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Review
. 2025 Jun 26;30(2):101938.
doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2025.101938. Online ahead of print.

Chronic hepatitis B virus persistence: Mechanisms, consequences and implications for achieving cure

Christopher Georgi  1 , Simmone D'Souza  2 , Carla Osiowy  3 , Carla S Coffin  2 , Curtis L Cooper  4
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Chronic hepatitis B virus persistence: Mechanisms, consequences and implications for achieving cure

Christopher Georgi et al. Ann Hepatol. .
Free article

Abstract

HBV persists within the hepatocyte due to the presence of intranuclear covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and double-stranded linear DNA (dslDNA) integration. These bodies pose formidable challenges for achieving HBV functional and sterilizing cure. In this virology-focused review we provide an overview of HBV persistence with consideration of the negative implications for chronic infection. We also discuss advancements in HBV therapies that aim to disrupt these targets.

Keywords: Functional cure; HBV DNA integration; Hepatitis B infection; Sterilizing cure; Viral persistence; cccDNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests Curtis Cooper reports consulting/advisory fees from AbbVie Inc. and research-grant funding from Gilead Sciences Inc. All other authors declare no competing financial or personal interests that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

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