higher serum levels of type i interferon receptor in adults with chronic hepatitis b leading to hepatitis b surface antigen clearance

Background: loss of hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) in chronic hepatitis b (chb) infection is a favorable outcome. type i interferon (ifni) has an essential role to fight virus infections when they bind to the ifn-α/β receptor (ifnar). free-circulating ifnars, known as ifnar2, perform as carrier proteins to keep the ligands from proteolysis as well as antagonists for ligand binding. objectives: in this study, we evaluated the hbsag titer and ifnar2 in serum baseline of a subcohort of iranian hbeag-negative patients with chronic hepatitis b. methods: sixty-four patients who spontaneously cleared hbsag and 100 chronic hepatitis b patients enrolled in this study for assessment of the serum levels of hbsag and ifnar2. results: serum levels of hbsag and ifnar2 were both powerfully associated with loss of hbsag. the baseline hbsag titer was significantly lower (333.72 ± 1300 iu/ml vs 3811 ± 6779 iu/ml, p = 0.00) and the ifnar2 serum level was significantly higher (1.64 ± 0.6 vs 0.87 ± 0.5 ng/ml, p = 0.00) in those who cleared hbsag compared to the chb patients. conclusions: these findings indicated the association of the hbsag titer and serum ifnar2 in hbsag clearance in hepatitis b virusinfected patients. in consequence, immune mechanisms related to ifn-α/β signaling might be responsible in chb outcome.