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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
Published on: February 1, 2017
Developmental regulation of hepatitis B virus biosynthesis by hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha
Lie Li1, Claudia E Oropeza, Bruno Sainz
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
Abstract:
The host cellular factors that promote persistent viral infections in vivo are, in general, poorly understood. Utilizing the hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic mouse model of chronic infection, we demonstrate that the nuclear receptor, hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha (HNF4alpha, NR2A1), is essential for viral biosynthesis in the liver. The dependency of HBV transcription on HNF4alpha links viral biosynthesis and persistence to a developmentally regulated transcription factor essential for host viability.
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