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NotaPredominantCauseofProteinuriain
KoreanPatientswithChronicHepatitisB
JeongJuYoo,1JeongHoonLee,1JungHwan
Yoon,1MinjongLee,1DongHyeonLee,1YuriCho,1Eun
SunJang,2EunJuCho,1SuJongYu,1YoonJunKim,1and
HyoSukLee1
1DepartmentofInternalMedicineandLiverResearch
Institute,SeoulNationalUniversityCollegeofMedicine,
SeoulNationalUniversityHospital,Seoul110744,Republic
ofKorea
2DepartmentofInternalMedicine,SeoulNational
UniversityCollegeofMedicine,SeoulNationalUniversity
BundangHospital,SeongnamCity,Gyeonggido,Seoul
110744,RepublicofKorea
Received15October2014;Revised28January2015;
Accepted29January2015
AcademicEditor:PaoloGionchetti
Copyright2015JeongJuYooetal.Thisisanopenaccess
articledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution
License,whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,and
reproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkis
properlycited.
Abstract
medicalcenterinKorea.Results.Atotalof55patientswere
included. HBVGN was diagnosed in 20 (36.4%) of the
patientsbyconfirmingthepresenceofimmunecomplexes
(12of13membranoproliferativeglomerulonephritis,7of8
membranous glomerulonephritis, and 1 of 13
immunoglobulinAnephropathy).Twentyonepatientshad
othertypesofGN.Atotalof13(65%)HBVGNpatients
weretreatedwithantiviralagentsforamedianof11months.
However,thedegreesofproteinuriawerenotsignificantly
reducedintheantiviralinterventiongroupwhencompared
tothecontrolgroup.Conclusions.Proteinuriacanbecaused
byvariousglomerulardiseasesandHBVGNaccountsfor
onethird of total GN cases. Welldesigned prospective
studyisneededtoassesswhetherantiviraltherapyagainst
HBVinfectionmayimprovetheprognosisofHBVGN.
1.Introduction
Markeddifferencesareseenintheepidemiologyofhepatitis
Bvirus(HBV)infectionbetweenvariousregions[1].In
Korea,theprevalenceofHBVinfectionisashighas
approximately5%,andHBVinfectionisthemostimportant
causeofchronicliverdiseaseincludinglivercirrhosisand
hepatocellularcarcinoma[2].HBVinfectioncanalso
manifestextrahepaticallywithdiseasessuchaspolyarteritis
nodosa,asystemicnecrotizingvasculitismediatedby
immunecomplexes[3].HBVrelatedglomerulonephritis
(HBVGN)isoneoftheextrahepaticmanifestationsof
chronichepatitisB(CHB)infectionandisanuncommon,
butproblematic,complicationofchronichepatitisB(CHB).
HBVhasbeenreportedtoformimmunecomplexeswhich
candepositintheglomeruliofthekidneyandresultin
varioustypesofglomerulonephritis(GN).HBVGNmay
presentwithmildtomoderateproteinuria,nephrotic
syndrome,andhematuria[4].
DiagnosisofHBVrelatedGN(HBVGN)ismadethrougha
seriesofserologicalmarkersofHBV,aswellasbyrenal
biopsy.Themostcommonfindingsinrenalhistologyare
membranousglomerulonephritis(MGN),
membranoproliferativeglomerulonephritis(MPGN),and
mesangialproliferativeglomerulonephritis[5].Typically,
MGNismorecommoninchildrenthanadults,whereas
MPGNismorecommoninadults[6].Varioustherapeutic
approachesforHBVGNhavebeentested,including
interferon,lamivudine,andentecavirtherapywithor
withoutcorticosteroid[711].Somecaseseriessuggested
thatantiviralagentsmayimproveproteinuriaandrenal
outcome[12,13].However,mostoftheresultsarederived
fromsmallscalecaseseries,andastandardofcarehasnot
beenestablishedyet.
