AIM:To investigate hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)levels in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B(CHB)and different immune conditions.METHODS:HBeAg-positive CHB patients with different immune conditions were enrolled in this cross-sectional study.These patients were grouped according to the following criteria:immune-tolerant patients,IT group;patients with a mild immune response in the immune clearance phase,IC-Mild group;and patients with a dramatic immune response in the immune clearance phase and exhibiting acute on chronic liver failure(ACLF),ACLF group.All these patients had not previously received antiviral therapy and were enrolled at a pre-settled ratio of2:2:1.Serum HBsAg levels and the correlation between serum HBsAg level and serum hepatitis B virus(HBV)DNA level were evaluated in these groups.RESULTS:In total,180 HBeAg-positive CHB patients[IT group(n=72),IC-Mild group(n=72),and ACLF group(n=36)]were enrolled in this study.The median serum HBsAg levels varied among the groups(P<0.001):IT,4.86 log10IU/mL;IC-Mild,3.97 log10IU/mL;and ACLF,3.57 log10IU/mL.Serum HBsAg level showed a moderate positive correlation with serum HBV-DNA level in the IC-Mild group(r=0.60,P<0.001),but exhibited a weaker correlation in the IT(r=0.52,P<0.001)and ACLF groups(r=0.51,P=0.001).The ratio of HBsAg/HBV DNA did not differ significantly among the IT,IC-Mild,and ACLF groups(medians:0.56,0.55,and 0.56,respectively;P=0.179).CONCLUSION:Serum HBsAg levels varied significantly in HBeAg-positive patients with different immune conditions.These findings may have important implications for understanding the immune clearance of HBV in HBeAg-positive CHB patients.
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