J Med Virol. 2020 Apr 22. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25925. [Epub ahead of print]
Serum HBV RNA Composition Dynamics as Marker for Intrahepatic HBV cccDNA Turnover.
Hong X1, Hu J1.
Author information
1
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
Current therapies can suppress the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) but cannot clear chronic HBV infection, which afflicts hundreds of millions worldwide. HBV persistence is sustained by the viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), an episome in the nucleus of infected hepatocytes. cccDNA is refractory to current therapies and its clearance is the holy grail for HBV cure. However, it has been difficult to monitor the fate of cccDNA in the liver directly. The current study takes a novel approach to this critical issue by monitoring the dynamic change in the genetic composition of the serum HBV RNA, which appears to reflect the dynamics of intrahepatic cccDNA turnover. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Anti-hepatitis B virus antivirals; Antiviral agents; Hepatitis B virus; Infection; Nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase; Persistent infection; Virus classification