Hepatitis B surface antigen and immunoglobulin M complexes in chronic carriers and patients with acute and chronic liver diseases

Abstract

To determine the incidence and significance of circulating complexes between hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and immunoglobulin M (IgM), a total of 152 Nigerian adults with acute or chronic liver diseases were studied. They were compared with 100 chronic HBsAg carriers and 20 healthy volunteers. In HBsAg carriers HBsAg-IgM complexes persisted in 10% over a period of 6 months. In 53 cases of acute hepatitis B. 79% acute phase sera had detectable complexes. This initial incidence fell to 15% at 6 months. In the group of chronic liver diseases, the detection of HBsAg-IgM complexes occurred relatively infrequently. Circulating HBsAg-IgM complexes were associated with the presence of hepatitis Be antigen and a higher predisposition to chronicity after acute hepatitis. It is concluded that the presence of these complexes is specific to hepatitis B virus infections and may predict evolution to chronic liver diseases in Nigerians.