scholarly journals Recent Advances in Understanding, Diagnosing, and Treating Hepatitis B Virus Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Rybicka ◽  
Krzysztof Piotr Bielawski

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects 292 million people worldwide and is associated with a broad range of clinical manifestations including cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite the availability of an effective vaccine HBV still causes nearly 900,000 deaths every year. Current treatment options keep HBV under control, but they do not offer a cure as they cannot completely clear HBV from infected hepatocytes. The recent development of reliable cell culture systems allowed for a better understanding of the host and viral mechanisms affecting HBV replication and persistence. Recent advances into the understanding of HBV biology, new potential diagnostic markers of hepatitis B infection, as well as novel antivirals targeting different steps in the HBV replication cycle are summarized in this review article.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Andrew Douglas Huber

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection leads to liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Globally, an estimated 50% of all hepatocellular carcinoma cases are linked to chronic HBV infection. More than 240 million people are chronically infected, and there are 0.5-1 million deaths per year due to HBVrelated liver conditions. HBV treatment options rarely cure infections and are associated with adverse side effects that often outweigh the potential benefits of treatment. New treatments, therefore, are highly desired for HBV therapy. Towards this goal, we have developed novel compounds targeting two viral targets and assessed the mechanisms of action by which these compounds act. We have developed systems for the discovery and evaluation of compounds that inhibit 2 distinct steps in the HBV life cycle. Using these systems, we have developed potent inhibitors of HBV replication that have potential to become clinically used HBV drugs. Furthermore, we have used our methods to evaluate which properties of these compounds are likely to result in better viral inhibition. The work described in this thesis has led to at least 2 new compound groups for potential use as HBV antivirals and provides insight into mechanisms by which potent antivirals can be achieved.


Gut ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. i6-i17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maura Dandri ◽  
Stephen Locarnini

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health burden and the main risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. However, HBV is not directly cytopathic and liver injury appears to be mostly caused by repeated attempts of the host's immune responses to control the infection. Recent studies have shown that the unique replication strategy adopted by HBV enables it to survive within the infected hepatocyte while complex virus–host interplays ensure the virus is able to fulfil its replication requirements yet is still able to evade important host antiviral innate immune responses. Clearer understanding of the host and viral mechanisms affecting HBV replication and persistence is necessary to design more effective therapeutic strategies aimed at improving the management of patients with chronic HBV infection to eventually achieve viral eradication. This article focuses on summarising the current knowledge of factors influencing the course of HBV infection, giving emphasis on the use of novel assays and quantitative serological and intrahepatic biomarkers as tools for predicting treatment response and disease progression.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming V. Lin ◽  
April Wall

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health burden worldwide, with approximately 257 million people with chronic infection. HBV is a small partially double-stranded DNA virus that replicates within the nucleus of the hepatocyte and commonly leads to chronic infection. Chronic HBV infection can cause cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and extrahepatic manifestations such as glomerulonephritis or vasculitis. The latter is due to deposition of circulating immune complex in the different tissues. The natural history of HBV infection can be conceptualized as a spectrum encompassing different phases, including immune tolerance, immune clearance, inactive carrier, and reactivation and resolution. The diagnosis of the different phases of chronic HBV infection relies on various HBV serologies, liver enzyme levels, and histology findings. There are currently eight therapies approved for the treatment of HBV. Tenofovir alafenamide was the most recently approved therapy with a better side effect profile compared with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. With the recent advances in the basic research in hepatitis B, new treatment options may become available in the near-future. This review contains 9 figures, 11 tables and 80 references Key words: cirrhosis, entecavir, Hepadnaviridae, hepatitis B virus, hepatocellular carcinoma, precore mutation, tenofovir


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming V. Lin ◽  
April Wall

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health burden worldwide, with approximately 257 million people with chronic infection. HBV is a small partially double-stranded DNA virus that replicates within the nucleus of the hepatocyte and commonly leads to chronic infection. Chronic HBV infection can cause cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and extrahepatic manifestations such as glomerulonephritis or vasculitis. The latter is due to deposition of circulating immune complex in the different tissues. The natural history of HBV infection can be conceptualized as a spectrum encompassing different phases, including immune tolerance, immune clearance, inactive carrier, and reactivation and resolution. The diagnosis of the different phases of chronic HBV infection relies on various HBV serologies, liver enzyme levels, and histology findings. There are currently eight therapies approved for the treatment of HBV. Tenofovir alafenamide was the most recently approved therapy with a better side effect profile compared with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. With the recent advances in the basic research in hepatitis B, new treatment options may become available in the near-future. This review contains 9 figures, 11 tables and 80 references Key words: cirrhosis, entecavir, Hepadnaviridae, hepatitis B virus, hepatocellular carcinoma, precore mutation, tenofovir


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingxia Huang ◽  
Hehua Lei ◽  
Laifeng Ding ◽  
Yulan Wang

Abstract Chronic hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection has high morbidity, high pathogenicity and unclear pathogenesis. To elucidate the relationship between HBV replication and host phospholipid metabolites, we measured 10 classes of phospholipids in serum of HBV infected patients and cells using ultra performance liquid chromatograph-triple quadruple mass spectrometry. We found that the levels of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine, and lyso-phosphatidic acid were increased in HBsAg (+) serum of infected patients compared with HBsAg (−), while phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, and sphingomyelin were decreased, which were confirmed in an HBV infected HepG2.2.15 cell line. We further evaluated the enzyme levels of PC pathways and found that PCYT1A and LPP1 for PC synthesis were up-regulated after HBV infection. Moreover, HBV replication was inhibited when PCYT1A and LPP1 were inhibited. These results indicated that the PC synthesis in HBV infected host are regulated by PCYT1A and LPP1, which suggests that PCYT1A, LPP1 could be new potential targets for HBV treatment.


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