Clinical significance of hepatitis B surface antigen mutants
#MMPMID26644816
Coppola N
; Onorato L
; Minichini C
; Di Caprio G
; Starace M
; Sagnelli C
; Sagnelli E
World J Hepatol
2015[Nov]; 7
(27
): 2729-39
PMID26644816
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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem in many
countries, with nearly 300 million people worldwide carrying HBV chronic
infection and over 1 million deaths per year due to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Several hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) mutations have been described, most
frequently due to a single amino acid substitution and seldom to a nucleotide
deletion. The majority of mutations are located in the S region, but they have
also been found in the pre-S1 and pre-S2 regions. Single amino acid substitutions
in the major hydrophilic region of HBsAg, called the "a" determinant, have been
associated with immune escape and the consequent failure of HBV vaccination and
HBsAg detection, whereas deletions in the pre-S1 or pre-S2 regions have been
associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. This review article
will focus on the HBsAg mutants and their biological and clinical implications.
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