Transaminase Elevations During Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: Safety Considerations and Role in Achieving Functional Cure
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viruses Review Transaminase Elevations during Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: Safety Considerations and Role in Achieving Functional Cure Andrew Vaillant Replicor Inc., 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montreal, QC H4P 2R2, Canada; [email protected] Abstract: While current therapies for chronic HBV infection work well to control viremia and stop the progression of liver disease, the preferred outcome of therapy is the restoration of immune control of HBV infection, allowing therapy to be removed while maintaining effective suppression of infection and reversal of liver damage. This “functional cure” of chronic HBV infection is characterized by the absence of detectable viremia (HBV DNA) and antigenemia (HBsAg) and normal liver function and is the goal of new therapies in development. Functional cure requires removal of the ability of infected cells in the liver to produce the hepatitis B surface antigen. The increased observation of transaminase elevations with new therapies makes understanding the safety and therapeutic impact of these flares an increasingly important issue. This review examines the factors driving the appearance of transaminase elevations during therapy of chronic HBV infection and the interplay of these factors in assessing the safety and beneficial nature of these flares. Keywords: transaminase flare; hepatitis B; functional cure; HBsAg Citation: Vaillant, A. Transaminase Elevations during Treatment of 1. Introduction Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: Safety Exposure to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes a predominantly hepatotropic infection, Considerations and Role in Achieving which in its acute state commonly causes liver inflammation and dysfunction and in its Functional Cure. Viruses 2021, 13, 745. chronic state fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) [1–3]. While >80% https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050745 of people infected with HBV achieve immune control and self-resolve their infection, reactivation of latent infection [4] in the livers of these individuals can still occur with Academic Editor: Carla S. Coffin immunosuppressive therapy [5,6]. Unfortunately, HBV infection remains chronic in more than 292 million people worldwide [7] and is responsible for 870,000 deaths annually [8]. Received: 31 March 2021 This chronic infection results from (1) the inhibition of the immune response to HBV via Accepted: 22 April 2021 the maintenance of abundant circulating HBsAg by the production of a large excess of Published: 23 April 2021 non-infectious subviral particles (SVP) over virions [9], (2) the ability of the HBV genome to form a closed covalent circular DNA (cccDNA) “minichromosome” that can reside inside Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in the nucleus of infected cells in an inactive “latent” state [10] and (3) the integration of HBV published maps and institutional affil- DNA into the chromosomes of liver cells [11,12], which progresses with continued chronic iations. infection, becoming a significant source of SVP [9,13–15]. The current challenge in the treatment of chronic HBV infection is to restore immune control allowing suppression of viral infection to be maintained in the absence of therapy, thereby allowing liver damage to regress and the risk of developing hepatocellular carci- noma to decline. This “functional cure” of chronic HBV infection requires the reconstitution Copyright: © 2021 by the author. of immune control and is characterized by the absence of circulating HBV surface antigen Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. (HBsAg) without therapy [16–20]. Since HBsAg is almost entirely derived from SVP [9], This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and establishing a functional cure of HBV infection requires not only clearing SVP from the conditions of the Creative Commons blood but removing the SVP producing capacity in the liver by the silencing of cccDNA Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// and the removal of hepatocytes with integrated HBV DNA [14,15]. