Methods and means relating to hepatitis B infection
AssigneeHBV Theranostica AB
InventorsUlla Hellstrom, Staffan Sylvan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present inventors have discovered that the presence of antibodies reactive with residues 94-117 of the PreS1 component of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in an individual with HBV infection correlates closely with the effectiveness of interferon (IFN) in treating the individual. Methods and means based on this finding are provided herein.
Claims10
A method of determining whether an individual having chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection will respond to interferon alpha (IFNα) treatment, the method comprising:
- i) obtaining a pre-treatment sample from said chronic HBV-infected individual, and
- ii) analyzing said pre-treatment sample for the presence or absence of IgG antibodies reactive with a preS1 peptide consisting of the sequence of residues 94-117 (SEQ ID NO:1);
- wherein the presence of said IgG antibodies in said pre-treatment sample indicates that said individual will respond to said treatment and the absence of said IgG antibodies in said pre-reatment sample indicates that said individual will not respond to said treatment.
A method of treating a chronic HBV infection in an individual identified as being responsive to IFNα comprising:
- i) obtaining a pre-treatment sample from a chronic HBV-infected individual, and
- ii) analyzing said pre-treatment sample for the presence or absence of IgG antibodies reactive with a preS1 peptide consisting of the sequence of residues 94-117 (SEQ ID NO:1);
- wherein the presence of said IgG antibodies in said pre-treatment sample indicates that said individual will respond to IFNα treatment, and;
- administering IFNα to said individual identified as being responsive to IFNα.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.