How Polyclonal Antibodies Advance Hepatitis B Research

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an infection that affects the liver. It can cause both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) illness.

The virus spreads most often from mother to baby during birth, in early childhood, or through contact with infected blood or body fluids. This can happen during sex, unsafe injections, or through cuts from sharp objects.

According to the WHO, about 254 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B in 2022. Each year, 1.2 million new infections occur.

In 2022, hepatitis B caused around 1.1 million deaths, mainly due to liver damage like cirrhosis and liver cancer.

There is a vaccine that can prevent hepatitis B. It is safe, widely available, and works well. But for most people who already have the virus, there is still no cure. 

Moreover, people with HBV don’t know they’re infected, as symptoms may be mild or absent. So, researchers are seeking better ways to study the Hepatitis B virus and find new treatments. Here is where polyclonal antibodies come into play.

What is the Definition of Polyclonal Antibodies?

Polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) are a heterogeneous mixture of antibodies produced by different B-cell clones in response to an antigen. Unlike monoclonal antibodies, which target a single epitope, polyclonal antibodies recognize and bind to multiple epitopes on the same antigen. 

As a result, pAbs have high sensitivity. This makes them ideal for various research applications, including immunoassays, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and neutralization studies.

Scientists can create pAbs by injecting an animal (like a rabbit, goat, or horse) with a virus. The animal’s immune system responds and makes antibodies against it. These are collected and used in research and lab tests.

In HBV research, polyclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing animals such as rabbits, goats, or horses with specific HBV proteins or viral particles, such as HBsAg (Hepatitis B surface antigen) and HBcAg (core antigen). 

Role of Polyclonal Antibodies in Hepatitis B Research

Facilitate Early and Accurate HBV Detection

Early detection of HBV is crucial to control and prevent the spread of the disease. At times, Horse HBsAg polyclonal antibody is used in diagnostic tests, such as ELISA, to detect HBV in blood samples. ELISA tests have high sensitivity. So, they can help detect hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) in pregnant women, even if their concentration is very low. 

In addition, rapid diagnostic test kits also use pAbs for quick results. These kits are ideal for areas where labs are limited and there is a need to control disease spread immediately.

Prevent HBV Recurrence after Liver Transplantation

Patients with chronic hepatitis B who receive a liver transplant are at risk of HBV returning in the new liver. To prevent this, doctors often use Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (HBIG). These are polyclonal antibodies produced from human donors.

HBIG provides immediate protection by neutralizing HBV particles in the blood and helps prevent re-infection of the transplanted liver. This can turn out to be a boon during the early stages post-transplant, especially when the patient’s immune system is suppressed.

Understand B Cell Dysfunction in Chronic Hepatitis B

Chronic HBV infection can affect how the immune system, especially B cells, functions. B cells are responsible for producing antibodies, but in chronic HBV patients, their response can become weak or dysfunctional.

Researchers use polyclonal antibodies to:

• Track how B cells respond to different parts of the virus.
• Study how the immune system fails to clear the virus in chronic cases.
• Identify markers of disease progression.

These insights help scientists understand why some patients recover while others develop lifelong infections.

Advance HBV Pathogenesis and Immunology Studies

To fight HBV effectively, it’s important to understand how the virus behaves inside the body. Scientists use polyclonal antibodies to stain liver tissue from HBV-infected animals or patients. This reveals where viral proteins like HBcAg are located inside the cells.

In addition, researchers can track how HBV proteins move and multiply inside liver cells by using pAbs in imaging techniques like IF. This helps scientists understand how HBV:

• Enters liver cells
• Escapes immune surveillance
• Integrates into the host genome (which may lead to cancer)

Such research aids in developing antiviral drugs that target specific steps in the HBV life cycle.

Support Vaccine Development and Efficacy Testing

Polyclonal antibodies are used during the development and testing of vaccines in several ways:

• Quality control: They help ensure that vaccines contain the correct HBV proteins and are structurally sound.
• Test immune response: In preclinical studies, polyclonal antibodies can measure how well a vaccine stimulates the body to produce its own protective antibodies.
• Detect vaccine escape mutants: These are viral strains that no longer respond to the original vaccine. Polyclonal antibodies can help spot them early.

The Bottom Line

Polyclonal antibodies are powerful tools in the fight against hepatitis B. They help doctors detect the virus early, even in small amounts. They also protect transplant patients and help researchers understand how HBV affects the immune system.

In labs, polyclonal antibodies show how the virus works inside liver cells. They also support vaccine testing and help find new ways to treat or prevent infection.

In short, polyclonal antibodies make it easier to study, track, and fight hepatitis B. This brings researchers one step closer to better treatments and, hopefully, a cure. However, the pAbs you use for experiments must be sourced from a reliable source like AAA Biotech.