Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;7(1):85-92.
doi: 10.5114/ceh.2021.104472. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Assessment of hepatitis B virus pregenomic RNA in high and low viremic chronic hepatitis B patients

Aymen Farid Elshayeb  1 , Mohamed Gamal Abdrabu  1 , Sara Lotfy Asar  2 , Mohamed Adel Abdelaziz  1 , Hossam Abuelkheir  1
Affiliations

Assessment of hepatitis B virus pregenomic RNA in high and low viremic chronic hepatitis B patients

Aymen Farid Elshayeb et al. Clin Exp Hepatol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Aim of the study: Intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is the main cause of hepatitis B virus (HBV) persistence. Therefore, a noninvasive serum biomarker that can reflect intrahepatic cccDNA is required for evaluation of HBV virological, biochemical activity and therapeutic response. Aim of the study was to assess serum hepatitis B pregenomic RNA in low viremia patients (HBV DNA < 2000 IU/ml) and high viremia (HBV DNA > 2000 IU/ml).

Material and methods: This study was carried out on two groups of chronic hepatitis B patients: group A - 40 patients with low viremia (HBV DNA < 2000 IU/ml); group B - 40 patients with high viremia (HBV DNA > 2000 IU/ml when diagnosed). They were assessed before treatment and after 6 months of treatment (entecavir 0.5 mg/24 h). Serum HBV pregenomic RNA was quantified using RT-PCR.

Results: Pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) was significantly lower in group A than in group B (before treatment). Moreover, it was significantly lower after 6 months of treatment than before treatment in group B. A significant positive correlation was observed between pgRNA and HBV DNA in groups A and B (before treatment); however, after 6 months of treatment of group B patients, although 35 patients had undetectable HBV DNA, they showed detectable levels of serum pgRNA and pgRNA > 4000 IU/ml was associated with virological and biochemical activity.

Conclusions: Serum HBV pregenomic RNA might be a promising marker for assessment of HBV virological, biochemical activity and evaluating therapeutic responses.

Keywords: HBV cccDNA; HBV pregenomic RNA; biomarker; entecavir; noninvasive.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison between pregenomic RNA in group B before and after 6 months of treatment (n = 40)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Correlation between HBV pregenomic RNA and HBV DNA in group A
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation between HBV pregenomic RNA and HBV DNA in group B before the beginning of treatment
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Agreement (sensitivity, specificity) for chronic active cases (group B) from chronic inactive cases (group A) (40/40)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Spinall EJ, Hawkins G, Fraser A, et al. . Hepatitis B prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Occup Med (Lond) 2011; 61: 531-540. - PubMed
    1. Schaefer S. Hepatitis B virus taxonomy and hepatitis B virus genotypes. World J Gastroenterol 2007; 13: 14-21. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Levrero M, Pollicino T, Petersen J, et al. . Control of cccDNA function in hepatitis B virus infection. J Hepatol 2009; 51: 581-592. - PubMed
    1. van Campenhout MJ, van Bömmel F, Pfefferkorn M, et al. . Host and viral factors associated with serum hepatitis B virus RNA levels among patients in need for treatment. Hepatology 2018; 68: 839-847. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rehermann B, Ferrari C, Pasquinelli C, et al. . The hepatitis B virus persists for decades after patients’ recovery from acute viral hepatitis despite active maintenance of a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response. Nat Med 1996; 2: 1104-1108. - PubMed
  NODES
twitter 2