ProteinuriainCHBpatientscanoccurduetoHBVGNbut
isalsoaresultofprimarykidneydisease,suchasdiabetic
nephropathy,hypertensivenephropathy,multiplemyeloma,
oramyloidosis[1].However,noreportshavedescribedthe
causeofproteinuriaamongCHBpatients.Inthisstudy,we
aimedtoelucidatethecausesofproteinuria,aswellasthe
clinicalimportanceandoutcomeofHBVGNamong
KoreanCHBpatients.
2.PatientsandMethods
2.1.Patients
Weretrospectivelyreviewedthemedicalrecordsofpatients
withseropositivityforhepatitisBsurfaceantigen(HBsAg)
whounderwentrenalbiopsiesforclinicallysignificant
proteinuria(>500mg/day,observedwithinthelast3
months)fromMay2005toMarch2011atasingletertiary
medicalcenter,SeoulNationalUniversityHospital(Seoul,
RepublicofKorea).
Patientswithhighprobabilityofdiabeticnephropathy(i.e.,
diabeticretinopathyor>10yearshistoryofdiabetes
mellitus(DM))orhypertensivenephropathy(i.e.,previous
historyofhypertensiveurgencyorcrisis)wereexcluded
fromthisstudy.Thosewhohadevidenceofcoinfectionwith
hepatitisC,hepatitisD,and/orhumanimmunodeficiency
viruswereexcluded.Thestudyprotocolconformedtothe
ethicalguidelinesoftheWorldMedicalAssociation
DeclarationofHelsinkiandwasapprovedbythe
InstitutionalReviewBoardofSeoulNationalUniversity
Hospital(IRBnumberH9908058003).
2.2.TheClinicalData
Ineverypatientwerecordedclinicaldataincludingage,
gender,comorbidities(DM,hypertension),renalhistology
reports(lightmicroscopy,electronmicroscopy,and
immunohistochemistry),andtheuseofantiviralagents
(interferonornucleos[t]ideanalogues)atthetimeofkidney
biopsyperformed.
Ifapatientwastreatedwithantiviralagents,changesin
parametersweredeterminedbycollectingdatabeforeand
aftertreatment.Routinebloodtestsincludedcompleteblood
counts,serumalanineaminotransferaseandaspartate
aminotransferase,directandtotalbilirubin,albumin,
cholesterol,bloodureanitrogen(BUN),andcreatinine.
Laboratorydatawereobtainedeverythreemonthsfromthe
dateofperformanceofrenalbiopsy.
Renalfunctionwasevaluatedusingserumcreatininelevels
anddegreeofproteinuria.Proteinexcretionandcreatinine
clearancewereassessedonrandomspoturineproteinto
creatinineratioandurinedipsticktests.Urinedipstick
measurementswereperformedusingUropaperalphaIII9L
(ShinyangChemicalCo.,Ltd.,Korea).Urinedipstickresults
werereportedas0to4+usinganautomatedreader(US
3100RPlus;EIKENChemicalCo.,Ltd.,Japan).Urinary
proteinconcentrationwasgradedasfollows:(0mg/dL),
(<15mg/dL),1+(1530mg/dL),2+(30100mg/dL),3+
(100300mg/dL),and4+(>300mg/dL).Glomerular
filtrationratewasassessedusingtheCockcroftGault
formula.TheproportionofHBVGNinCHBpatientswith
proteinuriaandchangeinrenalfunctionovertimeclassified
byantiviraltreatmentwasevaluated.
