With up to 400 million affected people worldwide, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is still a major health care problem. During the last decade, several novel therapeutic approaches have been developed and evaluated. In most regions of the world, interferon-α (IFN-α), and nucleos(t)ide analogues are currently approved. Despite major improvements, none of the existing therapies is optim...

Shaotang Ren and Micheal Nassal. Hepatitis B virion and cccDNA formation inprimary tupaia hepatocytes transduction of complete HBV genome with adenovirusvectors.Meeting on the Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Virus.September 17-21, 2000, Paris.

INTRODUCTION The hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in ∼350 million people worldwide who have an increased risk of end-stage liver disease and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. SOURCES OF DATA Several peer-reviewed papers featuring new approaches to anti-HBV management. Additionally, we also reviewed recent abstract presentations at international congresses. AREAS OF AGREEM...

Chisari et al. challenge our central conclusion that the hepatitis B virus (HBV) persistent form, the covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), is degraded in a noncytotoxic and specific fashion in the nucleus of infected hepatocytes. Specificity of the assays used, exclusion of cell division or death, and activity of APOBEC3 deaminases in the nucleus, however, were addressed in the paper.