Journal articles recommended by our Emerging Scholars Scientific and Medical Advisors
Each month, one of our emerging scholars in the field of hepatitis B basic and clinical research recommends one or two current scholarly article(s) in the field.
PICKS OF THE MONTH - November 2022
ESMAB photos 150 188 px 3For November, our presenting emerging scholar is Lena Allweiss, PhD. She has selected two articles.
Smc5/6 silences episomal transcription by a three-step function. Abdul F, Diman A, Baechler B, Ramakrishnan D, Kornyeyev D, Beran RK, Fletcher SP, Strubin M. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2022 Sep;29(9):922-931. doi: 10.1038/s41594-022-00829-0
The chromosomal maintenance complex SMC5/6 is a restriction factor against HBV because it blocks transcription from its episomal viral genome. For an active infection to be established, HBV relies on its regulatory protein HBx to specifically degrade this complex and relieve its transcriptional suppression. This publication describes the mechanism by which SMC5/6 silences viral transcription from the HBV genome - a mechanism that might hold true for the restriction of other DNA virus such as HIV and HPV. Elucidating this process will not only generate basic knowledge about the interaction of viruses with their hosts but might also assist with the design of antiviral drugs targeting HBx.
Conversion of hepatitis B virus relaxed circular to covalently closed circular DNA is supported in murine cells. Wei L, Cafiero TR, Tseng A, Gertje HP, Berneshawi A, Crossland NA, Ploss A. JHEP Rep. 2022 Jul 9;4(9):100534. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2022.100534.
Mice are often used to study viral infections and test novel antiviral treatments. In the case of HBV, however, mice cannot simply be used for these purposes since HBV does not naturally infect mice. Scientists are currently trying to develop a genetically modified mouse model that is engineered to express missing factors or eliminate inhibitory factors necessary to establish an HBV infection in these mice. In this publication, the authors show that a crucial step in HBV infection, the conversion of incoming viral relaxed circular DNA to covalently closed circular DNA, does take place in mouse hepatocytes, thus ruling out this step as a potential block for infection establishment. This knowledge is important because it will help create such a mouse model for HBV research, a model in which this step does not need to be modified.作者: StephenW 时间: 2022-11-17 10:50