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Updated: Aug 28, 2025

A Competent Hepatocyte Model Examining Hepatitis B Virus Entry through Sodium Taurocholate Cotransporting Polypeptide as a Therapeutic Target
Published on: May 10, 2022
Inhibiting Sodium Taurocholate Cotransporting Polypeptide in HBV-Related Diseases: From Biological Function to
Siwei Chen1, Lan Zhang1, Yi Chen2
1Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Biomimetic Synthesis of Natural Drugs, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China.
Abstract:
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide health problem, and chronic infection can cause many diseases ranging from liver fibrosis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by complicated mechanisms. Currently, the treatment of HBV infection mainly depends on interferons (IFNs) and nucleotide analogues (NAs); however, both have some limitations. In 2012, sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) was identified as the entry receptor of HBV. Based upon this groundbreaking discovery, a series of molecules have been gradually developed and evaluated to discover novel entry inhibitors targeting NTCP. However, only two macromolecules have been used for potential clinical applications so far. In this Perspective, we focus on summarizing the structural features that convey the biological functions of NTCP, as well as further discuss the anti-HBV activity and selectivity of inhibitors in HBV-related diseases, which should provide clues in the future for the discovery of drug candidates targeting NTCP.
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