Lower viral production in HBeAg-negative patients is due to both reduced pool size and activity of the HBV cccDNA

Background/Aim: Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is due to maintenance of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and knowledge of factors regulating cccDNA pool size and viral production may help understanding mechanisms of viral clearance. To evaluate activity of cccDNA in HBV chronically infected (CH-B) patients, we analyzed serological parameters (HBV-DNA titres and HBsAg), as well as intrahepatic total HBV-DNA and cccDNA levels in liver biopsies obtained from 120 patients in different phases of chronic HBV infection. Methods: Total intrahepatic HBV-DNA and cccDNA levels were quantitatively mea…