Thomas H C
Department of Medicine, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, Imperial College, University of London, U.K.
J Hepatol. 1995;22(1 Suppl):1-8.
The appearance of replication-competent variants of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with mutations in the envelope and precore/core proteins emphasizes that these proteins are the focus of immune selection pressure in the human host. The sequence and speed of application of the multiple selection pressures (humoral and possibly cellular) determine the virologic and clinical outcome. When these variant viruses are passed to a new host, in the absence of the immune selection pressures or modified immune pressures which resulted in their selection, a clinical picture different from that seen in the original host may emerge.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）包膜蛋白和前核心/核心蛋白发生突变的具有复制能力的变异体的出现，突出表明这些蛋白是人类宿主中免疫选择压力的作用靶点。多种选择压力（体液免疫以及可能的细胞免疫）的施加顺序和速度决定了病毒学和临床结局。当这些变异病毒传播到新宿主时，由于缺乏导致其产生的免疫选择压力或经过改变的免疫压力，可能会出现与原始宿主不同的临床表现。
