Diagnostic value of serum pgRNA detection in HBV-infected patients with different clinical outcomes.

Pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) is a direct transcription product of HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and plays important roles in viral genome amplification and replication. This study was designed to investigate whether serum pgRNA is a strong alternative marker for reflecting HBV cccDNA levels and to analyze the correlation between serum pgRNA, serum HBV DNA and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). A total of 400 HBV-infected patients who received nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) therapy with different clinical outcomes were involved in this research. Case group included asymptomatic hepatitis B virus carrier (ASC), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 100 patients for each group. The results showed that the level of HBV pgRNA had significant difference in these 4 groups. Serum pgRNA levels correlated well with serum HBV DNA levels and HBsAg levels (HBV pgRNA levels vs. HBV DNA levels, r=0.58, P