NIH scientists illuminate causes of hepatitis b virus-associated acute liver failure

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) National Institutes of Health scientists and their collaborators found that hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated acute liver failure (ALF) -- a rare condition that can turn fatal within days without liver transplantation -- results from an uncommon encounter between a highly mutated HBV variant and an unusual immune response in the patient's liver that is mainly sustained by antibody-producing B cells.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news