Impact of HBsAg on HBV-specific immune responses in HBeAg negative patients with chronic hepatitis B

Worldwide 250 million people are persistently infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) leading to 686.000 deaths annually. The level of hepatitis surface antigen (HBsAg) produced by HBV-infected hepatocytes could have an immunomodulatory role in HBV infected patients. However, the correlation between HBsAg level and HBV-specific T cell immune responses in patients with chronic HBV (CHB) and HBeAg negative has not been well defined.