Hepatitis B virus DNA in liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cells during reduction in virus replication.

Changes in hepatitis B virus DNA in blood cells and liver were studied in 34 patients (12 controls, 22 under therapy). There were no basal differences in the presence of the viral genome in blood cells between treated and control patients. A significant decrease in the percentage of patients with viral genome in blood cells was observed in patients who lost this marker in serum. Replicative intermediates of the viral genome were observed in the basal liver samples from all patients. In patients who lost the viral DNA in serum, hepatitis B virus genome became undetectable in the second liver sample in all but two patients who had viral sequences integrated in the host genome. Replicative intermediates were found in all patients with serum viral DNA. The results of this study suggest that there may be a relation between the disappearance of hepatitis B virus DNA in liver and blood cells.