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Since the clearance of hepatocytes with integrated HBV DNA from the liver is a 4.0/). critical milestone in achieving functional cure, the resulting damage in the liver is also Viruses 2021, 13, 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050745 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses Viruses 2021, 13, 745 2 of 18 Viruses 2021, 13, 745 Since the clearance of hepatocytes with integrated HBV DNA from the liver is a2 crit- of 17 ical milestone in achieving functional cure, the resulting damage in the liver is also ex- pected to result in elevations in serum concentrations of liver enzymes. This creates a clin- ical challenge as liver enzyme flares are known to occur with a variety of other liver dis- expectedeases where to resultthey are in elevationsassociated with in serum hepatoxi concentrationscity. Given ofthe liver current enzymes. focus on This achieving creates aa clinicalfunctional challenge cure of asHBV liver with enzyme new therapeutic flares are known agents, to this occur review with aexplores variety how of other liver liver en- diseaseszyme flares where during they the are associatedtreatment withof chronic hepatoxicity. HBV infection Given the affect current liver focus function on achieving and the apotential functional utility cure of ofthese HBV flares with to new predict therapeutic positive therapeutic agents, this outcomes. review explores how liver enzyme flares during the treatment of chronic HBV infection affect liver function and the potential2. Distribution utility of HBV these Infection flares to predict in the positiveLiver therapeutic outcomes. 2. DistributionDuring acute of HBV(initial) Infection infection, in theHBV Liver infection appears infrequently in individual hepatocytesDuring where acute (initial)HBsAg is infection, located primarily HBV infection in the appearscytoplasm infrequently [21]. These incells individual presum- hepatocytesably also contain where replicating HBsAg is virus. located Transition primarily to in chronic the cytoplasm infection [ 21(Figure]. These 1) appears cells presum- to be ablyaccompanied also contain by translocation replicating virus. of HBsAg Transition to the to chroniccell margins infection [21]. (FigureThe number1) appears of cells to be in accompaniedan initially infected by translocation liver is unknown, of HBsAg as tosymptoms the cell margins of acute [ 21infection]. The numberare considered of cells into anoccur initially weeks infected to months liver after is unknown, the initial as infection symptoms event. of acuteIn chronic infection infection, are considered the bulk toof occurinfected weeks cells toin monthsthe liverafter are hepatocytes, the initial infection but infection event. is Inalso chronic present infection, to a lesser the extent bulk ofin infectedthe bile duct cells epithelium in the liver as are well hepatocytes, as endothelial but infection and smooth is also muscle present cells to aof lesser hepatic extent blood in thevessels bile [22]. duct Scattered epithelium HBsAg as well positive as endothelial hepatocytes and are smooth accompanied muscle cells by HBcAg of hepatic positivity blood vesselsapproximately [22]. Scattered 70% of HBsAgthe time, positive and HBsAg hepatocytes is found are both accompanied in the cytoplasm by HBcAg and positivityat the cell approximatelymargin [21,23]. 70%With of the the transition time, and HBsAgfrom H isBeAg found positive both in to the HBeAg cytoplasm negative and atinfection, the cell marginHBsAg distribution [21,23]. With becomes the transition mainly fromdistribut HBeAged in positiveclusters of to hepatocytes HBeAg negative predominantly infection, HBsAgin the cytoplasm distribution [24], becomes in which mainly HBcAg distributed is less frequently in clusters detected of hepatocytes (Figure 1). predominantly This clustered inHBsAg+, the cytoplasm HBcAg- [24 pattern], in which persists HBcAg in isinactive less frequently HBV infection detected with (Figure mostly1). This cytoplasmic clustered HBsAg+,HBsAg localization HBcAg- pattern [21,23]. persists These inpatterns inactive are HBV consistent infection with with the mostly progressive cytoplasmic establish- HB- sAgment localization of HBV infection [21,23]. in These the liver patterns during are the consistent natural history with the of progressive HBV infection, establishment with tran- ofsition HBV from infection individual in the hepatocytes liver during producing the natural virus history and of SVP HBV to infection,clusters of with infected transition cells, fromwhich individual include hepatocytes hepatocytes containing producing only virus integrated and SVP to HBV clusters DNA of and infected producing cells, which only includeSVP. hepatocytes containing only integrated HBV DNA and producing only SVP. FigureFigure 1. Distribution 1. Distribution of ofinfection infection in inthe the liver liver during during the the course course of ofHBV HBV infection. infection. In chronic HBV infection, numerous studies have confirmed the heterogenous pattern of infected hepatocytes in chronic HBV infection (Figure1) where infection is spread intermittently throughout the liver in patches comprised entirely of infected cells [21,23–28] Viruses 2021, 13, 745 3 of 17 or in sparsely infected regions [21,24,25,27,29,30]. In many instances, HBsAg expression is detected in cells devoid of HBV DNA or HBcAg [26,28,31–33] (Figure1), which signals the presence of cells containing integrated HBV DNA, producing HBsAg efficiently (as SVP) but not HBV pgRNA (and HBV DNA) or