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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
Published on: February 1, 2017
APOBEC3B edits HBV DNA and inhibits HBV replication during reverse transcription
Yanmeng Chen1, Jie Hu1, Xuefei Cai1
1Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology on Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400016, People's Republic of China.
The cellular protein APOBEC3B restricts Hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication by editing viral DNA during reverse transcription. This protein interacts with HBV core protein, offering multifaceted antiviral defense against HBV.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a DNA virus replicating via reverse transcription.
- APOBEC3B is a known cellular restriction factor for HBV, previously shown to degrade HBV cccDNA in the nucleus.
- The role of APOBEC3B in editing HBV core-associated DNA during reverse transcription remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether APOBEC3B can edit HBV core-associated DNAs during reverse transcription.
- To elucidate the mechanism by which APOBEC3B inhibits HBV replication.
Main Methods:
- Silencing endogenous APOBEC3B in an HBV infection system.
- Transfection of plasmids expressing HBV isolates from genotypes A, B, C, and D.
- Utilizing HBV RNaseH-deficient and polymerase-deficient mutants.
- Co-immunoprecipitation assays.
Main Results:
- Silencing APOBEC3B upregulated HBV replication, indicating its inhibitory role.
- APOBEC3B inhibited replication of HBV across multiple genotypes (A, B, C, D).
- APOBEC3B edits both minus- and plus-strand HBV DNAs during reverse transcription, dependent on its C-terminal active site.
- APOBEC3B interacts with HBV core protein in an RNA-dependent manner.
Conclusions:
- APOBEC3B interacts with HBV core protein and edits viral DNA during the reverse transcription process.
- APOBEC3B exerts multifaceted antiviral effects against HBV, extending beyond nuclear cccDNA degradation.
- These findings highlight APOBEC3B as a key cellular defense mechanism against HBV replication.
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