Hepatitis B antigens in serum and liver of chimpanzees acutely infected with hepatitis B virus.

We report the temporal patterns of various immunohistological and serological parameters of acute self-limited hepatitis B virus infection of two chimpanzees, and we provide evidence that the synthesis of hepatitis B core antigen precedes that of hepatitis B surface antigen. Our data suggest that existence of a biphasic hepatitis B virus infection involving a hematogenous reinfection of the liver and indicate that recruitment of liver cells to produce hepatitis B virus may occur in a pattern consistent with a replicative cycle of about 8 days.