2.3.PathologicalStudy
Thedeterminationofrenalpathologywasmadeby
pathologistswithatleast10yearsexperience.Renal
biopsies,allofwhichcontainedatleastsixglomeruli,were
processedforlight,electron,andimmunofluorescent
(stainedforhumanimmunoglobulinsG/M/A,C3,and
fibrinogen)microscopyusingstandardmethodologies
previouslydescribed[14].Indirectimmunofluorescence
testingwascarriedoutforHBsAgusingtherabbitantiHBs
reagentsastheprimaryantibody[14].Thelesionswith
glomerularnephritiswereclassifiedaccordingtothe1990
WHOClassificationCriteria[15].ThediagnosisofHBV
GNwasestablishedbyserologicevidenceofHBV
antigens/antibodies,presenceofanimmunecomplex
glomerulonephritis,immunohistochemicallocalizationof1
ormoreHBVantigens,andpertinentclinicalhistory,when
available[16].
2.4.StatisticalAnalysis
StatisticalanalysiswasperformedusingPASWversion18
(IBM;Chicago,IL,USA).Comparisonsweremadebetween
theinterventiongroupandthecontrolgroup.Proportions
werecomparedusingtheMannWhitneytest,Chisquare
test,orFishersexacttest,whereappropriate.Avalueofless
than0.05wasconsideredstatisticallysignificant.
3.Results
3.1.BaselineCharacteristics
Onehundredandtwentyfourpatientswithseropositivityfor
HBsAgunderwentkidneybiopsyduringthestudyperiod.
Sixtyninepatientswereexcludedbecausekidneybiopsy
wasperformedforotherreasonsasidefromproteinuria(e.g.,
hematuria,acuterenalfailure,orrenalmass).Atotalof55
HBsAgpositivepatientswithproteinuriawereanalyzedin
thisstudy.Themedianageofpatientswas51.0years,and
46(84%)weremales.Sixpatients(10.9%)hadDM,16
(27.3%)hadhypertension,and13(23.6%)hadconcomitant
hematuria.ThemedianserumlevelsofBUNandcreatinine
were19.0mg/dLand1.2mg/dL,respectively.Themedian
glomerularfiltrationratewas54.2mL/min,estimatedbythe
CockcroftGaultequation.Themedianvalueofspoturine
proteintocreatinineratiowas3.5mg/g(Table1).
Table 1: Baseline characteristics of total patients () and
HBVGN patients () categorized by antiviral treatment
subgroups.
3.2.DistributionofHistologicalDiagnosisinHBVPatients
withProteinuria
Kidneybiopsieswereperformedon55patientswith
significantproteinuria.Themostcommonfinalhistological
diagnosesincludedMPGNin13(23.6%),MGNin8
(14.5%),andimmunoglobulinAnephropathy(IgAN)in13
(23.6%).TwentyonepatientshadothertypesofGN
includingfocalsegmentalglomerulosclerosis3(5.4%),
minimalchangedisease3(5.4%),anddiabeticnephropathy
7(12.7%)(Table2).
Table 2: Frequency of HBVGN among patients with
proteinuria and hepatitis B and diagnostic distribution of
renalpathologiesinHBVGNpatients.
HBVGNwasdiagnosedin20(36.4%)eligiblepatientsby
confirmingimmunecomplexdeposition:12patients(60%)
showedMPGN,7(35%)showedMGN,and1(5%)showed
IgAN(Table2).Theremaining63.6%ofpatientsdisplayed
othertypesofGN.
3.3.ChangesinRenalFunctionamongHBVGNPatients
overTimeCategorizedbyAntiviralTreatment
Thirteenofthe20HBVGNpatientsweretreatedwith
antiviralagents(theinterventiongroup):6withlamivudine,
5withentecavir,1withclevudine,and1withpegylated
interferonalpha2a.Themediandurationofantiviral
treatmentwas11months(range,334months).The
remaining7patientsunderwentnoantiviraltreatment(the
controlgroup).Baselinecharacteristicsofbothgroupsare
describedinTable1.BaselineHBVDNAlevelwashigher
intheinterventiongroupcomparedwiththecontrolgroup.
