lymphocytes and lymphocyte reactivity to staphylococcal protein A, was intact. T cell function was markedly impaired. This was manifested by a significant decrease in erythrocyte rosette-forming lymphocytes, an increase in stable rosette-forming cells and decreased reactivity to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A. These data rule out the possibility that the immunological aberrations associated with hepatitis B infection are secondary to liver injury. The abnormal immune state either precedes the viral infection, thus predisposing to the acquisition of a carrier state or, alternatively, is a direct result of the infection.