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. 1977 May;74(5):2149–2151. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.5.2149

Association of e antigen with Dane particle DNA in sera from asymptomatic carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen.

B G Werner, A P O'Connell, J Summers
PMCID: PMC431093  PMID: 266736

Abstract

Sera containing hepatitis B surface antigen from 30 asymptomatic blood donors were assayed for e antigen (HBeAg) and antibody to e antigen (anti-HBe) by rheophoresis,. Fourteen samples (47%) had detectable HBeAg, ten (33%) had anti-HBe, and six (20%) had neither. DNA was extracted from 26 of these sera and assayed for its ability to anneal to a [32P]-DNA probe that is a copy of Dane particle DNA. All 10 HBeAg-positive samples tested contained DNA that formed specific hybrids with the DNA probe, as did one of 10 anti HBe-positive samples. Hybridization was not detected in nine sera containing anti-HBe and six sera without HBeAg or anti-HBe. Because the Dane particle is thought to be the hepatitis B virus, this association between HBeAg positivity and Dane particle DNA strongly supports the hypothesis that e antigen is a marker of the presence of the virus and, consequently, potential infectivity.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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