Almost all the microbiology textbooks and relevant research articles mention that Hepatitis B core antigen is not released into the blood of the host. It rather interacts with other core antigen particles to assemble the capsid of the Dane particle. My question is then how the body produces antibodies against HbCAg?
Hepatitis B Core Antibody (HBcAb or anti-HBc) does not provide any protection or immunity against the hepatitis B virus. A positive test indicates that a person may have been exposed to the hepatitis B virus. HBV is transmitted through contact with blood or infected bodily fluids, through unprotected sex, unsterile needles, and from an infected mother to her newborn during the delivery process.
Aizaz Ul Haq you may like to read this chapter for your query:
Chapter CHAPTER 22. Hepatitis B: Global Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and...
Best of luck.
Hepatitis B core antigen may enter the blood following death of infected hepatocytes
HBV core antigen is the first to be expressed at the surface of viral particles and triggers antibody formation which is therefore a marker of recent or past infection
The HBV core is in the body inside the cells and that is the reason for no detection in serum
Most events leading to the immune response, including meeting with the antigen and the production of antibodies does not occur in the blood but in the lymphoid organs
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