Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026
10:25
"Liver-on-a-Chip" Cultures of Primary Hepatocytes and Kupffer Cells for Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Published on: February 19, 2019
11.6K
Exploration of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Dynamics through an Intracellular Model
Rupchand Sutradhar1, Durga Charan Dalal1
1Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|June 16, 2025
Summary
This study developed an intracellular hepatitis B virus (HBV) model to analyze infection dynamics. HBx proteins significantly impact HBV infection, while capsid recycling amplifies viral replication within cells.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Mathematical Biology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Traditional population-level analysis of viral infections offers limited insight into individual cell responses.
- Understanding intracellular dynamics is crucial for comprehending the complete viral life cycle and infection progression.
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection involves complex intracellular mechanisms that warrant detailed investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and analyze an intracellular mathematical model for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection dynamics.
- To identify key factors influencing HBV infection at the individual cellular level.
- To assess the impact of specific viral components and host-cell interactions on infection progression.
Main Methods:
- Development of an intracellular HBV infection dynamics model incorporating key viral life cycle steps.
- Numerical solution of the model using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method.
- Global sensitivity analysis, employing Latin hypercube sampling-partial rank correlation coefficients, to identify influential parameters.
Main Results:
- Model simulations showed good agreement with experimental data.
- Hepatitis B virus X (HBx) proteins were identified as having a significant impact on infection dynamics.
- Intracellular delay and dslDNA intermediates demonstrated minimal influence on infection progression, while capsid recycling significantly enhanced cccDNA amplification.
Conclusions:
- HBx proteins play a critical role in modulating intracellular HBV infection.
- Capsid recycling is a key mechanism for amplifying covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and enhancing HBV infection.
- Sub-viral particles may also contribute to the overall progression of hepatitis B virus infection.
Keywords:
Global sensitivity analysisHepatitis BIntracellular modelPartial rank correlation coefficientcccDNAMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:25Hepatitis
Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver most commonly caused by hepatotropic viruses (A–E), though non-infectious causes such as alcohol and drugs also exist.Hepatitis AHepatitis A virus (HAV) is a non-enveloped RNA virus of the Picornaviridae family. It is primarily transmitted via the fecal-oral route, typically through ingestion of contaminated food or water. After ingestion, HAV enters the bloodstream through the oropharynx or intestinal epithelium and reaches the liver. The...
01:28Viral Hepatitis I: Introduction
Viral hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver caused by infection with hepatotropic viruses, most commonly hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Despite variations in structure and transmission, all viruses mentioned infect hepatocytes and provoke immune responses that can hinder liver function. Additionally, some non-hepatotropic viruses can also lead to hepatic inflammation.Hepatitis A VirusHepatitis A virus (HAV) is transmitted through the fecal–oral route, typically by ingestion of food...