Otherwisetherewasnosignificantdifferenceinbaseline
characteristicsbetweenthetwogroups.Amongthepatients
whoweretreatedwithantiviralagents,7patients(54%)
showedcompletevirologicresponseand6(46%)showed
partialvirologicresponse.Weevaluatedtheclinicalefficacy
oftreatmentbyusingtwooutcomemeasures:changesin
serumcreatinineandamountofproteinuria(spoturine
proteintocreatinineratioanddipstickanalysis).
Intheinterventiongroup,themedianvalueofserum
creatinineatbaselineandat3,6,12,and24monthswas2.8,
2.5,3.0,3.8,and3.9mg/dL,respectively.Thevalueof
serumcreatininetendedtoincrease,andtherewasno
significantdifferencebetweentheinterventionandthe
controlgroups(Figure1(a)).
Figure1:Changesinrenalfunctionasdeterminedbyserum
creatininelevel(a)andamountofproteinuriaasdetermined
by the urine proteintocreatinine ratio (b) classified by
antiviraltreatmentovertime.Degreeofproteinuriawasnot
reduced,andrenalfunctionwasnotsignificantlyimproved
in the antiviral intervention group when compared to the
controlgroup.
Intheinterventiongroup,themedianvalueofrandomurine
proteintocreatinineratiowas2.0mg/gatbaseline,4.3mg/g
atmonth3,2.2mg/gatmonth6,2.6mg/gatmonth12,and
1.8mg/gatmonth12.Nosignificantdifferencewasnotedin
theamountofproteinuriabetweentwogroups(Figure1(b)).
Thedegreeofproteinuriawasalsoevaluatedbydipstick
grading.Eachgroupwasdividedintothreegroupsbasedon
resultsofthedipstickproteingradingchange:increased,
decreased,andnosignificantchange.Theinterventiongroup
showeda46%decreaseinproteinuriawhereasthecontrol
groupshowedadecreaseof57%.Thisdifferencewasnot
consideredstatisticallysignificant()(Figure2).
Figure2:Changesinproteinuriaasdeterminedbyaurine
dipsticktestandclassifiedbyantiviraltreatment.Decrease
inproteinuriabetweentheinterventiongroupandthecontrol
groupwasnotconsideredstatisticallysignificant().
4.Discussion
Oneoftheaimsofthisstudywastoevaluatethecausesof
proteinuriaamongKoreanCHBpatientsandtoassessthe
clinicaloutcomesofHBVGN.Ourstudyshowedthatmore
thanhalfofthepatientswithsignificantproteinuriainCHB
werenotrelatedtoHBVGN.HBVGNwasdiagnosedin
36.4%CHBpatientswithsignificantproteinuriaandthe
remaining63.6%ofpatientsdisplayedothertypesof
nephropathyasidefromHBVGN.Toourknowledge,only
afewreportshaveexaminedthesignificanceofproteinuria
inCHB,andnostudieshavereportedthepercentagesof
HBVGN.OurstudyshowedthatHBVGNonlyaccounts
forapproximatelyonethirdofthepatientswithproteinuria
inCHB.Theresultsobtainedheresuggestthatwhen
ascertainingthecauseofproteinuriaisdifficult,kidney
biopsyshouldbeconsidered.
Severalreasonsmayexplaintherelativelylowincidenceof
HBVGNinthecurrentstudy.First,factorsotherthanHBV
infectionmayinfluencepatientoutcomes.Huangetal.have
reportedthatDMwasthemostimportantfactorassociated
withproteinuria,followedbyhypertension,antiHCV
seropositivity,bodymassindex,age,andtriglyceridelevels
inHBVinfectedsubjects[17].Althoughweexcludedsome
oftheconfoundingcomorbidities,patientswithDMand
hypertensionaccountedfor10.9%and27.3%ofthepatients
enrolledinthestudy,respectively.Consequently,these
diseasesmayberesponsiblefortheproportionofHBVGN
observed.ThesefindingssuggestthatHBVGNmaybe
consideredasthecauseofproteinuriainCHB,butmetabolic
abnormalities,suchasDM,hypertension,obesity,and
dyslipidemia,aswellasage,shouldalsobeconsidered.
