Hepatitis B viral DNA integration occurs within three days of infection and is enhanced by ATR inhibition.

ABSTRACT: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, with viral DNA integration into the host genome playing a pivotal role in oncogenesis. While HBV integration has been historically considered an event occurring late in a chronic infection, sensitive assays have detected integrations early infection. This study investigates the specific timing and molecular mechanisms of HBV DNA integration using a replication deficient HBV reporter system (HBV-Zeo) in HepG2-NTCP cells. Infection of this virus followed by positive selection led to cellular colony formation, showing that the input virus is the substrate that undergoes integration. By inducing DNA double-strand breaks via X-ray irradiation at specific timepoints after HBV infection, we observed a 2

SUBMITTER: Li D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12719184 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature