[From the Establishment of Hepatitis B Virus Cell Culture Systems to Drug Discovery]
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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

A Cell Culture Model for Producing High Titer Hepatitis E Virus Stocks
Published on: June 26, 2020
Kento Fukano1,2, Koichi Watashi1
1Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Abstract:
The development of antiviral agents enables the control of chronic infectious diseases caused by infection with herpesviruses, human immunodeficiency virus, and hepatitis C virus. In contrast, antiviral treatment against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant area for improvement. One of the main barriers hampering the progress of HBV research has been a lack of cell culture systems efficiently reproducing the viral proliferation process. Recently, cell line-based HBV infection systems have been developed which are useful to analyze the mechanisms of HBV replication and to screen for new anti-HBV agents. In this article, we summarize the establishment of such cell models and the identification of small molecules that inhibit the HBV entry process and discuss their future potential as a novel class of anti-HBV agents.
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