Detection of Australia antigen and antibody by means of radioimmunoassay techniques.

TLDR: It has been shown that the presence of anti-Au does not always prevent the development of hepatitis, and it has been possible to identify Au in some but not all units of blood that have induced hepatitis.

Abstract: Australia antigen (Au) has been identified in the blood of patients with "long-incubation hepatitis" by use of agar-gel diffusion or complement fixation (CF) [1-6]. Characterization of the antigen as a viruslike particle and its localization in the nuclei of liver cells of patients with hepatitis have provided evidence that Au may be the agent of long-incubation hepatitis [7-11]. A precipitating and complement-fixing antibody to Au (anti-Au) has been identified in the serum of patients who have received multiple transfusions but rarely, if ever, in serum from patients convalescing from hepatitis [1-3, 5-12]. It has been shown that the presence of anti-Au does not always prevent the development of hepatitis [13]. Transfusion of blood containing Au may result in hepatitis in the recipient [3, 12]. With agar-gel diffusion, it has been possible to identify Au in some but not all units of blood that have induced