ArticleVirology journal2022
Serum hepatitis B virus RNA detectability, composition and clinical significance in patients with ab initio hepatitis B e antigen negative chronic hepatitis B.
Article in Virology journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- HBV RNA Predicts the Risk of Off-Treatment Relapse in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With NAs Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2026Pooled it
- [Distribution of serum HBV RNA in the natural history of chronic HBV infection and factors influencing HBV RNA negativity: a retrospective study stratified by HBeAg status].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2026Article
- Challenges and Solutions in pgRNA Measurement: Toward Improved Monitoring of Hepatitis B Therapy.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- HBV pgRNA induces chronic inflammation in an IL-1β-dependent manner.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Emerging Serum Biomarkers for Chronic Hepatitis B: Focus on Serum HBV RNA and HBcrAg.Journal of clinical and translational hepatology · 2025Review
- Limited Value of HBV-RNA for Relapse Prediction After Nucleos(t)ide Analogue Withdrawal in HBeAg-negative Hepatitis B Patients.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2025Observational
- Is there any role for HBV pgRNA in fibrosis and HCC predisposition?Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSerum hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNA is a surrogate biomarker for intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) transcriptional activity and persistence. In this retrospective study, we investigated its presence, levels and composition in ab initio Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative chronically infected patients and examined possible associations with disease activity and the outcome of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) discontinuation.
methodsWe developed a sensitive real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the specific detection of HBV pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) and precore (preC) mRNA and analyzed 220 serum specimens, 160 under NA treatment, from 116 Greek patients initially negative for HBeAg.
resultsHBV pgRNA was detected in 31% and preC mRNA in 15% of samples, at lower levels representing a small fraction (3.4%) of total core promoter produced transcripts. In the absence of NAs, pgRNA was detected in 57% of samples with median value of 5.19 (2.61-8.35) log
conclusionsIn genotype D ab initio HBeAg negative patients, serum HBV RNA is primarily composed of pgRNA plus a minor fraction of preC mRNA transcripts. Serum pgRNA is associated with disease activity, suggesting lysis of infected hepatocytes as a possible source of serum HBV RNA in untreated patients and in the early phase of NA treatment. During long term NA treatment, detectable serum pgRNA predicts viral rebound and clinical relapse following treatment discontinuation and may thus serve as a marker for the decision of cessation of therapy.
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