Ongoing viral replication and production of infectious virus in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus suppressed below the limit of quantitation on long-term nucleos(t)ide therapy.

ABSTRACT: Nucleos(t)ide analogs are standard-of-care for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and can effectively reduce hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication but rarely leads to cure. Nucleos(t)ide analogs do not directly eliminate the viral episome, therefore treatment cessation typically leads to rapid viral rebound. While treatment is effective, HBV DNA is still detectable (although not quantifiable) in the periphery of the majority of nucleos(t)ide analog treated HBV patients, even after prolonged treatment. Addressing whether the detectable HBV DNA represents infectious virus is a key unknown and has important implications for the development of a curative treatment for HBV. The minimum HBV genome equivalents required to establish infection in human liver chimeric mice was determined by titratio

SUBMITTER: Burdette DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8974970 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature