Hepatitis B. Cytologic localization of virus antigens and the role of the immune response.

Antigens of the hepatitis B virus have been localized within liver tissue by various immunologic, histochemical, and electron microscopic methods. The abundance and distribution of these virus antigens are in part determined by the host immune response. This interaction of immune mechanisms with the hepatitis B virus may be related to the pathogenesis and natural history of human hepatitis B virus infection.