Lo Y M, Lo E S, Mehal W Z, Sampietro M, Fiorelli G, Ronchi G, Tse C H, Fleming K A
University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Pathology & Bacteriology, John Radcliffe Hospital.
J Clin Pathol. 1993 Apr;46(4):304-8. doi: 10.1136/jcp.46.4.304.
AIMS--To study the geographical variation of the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative subjects. METHODS--A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to amplify the core region of HBV. The assay was able to detect 10 molecules of a full length HBV plasmid. RESULTS--When applied to HBsAg negative paraffin wax embedded liver samples from Italy, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, a geographical variation in the prevalence of HBV-DNA positivity was noted. Two of 18 (11%) of Italian samples and 2/29 (6.9%) of Hong Kong samples were positive for HBV-DNA while none of the 70 cases from the United Kingdom was positive by nested PCR. Contamination by plasmid DNA was excluded using a novel method based on heteroduplex formation. One HBV-DNA positive case had idiopathic chronic active hepatitis, but the diagnoses in the other three HBV-DNA positive cases did not suggest any aetiological connection between HBV-DNA positivity and liver pathology. CONCLUSIONS--HBV-DNA could be detected in the liver tissues of a proportion of HBsAg negative subjects. The prevalence of such cases is related to the endemic rate of a geographical region. The use of HBV PCR on paraffin wax embedded tissues will be valuable for future studies on the molecular epidemiology of HBV.
目的——研究乙肝表面抗原（HBsAg）阴性人群中乙肝病毒（HBV）DNA流行率的地理差异。方法——采用巢式聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测法扩增HBV核心区域。该检测法能够检测到10个全长HBV质粒分子。结果——将该检测法应用于来自意大利、中国香港和英国的HBsAg阴性石蜡包埋肝组织样本时，发现HBV-DNA阳性率存在地理差异。18份意大利样本中有2份（11%）、29份中国香港样本中有2份（6.9%）HBV-DNA呈阳性，而70份英国样本经巢式PCR检测均为阴性。采用基于异源双链形成的新方法排除了质粒DNA污染。1例HBV-DNA阳性病例患有特发性慢性活动性肝炎，但其他3例HBV-DNA阳性病例的诊断未提示HBV-DNA阳性与肝脏病理之间存在任何病因学联系。结论——在一部分HBsAg阴性受试者的肝组织中可检测到HBV-DNA。此类病例的流行率与地理区域的地方流行率有关。对石蜡包埋组织进行HBV PCR检测对未来HBV分子流行病学研究具有重要价值。
