Features of HBV RNA level in different stages of the natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and its correlation with HBV DNA and HBsAg
Journal Title: Journal of Clinical Hepatology - Year 2025, Vol 41, Issue 4
Abstract
[Objective] To investigate the features of serum HBV RNA in different stages of the natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection without antiviral treatment， as well as its correlation with serum HBV DNA and HBsAg. [Methods] A total of 306 treatment-naïve patients with chronic HBV infection who attended Department of Infections Diseases and Hepatoloty， the Second Hospital of Shandong University from January 2023 to June 2024 were divided into six groups based on the different stages of natural history， i.e.， HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection group with 29 patients， HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B （CHB） group with 107 patients， HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection group with 18 patients， HBeAg-negative CHB group with 60 patients， HBeAg-positive indeterminate-phase chronic HBV infection group with 7 patients， and HBeAg-negative indeterminate-phase chronic HBV infection group with 85 patients. Real-time isothermal RNA amplification was used to measure serum high-sensitivity HBV RNA. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups of continuous data， while the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison between two groups. The Spearman method was used to investigate the correlation of HBV RNA with HBV DNA and HBsAg. [Results] The HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection group showed the highest level of serum HBV RNA ［7.5 （7.4 — 7.9） log10 copies/mL］， followed by the HBeAg-positive CHB group ［7.4 （6.4 — 7.9） log10 copies/mL］， the HBeAg-negative CHB group ［4.5 （3.0 — 5.7） log10 copies/mL］， and the HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection group ［1.0 （1.0 — 2.0） log10 copies/mL］； the HBeAg-positive indeterminate-phase chronic HBV infection group had a serum HBV RNA level of 3.9 （3.7 — 5.7） log10 copies/mL， and the HBeAg-negative indeterminate-phase chronic HBV infection group had a serum HBV RNA level of 2.0 （1.0 — 3.0） log10 copies/mL； there was a significant difference in serum HBV RNA level between the six groups （H=830.770， P<0.001）. There was a significant difference in HBV RNA level between the HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection group and all the other groups except the HBeAg-positive CHB group （all P<0.001）. In the 306 patients with HBV infection， HBV RNA was strongly correlated with HBV DNA （r=0.92， P<0.001） and was moderately correlated with HBsAg （r=0.67， P<0.001）. The correlation between serum HBV RNA and HBsAg in HBeAg-positive patients （r=0.61， P<0.001） was stronger than that in HBeAg-negative patients （r=0.31， P<0.001）. For the patients with HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection， the male patients with ALT>30 U/L and the female patients with ALT>19 U/L had a significantly lower serum HBV RNA level than the male patients with ALT≤30 U/L and the female patients with ALT≤19 U/L （P<0.001）， and there was no significant difference in serum HBV RNA level between the latter group of patients and the HBeAg-positive CHB group （P>0.05）. [Conclusion] In patients with chronic HBV infection who do not receive antiviral therapy， there is a difference in serum HBV RNA level in different stages of natural history， and serum HBV RNA level has the strongest correlation with HBV DNA and a relatively weak correlation with HBsAg. In patients with HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection， serum HBV RNA level in male patients with ALT>30 U/L and female patients with ALT>19 U/L are in the transition stage between HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection and HBeAg-positive CHB.
Authors and Affiliations
Han GAO, Juanli WU, Yushuang ZHANG, Yiheng ZHANG, Lei WANG, Tao LI, Lixin ZHANG
Keywords
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- EP ID EP768512
- DOI 10.12449/JCH250407
- Views 9
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