Histologicaldiagnosisismandatoryforthediagnosisof
HBVGN,butitisnoteasilydistinguishedfromforms.
ComparisonofidiopathicGNwithHBVGNisdifficult,but
somedifferenceswerenoted.First,mesangialdepositswere
morefrequentlynotedinpatientswithHBVassociated
MGNwhencomparedtootherswithidiopathicMGN[14].
Second,mostofthechildrenwithHBVassociatedMGNare
reportedtobecharacterizedbythehistologicalfeaturesof
MPGNinadditiontothoseofidiopathicMGN[18].In
general,HBVGNdisplayedawidemorphologicalspectrum
alongwithoverlappingultrastructuralfeaturesinMGNand
MPGNwhencomparedtotypicalMGNandMPGN[19].
AnotherdistinguishingcharacteristicofHBVGNisthatthe
subepithelialimmunedepositsarefrequentlyassociatedwith
subendothelialormesangialdeposits[18,20].Thisisin
contrasttoidiopathicMGN,wheredepositsareseenina
predominantlysubepitheliallocation[21].Pathologists
distinguishHBVGNfromidiopathicGNwiththese
findings,butinterobserverdiscrepancystillexistsbetween
pathologists.Althoughtherenalpathologyofourstudyis
basedonthejudgmentofexpertpathologists,diagnosiswas
madebydifferentpathologists,sodifferentconclusions
mighthavebeenreachedhadotherpathologistsbeen
consulted.
TheresultsofhistologicaldiagnosisofHBVGNshowed
thatMPGNwasmostcommon,followedbyMGNand
IgAN.Theseresultscorrespondtothoseofearlierstudies.
Kimetal.reportedthatthefrequencyofMPGNwas42.6%,
MGN35.5%,mesangialglomerulonephritis20.0%,and
minimalchangedisease18.8%[22].Leeetal.reportedthat
MPGNwasmostcommon,followedbyMGNandIgAN
[14].Yoonetal.reportedthatthefrequencyofMGNwas
35.7%,mesangialglomerulonephritis28.6%,MPGN25%,
andminimalchangedisease10.7%[23].
Anothermajorfindingofthisstudywasthatantiviral
therapyagainstHBVinfectionfailedtoimprovetherenal
prognosisofHBVGN.Consequently,wereachedthe
conclusionthatthedegreeofproteinuriawasnotreduced,
andrenalfunctionwasnotsignificantlyimprovedinthe
antiviralinterventiongroupwhencomparedtothecontrol
group,althoughmorethanhalfoftheinterventiongroup
showedcompletevirologicresponse.Thesefindingscontrast
withtheresultsofpreviousstudies,whichindicatedthat
mostpatientswithHBVGNweresuccessfullytreatedby
antiviraltherapyandthattheoverallestimateforremission
ofnephroticsyndromewasmorethan60%[13,24].We
supposethatthefollowingfactorsmaycontributetothe
outcome.First,aretrospectivestudydesignandsmall
samplesizemayhavecausedthisnegativeresult.Besides,
heterogeneousantiviralregimensanddosesmayhavealso
confoundedtheeffectoftreatment.Second,thefactthat
mostpatientswereadultsmaybeanotherpossiblereasonfor
failureofantiviraltreatmenttoimproverenalfunction.The
naturalhistoryofHBVassociatednephroticsyndrome
showsgradualimprovementinyoungerpatients,whereas,in
adults,itgenerallycontinuestoprogresswithalow
remissionrate[25,26].Themedianageofpatientsinthe
presentstudywas48.3yearsandtheyarethoughttobe
acquiringchronicHBVinfectioninperinatalperiod.Inthese
patients,HBVDNAintegratesintohostcellchromosomal
DNAandthismakestheantiviraltherapylesseffective.If
wehadstudiedmorepatientsincludingchildren,theresults
mayhavebeendifferent.Thus,welldesignedprospective
studiesinyoungerpatientsarewarranted.Third,thereisa
possibilitythatantiviraltherapymightnotbeeffectivewhen
irreversiblestructuralchangesintheglomeruliandimmune
depositexist.Inourstudy,allthepatientsshowedcomplete
orpartialvirologicresponse,buttheclinicalefficacyof
antiviralagentsofrenalfunctionwasdisappointing.Itis
assumedthatimmunedepositandirreversiblechangestill
persistevenintheabsenceofcirculatingserumHBVDNA,
andthisreducestheeffectoftreatment.
