[Detection of a class IgM antibody against the core antigen of the hepatitis B virus in patients with chronic infection]

[Article in Spanish]

Quiroga JA, Bartolomé J, Carreño V, Mora I, Porres JC, Gútiez J, Hernández Guío C.

Anti-HBc IgM was determined by EIA in 165 carriers of HBsAg. 122 subjects had chronic liver disease and the remaining 43 were asymptomatic carriers with normal serum transaminase. Taken as a whole, 27/165 (16,4%) had positive titers of anti-HBcIgM in which 24 (88,9%) had HBeAg and 2 (7,4%) had anti-HBe. Only one asymptomatic carrier (2,3%) had positive anti-HBcIgM.

When correlating anti-HBcIgM with acute viral replication, subjects with this antibody more frequently has positive HBV-DNA than the rest of the subjects )p<0,005). Moreover, they had increased levels of TGP (except for the asymtomatic carrier) as well as frequent active chronic hepatitis. However, anti-HBcIgM was found in 26 of the 75 subjects with HBV-DNA. Thus, the usefulness of anti-HBcIgM as a marker of active viral replication in patients with crhonic hepatitis is limited.