Chronic viral hepatitis remains one of the major medical problems worldwide. Neither a cure nor eradication of this disease is in sight. The chronic disease caused by hepatitis viruses type B, C and D is a much greater problem than the acute disease caused by the same viruses or by hepatitis viruses type A and E. Chronic viral hepatitis often remains unrecognized until the patient develops decompensated liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, unrecognized chronic virus carriers are a persistent source of infection by sexual and other close contacts as well as during many medical procedures. The viruses of chronic hepatitis are very different from each other from a taxonomical point of view, but they share many common pathogenic properties and they often coinfect individuals. Six years ago Carlo De Bac, Gloria Taliani (Rome) and I undertook an effort to bring together, under the auspices of the European Society against Virus Diseases, clinicians, laboratory physicians, epidemiologists, pathologists and molecular biologists whose primary research interest is chronic viral hepatitis. The contributions from these quite divergent participants to a meeting devoted solely to chronic viral hepatitis were most stimulating and valuable. As a result of the success of the first meeting in Fiuggi (Italy), a second followed in Siena (Italy) 1990 and the recent third meeting was held in Pisa (Italy). Most of the speakers expressed interest in publishing their contributions in the form of a proceedings volume, as was done in the case of the Siena meeting.

Inhalt

I. Replication of hepatitis viruses.- In vitro culture systems for hepatitis B and delta viruses.- Chronic infection in wood-chucks infected by a cloned hepatitis delta virus.- Detection of replicative intermediates of viral RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from chronic hepatitis C virus carriers.- Susceptibility of human liver cell cultures to hepatitis C virus infection.- II. Molecular biology of hepatitis B virus.- Molecular basis of the diversity of hepatitis B virus core-gene products.- Characterization of the endogenous protein kinase activity of the hepatitis B virus.- The hepatitis B virus X gene product transactivates the HIV-LTR in vivo.- Accumulation of a cellular protein bearing c-myc-like antigenicity in hepatic and non-hepatic delta antigen expressing cells.- Duck hepatitis B virus infection, aflatoxin B1 and liver cancer in ducks.- III. Pathogenic and protective immune responses against hepatitis viruses.- Cell mediated immune response to hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid antigen.- Clinical and immunological aspects of hepatitis B virus infection in children receiving multidrug cancer chemotherapy.- Hepatitis C virus infection in type II essential mixed cryoglobulinemias.- Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA by polymerase chain reaction in vaccinated and non-vaccinated Senegalese children.- Duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) as a model for understanding hepadnavirus neutralization.- IV. Variability of hepatitis B virus.- Implication of genetic variation on the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus infection.- Hepatitis B virus C-gene variants.- Long-term response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B: importance of hepatitis B virus heterogeneity.- Significance and relevance of serum preS1 antigen detection in wild-type and variant hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections.- Complete nucleotide sequences of six hepatitis B viral genomes encoding the surface antigen subtypes ayw4, adw4q?, and adrq? and their phylogenetic classification.- V. Diagnosis of chronic viral hepatitis.- Role of IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen in the diagnosis of hepatitis B exacerbations.- Serum IgM antibodies to hepatitis C virus in acute and chronic hepatitis C.- Isolate antibody to hepatitis C virus core antigen (C22) by RIB A 2: correlation with HCV-RNA and anti-NS5.- Is HCV transmitted by the vertical/perinatal route?.- VI. Clinical course and therapy of chronic viral hepatitis.- Multiple viral infections in HIV-infected children with chronically-evolving hepatitis.- Lymphoblastoid interferon in chronic hepatitis C patients that were "non responders" to recombinant interferon alpha (rIFN alpha).- Non responders to interferon therapy among chronic hepatitis patients infected with hepatitis C virus.- The relationship between LeY antigen and the therapeutic efficacy of interferon in chronic hepatitis C.- Antibodies to interferon alpha in patients.- VII. Liver transplantation and chronic viral hepatitis.- Patterns and mechanisms of hepatitis B/hepatitis D reinfection after liver transplantation.- Hepatitis C virus infection in liver allograft recipients.