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Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
Published on: February 1, 2017
Host Transcription Factors in Hepatitis B Virus RNA Synthesis
Kristi L Turton1, Vanessa Meier-Stephenson1,2, Maulik D Badmalia1
1Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Dr. W., Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada.
Abstract:
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) chronically infects over 250 million people worldwide and is one of the leading causes of liver cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. HBV persistence is due in part to the highly stable HBV minichromosome or HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) that resides in the nucleus. As HBV replication requires the help of host transcription factors to replicate, focusing on host protein-HBV genome interactions may reveal insights into new drug targets against cccDNA. The structural details on such complexes, however, remain poorly defined. In this review, the current literature regarding host transcription factors' interactions with HBV cccDNA is discussed.
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