As a suitable indicative of hepatocytic apoptosis in vivo, one of the K18 proteolytic fragments, termed tissue polypeptide-specific antigens (TPS), can be readily detected in the plasmas of patients suffering from alcoholic hepatitis [4], nonalcoholic steatohepatitis[5,6], chronic cholecystitis [7] and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) [8]. Here, KRT18 is linked to chronic hepatitis B virus infection.