Early termination of immune tolerance state of hepatitis B virus infection explains liver damage.

Aim: To assess an early termination of immune tolerance state of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in Bangladesh and its clinical significance.

Methods: From a series of 167 treatment-naive chronic hepatitis B patients aged between 12 to 20 years (mean ± SD; 17.5 ± 2.8 years), percutaneous liver biopsies of 89 patients who were all hepatitis B e antigen negative at presentation were done. Of them, 81 were included in the study. They had persistently normal or raised serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values. A precore mutation (PCM) study was accomplished in 8 patients who were randomly selected.

Results: Forty-four (53.7%) patients had significant necroinflammation (HAI-NI > 7), while significant fibrosis (HAI-F ≥ 3) was seen in 15 (18.5%) patients. Serum ALT (cut off 42 U/L) was raised in 29 (35.8%) patients, while low HBV DNA load (< 10(5) copies/mL) was observed in 57 (70.4%) patients. PCM was negative in all 8 patients.

Conclusion: This study indicates that the current concept of age-related immune tolerance state of HBV infection deserves further analyses in different population groups.