Hepatitis B Virus Antigens in Tissues, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1979

Ever since the emergence of the concept of catharral jaundice by Virchow, viral hepatitis has eluded scientists as a pathogenetic enigma. A tremendous new impetus was given to hepatitis research by Baruch Blumberg's discovery of his 'Australia Antigen', now known as hepatitis B surface antigen. This led to an unheard-of outburst of research activity to elucidate the nature of the virus, its chemical and antigenic composition, its epidemiology, and pathogenetic mechanisms in the causation of liver disease. Coinciding with this period, modern medical science witnessed impressive progress in the analysis of the extraordinarily complex mechanism of immunological reactions. Immunohistochemical techniques for the detection of hepatitis B viral components are a product of this scientific progress in both areas. The application of such tech­ niques forms the core of this work. It represents a vast amount of work, performed during the course of several years, with meticulous application of advanced immunohisto­ chemical techniques, combined with histopathology and clinical-patho­ logical methods. This has resulted in the compilation of original results and new insights into the cellular and tissular localization of the anti­ genic components of the hepatitis B virus in different forms of chronic liver disease. The most outstanding results are the demonstration of the superior sensitivity of the applied immunohistochemical technique in the search for viral components in chronic hepatitis patients. and the differ­ ential distribution patterns of hepatitis B surface antigen in the various forms of chronic liver disease.

Abbreviations.- General introduction — historical view.- 1 Demonstration of hepatitis B virus antigens in human liver diseases.- 1 Methods of demonstration of hepatitis B virus components.- 2 Evaluation of the various procedures for the demonstration of hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B core antigen in liver tissue.- 3 Hepatitis B surface antigen in the liver and serum of patients with hepatitis.- 4 Intrahepatic expression patterns of hepatitis B surface and hepatitis B core antigen in the liver of hepatitis B patients.- 5 Hepatitis B core antigen immune complexes in the liver of hepatitis B patients.- 6 Demonstration of hepatitis B surface antigen in the liver of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.- II Experimental hepatitis and therapy.- 7 Development of hepatitis B in chimpanzees.- 8 Effect of human fibroblast interferon in chronic hepatitis B infection.- III Demonstration of hepatitis B surface antigen in extrahepatic locations.- 9 Demonstration of hepatitis B surface antigen in the kidney of patients with glomerulonephritis.- IV Speculations and hypothesis concerning the pathogenesis of hepatitis B.- 10 Possible mechanisms of tissue injury in hepatitis B virus infection.- 11 Bidirectional immune attack in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B — an hypothesis.- Summary and general conclusions.