Pattern of core and surface expression in liver tissue reflects state of specific immune response in hepatitis B.

A series of 67 liver biopsies (20 kidney transplant recipients and 47 outpatients with hepatitis) was investigated for the presence of hepatitis B antigen core (HBc) and surface (HBs) components by immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. The variable appearance of the core in liver cell nuclei and of the surface in the cytoplasm allowed the recognition of expression patterns which, together with histologic parameters, could be integrated into four reaction types of diagnostic and prognostic implications: Type I (Elimination Type). No components or only occasional expression of HBc; histologically, classic lobular hepatitis; clinically, acute, self-limited viral hepatitis.