Proteogenomic Landscape of Occult HBV Infection and HBsAg-positive HBV Infection

The pathological and physiological characteristics between HBsAg-positive HBV infection and occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) are currently unclear. This study aimed to explore the immune microenvironment in the peripheral circulation of OBI patients through proteomic sequencing, and to identify molecular biomarkers for clinical diagnosis of HBsAg-positive HBV and OBI. This research involved collection of plasma from 20 patients with OBI (negative for HBsAg but positive for HBV DNA, with HBV DNA levels < 200 IU/mL), 20 patients with HBsAg-positive HBV infection, and 10 healthy individuals. Mass spectrometry-based detection was used to analyze the proteome.