Research advances in hepatitis B virus-associated glomerulonephritis / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

There is are large number of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. HBV not only damages the liver, but also involves the kidney. Hepatitis B virus-associated glomerulonephritis (HBV-GN) is secondary glomerulonephritis caused by HBV infection, and it is one of the most common extrahepatic complications of HBV infection. HBV-GN is mainly observed in children and young and middle-aged adults, with varying degrees of proteinuria as the main clinical manifestation, and it may be accompanied by hematuria and hypertension. Membranous nephropathy is the most common pathological type, followed by membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis and IgA nephropathy. HBV-GN has an insidious onset and lacks characteristic symptoms and pathological manifestations, and thus it may be easily confused with various types of glomerulonephritis, which may lead to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. HBV-GN has a complex pathogenesis involving various links such as immune disorders, direct viral damage, and genetics, among which the theory of immune complex deposition has been widely recognized. In recent years, some important advances have been made in the research on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of HBV-GN. This article summarizes the above issues, so as to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.