Current Issues and Research in Hepatitis B and C: Vaccination, Mutations, and Disease Progression

Saturday, 29 July 2023 | 09:51 WIB

| Writer :

Editor : Lucky S

Jakarta, InfoPublik – It is estimated that more than two billion people are infected with hepatitis B worldwide. In fact, more than 296 million of them are sufferers of chronic hepatitis B. The disease is classified as dangerous, and has the potential to develop into fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.

Current issues related to the hepatitis virus and its accompanying mutations were discussed in a webinar entitled “Current Issues Concerning Molecular Biology & Biotechnology in Hepatitis Virus Research” organized by the Eijkman Molecular Biology Research Center, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the School of Life Sciences and Technology , Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). The webinar was held to coincide with the commemoration of World Hepatitis Day.

Head of the BRIN Health Research Organization, Indi Dharmayanti when opening the webinar on Wednesday (26/7/2023) then said that, since 1997, one of the government’s efforts to reduce the severity of the hepatitis virus is by vaccinating hepatitis B in infants. Although these efforts can reduce the prevalence rate, on the other hand these efforts can cause gene mutations that affect the pathogenicity of hepatitis.

“Referring to these conditions, of course the latest research for hepatitis is still very much needed,” said Indi Dharmayanti in her written statement quoted from the BRIN website in Jakarta, Saturday (29/7/2023).

Furthermore, the Head of the Research Center for Molecular Biology Eijkman BRIN, Elisabeth Farah Novita Coutrier, said that research and innovation related to the handling and control strategies for hepatitis disease continues to be carried out by her research center. Among them is research to uncover mutations that cause hepatitis B vaccination failure and mutations that cause detection failure and disease progression, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

One of the sources for the webinar, a researcher from the Eijkman Research Center for Molecular Biology BRIN, Korri El Khobar, revealed that the results of his research showed that high variation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (VHC) can affect the course of the disease and response to treatment. .

“HBV infection can be prevented with the hepatitis B vaccine, while HCV infection can be treated with medication Direct Acting Antivirals effective,” said Korri in a presentation entitled “Molecular Epidemiology of Hepatitis Virus in Indonesia.”

Korri added, Direct Acting Antivirals (DAA) treatment through antiviral therapy is an effective drug that inhibits VHC replication with an SVR rate of more than 95%. However, Korri said, there will still be failure of DAA therapy in chronic hepatitis C due to resistance-related nucleotide substitutions that can develop into resistance-related viral variations.

“Various VHC genotypes and clinical manifestations related to liver disease progression, namely the VHC-1b genotype, can cause more severe liver disease progression and disease recurrence after liver transplantation,” Korri said. Therefore, Korri reminded, although currently HBV and VBC infections can be prevented and treated, early detection of HBV and HCV is prioritized to be able to reduce virus transmission and inhibit disease progression.

Another recent issue of hepatitis viruses was also conveyed by researchers from the Eijkman Research Center for Molecular Biology BRIN, Caecilia Sukowati in a presentation entitled “Molecular Pathogenicity of Hepatitis Viruses and Their Effects on Human Health.” Caecilia explained, the pathogenesis of HBV and HCV infections is generally mediated by the host’s immune system. However, viruses are capable of developing various mechanisms to evade elimination from the immune response and can continue to replicate in an infected host for years.

“Not only that, the viral components themselves can cause cancer without inflammatory pathways. The ability of viral proteins, both wild-type and mutation, can change normal cell function, activate oncogenic pathways, and make liver cells more sensitive to other mutagens. This can lead to instability. molecular signaling pathways in humans that result in prolonged liver damage,” said Caecilia.

Furthermore, Caecilia also revealed that sometimes people who have been infected with the hepatitis virus are not aware of the symptoms in their bodies. This is something to watch out for because the hepatitis virus can be transmitted to other people. At this time, there is a method of detecting the hepatitis virus that has mutated and can be utilized so that the risk of transmission can be reduced.

Photo source: PR BRIN

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2023-07-29 02:51:00
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