Successful treatment of infantile hepatitis B with lamivudine: A case report

BACKGROUND How to treat infantile hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection remains a controversial issue.The nucleoside analogue lamivudine(LAM)has been approved to treat children(2 to 17 years old)with chronic hepatitis B.Here,we aimed to investigate the benefit of LAM treatment in infantile hepatitis B.CASE SUMMARY A 4-mo-old infant born to a hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)-positive woman was found to be infected by HBV during a health checkup.Liver chemistry and HBV seromarker tests showed alanine aminotransferase of 106 U/L,HBsAg of 685.2 cut-off index,hepatitis B“e”antigen of 1454.0 cut-off index,and HBV DNA of>1.0×10^(9) IU/mL.LAM treatment(20 mg/d)was initiated,and after 19 mo,serum HBsAg was entirely cleared and hepatitis B surface antibody was present.The patient received LAM treatment for 2 years in total and has been followed for 3 years.During this period,serum hepatitis B surface antibody has been persistently positive,and serum HBV DNA was undetectable.CONCLUSION Early treatment of infantile hepatitis B with LAM could be safe and effective。

HBsAg stimulates NKG2D receptor expression on natural killer cellsand inhibits hepatitis C virus replication

Background： Higher hepatitis B surface antigen （HBsAg） facilitates hepatitis C virus （HCV） clearance inpatients with hepatitis B virus （HBV）/HCV co-infection. We investigated the effect of exogenous HBsAgon the inhibition of HCV replication mediated by natural killer （NK） cells.

ACE2 and TMPRSS2 Expression in Hepatocytes of Chronic HBV Infection Patients

Background:Pre-existing liver disease is a risk factor for the worse prognosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)infection.We aimed to evaluate whether chronic hepatitis B(CHB)and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)affect the expression of viral receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2)and transmembrane serine protease 2(TMPRSS2)in the liver.Methods:Twelve pairs of matched liver tissues of HCC and para-carcinoma were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine.And 20 liver biopsies from CHB patients were collected from Peking University People’s Hospital.The expression of ACE2 and TMRPSS2 were detected using immunofluorescence staining,western blot,and RT-qPCR.The effects of hepatitis B virus(HBV)replication or interferon on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression were tested in hepatic cell lines.Results:The mRNA expression of TMPRSS2 in HCC tissues was six-fold higher than that of para-carcinoma tissues(P=0.002),whereas that of ACE2 was not statistically different between HCC and para-carcinoma tissues.Hepatocellular ACE2 expression was detected in 35%(7/20)of CHB patients and mostly distributed in the inflammatory areas.However,there was no difference in TMPRSS2 expression between areas with or without inflammation.IFN-α2b slightly induced ACE2 expression(2.4-fold,P=0.033)in HepG2 cells but not in Huh-7,QSG-7701,and L-02 cells.IFN-α2b did not affect TMPRSS2 expression in these cell lines.In addition,HBV replication did not alter ACE2 expression in HepAD38 cells.Conclusions:Although HBV replication does not directly affect the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2,intrahepatic inflammation and carcinogenesis may increase their expression in some patients,which,in turn,may facilitate SARS-CoV-2 infection in hepatocytes.