Epidemiological Studies Of Neutralizing Antibodies To Adenoviruses In Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B And Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective:To investigate the seroprevalence of neutralizing antibodies to human adenovirus type-5 (AdHu5) and type-26 (AdHu26) and chimpanzee adenovirus type-68 (AdC68) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to provide guidance for developing safe and effective biotherapy vectors against CHB and HCC.METHODS:The blood samples from 196 patients with CHB and 193 patients with HCC were examined to assess the presence of neutralizing antibodies against AdHu5, AdHu26 and AdC68 by adenovirus neutralization assays.RESULTS:The seroprevalence rates of neutralizing antibodies to AdHu5, AdHu26 and AdC68 in CHB patients were 84.7% (95% confidence interval:79.0-89.1%),58.2%(95% confidence interval:51.2-64.9%) and 39.8%(95% confidence interval:33.2-46.8%), respectively. Among the patients with HCC, the prevalence rates of neutralizing antibodies were as follows:AdHu5,75.1%(95% confidence interval:68.6-80.7%); AdHu26, 66.8%(95%confidence interval:59.9-73.1%); and AdC68,32.1%(95% confidence interval:25.9-39.0%), respectively.CONCLUSION:This study found that the prevalence rates and titers of neutralizing antibodies against AdC68 were the lowest. Thus, AdC68 serves as more suitable biological therapy vectors for CHB and HCC than AdHu5 and AdHu26.