Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Nov;11(6):500-508.
doi: 10.1007/s12072-017-9829-7. Epub 2017 Nov 2.

Hepatitis B virus: virology, molecular biology, life cycle and intrahepatic spread

P Karayiannis  1
Affiliations
Review

Hepatitis B virus: virology, molecular biology, life cycle and intrahepatic spread

P Karayiannis. Hepatol Int. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus is a member of the Hepadnaviridae family and responsible for causing acute and chronic hepatitis in humans. The current estimates of people chronically infected with the virus are put at 250 million worldwide. Immune-mediated liver damage in these individuals may lead to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma later in life. This review deals with our current understanding of the virology, molecular biology, life cycle and cell-to-cell spread of this very important pathogen, all of which are considered essential for current and future approaches to antiviral treatment.

Keywords: Cell-to-cell spread; Genotypes; Hepatitis B virus; Life cycle; Molecular virology; Replication.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Biol Chem. 2003 Jan 10;278(2):891-5 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 2007 Jun;81(12):6207-15 - PubMed
    1. Vox Sang. 1970 Nov-Dec;19(5):417-24 - PubMed
    1. N Engl J Med. 1976 Nov 18;295(21):1168-75 - PubMed
    1. Virology. 2002 Nov 10;303(1):199-210 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources