Background: To explore the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and development of IgA nephropathy.
Methods: HBsAg and HBcAg protein in renal biopsy specimens of 32 cases was detected on frozen sections and HBV DNA was detected in paraffin section of renal biopsies and in serum of 42 HBsAg positive cases.
Results: The positive rate of HBAg in renal biopsies of IgA nephropathy was 59.1%, and 63.6% in non-IgA nephropathy, there was no significant difference between them. In 42 cases biopsies of renal tissues, only five were HBV-DNA positive (11.9%). The five cases were HBsAg, HBcAb and HBeAg positive, the pathological diagnosis of two cases were mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis; one had minimal change of glomerulonephritis; and one had basement membrane change; and only one had IgA nephropathy. At the same time, in 42 HBsAg+ cases the serum specimens were detected; 12 cases were positive for HBsAg, HBcAg and HBeAg, in whom serum HBV-DNA was positive, but only 5 were positive for HBV-DNA in renal biopsy tissue, and HBV-DNA was negative in other 30 blood serum and tissue specimens.
Conclusion: The difference in expression of HBsAg, HBcAb and HBeAg protein between IgA nephropathy and non-IgA nephropathy tissue from renal biopsy was not significant. There is no direct relationship between HBV infection and IgA nephropathy.