Insummary,ourstudyshowedthatHBVGNwasdiagnosed
in36.4%ofCHBpatientswithsignificantproteinuria,while
theremaining63.6%hadothertypesasidefromHBVGN.
ThemostcommonhistologicaldiagnosisofHBVGNwas
MPGN,followedbyMGNandIgAN.Antiviraltreatment
failedtodemonstrateeitherimprovementofrenalfunction
orreductioninproteinuria.
Inconclusion,proteinuriaamongCHBpatientsinKoreacan
becausedbyvariousentities.HBVGNisnotasingle
predominantcauseofproteinuriainCHB,andmetabolic
abnormalitiesshouldalsobeconsidered.Insufficient
evidenceisavailabletoconfirmwhetherantiviraltherapy
againstHBVinfectionmayimprovetherenalprognosisof
HBVGN,andfurtherwelldesignedprospectivestudiesare
needed.
Terkait HBV GN
Perspektif Sejarah
Menyusul penemuan tengara pada tahun 1965 dari antigen
Australia, kemudian berganti nama menjadi antigen permukaan
hepatitis B (HBsAg), Combes dan rekan kerja pertama
menggambarkan terjadinya nefropati membranosa (MN) karena
deposisi glomerulus kompleks imun antigen yang mengandung
Australia dalam 53- tahun pria pada tahun 1971. [1] jenis histologis
yang berbeda dari lesi glomerulus sejak telah dijelaskan dalam
hubungan dengan infeksi HBV; Namun, yang paling mencolok
adalah masih MN.
HBV Virologi
HBV adalah hepatotropic, double-stranded DNA virus dari keluarga
Hepadnaviridae. HBV memiliki dua dikupas virion 42-47 nm
diameter, inti 27-nm internal kelebihan yang tidak lengkap bola 22nm, dan genom DNA melingkar dengan panjang bervariasi antara
3.000 dan 3.300 pasangan basa. Genom DNA hanya 4 gen yang
mengkode protein virus. Ini termasuk permukaan (S) gen, yang
mengkode 3 bentuk HBsAg, yang precore / inti (PC / C) gen, yang
mengkode protein inti dan hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), gen X,
yang mengkodekan X protein, dan polimerase (P) gen, yang
mengkodekan polimerase DNA virus. HBV sendiri tidak sitopatik,
tetapi hepatitis sering berkembang karena reaksi kekebalan host
terhadap hepatosit terinfeksi. HBV menggunakan strategi replikasi
terkait erat dengan retrovirus, dalam transkripsi RNA menjadi DNA
merupakan langkah penting. Berbeda dengan mekanisme diamati
pada infeksi retroviral, replikasi HBV tidak melibatkan integrasi DNA
virus ke dalam DNA sel inang. Setelah partikel HBV telah terikat dan
masuk hepatosit, maka DNA HBV memasuki inti sel, di mana ia
diubah menjadi kovalen ditutup DNA melingkar, struktur yang
sangat stabil yang bertindak sebagai template perantara untuk copy
RNA transkripsi. MRNA pregenomic ini diangkut ke sitoplasma, di
mana ia melakukan dua fungsi: berfungsi sebagai template untuk
sintesis DNA HBV baru dan mengandung informasi genetik yang
diperlukan untuk mengarahkan sintesis protein virus.
Epidemiologi