Hepatitis B virus-host interactions and novel targets for viral cure.

Fiche publication


Date publication

mai 2021

Journal

Current opinion in virology

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr BAUMERT Thomas, Dr VERRIER Eloi


Tous les auteurs :
Ligat G, Verrier ER, Nassal M, Baumert TF

Résumé

Chronic infection with HBV is a major cause of advanced liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. Nucleos(t)ide analogues effectively control HBV replication but viral cure is rare. Hence treatment has often to be administered for an indefinite duration, increasing the risk for selection of drug resistant virus variants. PEG-interferon-α-based therapies can sometimes cure infection but suffer from a low response rate and severe side-effects. CHB is characterized by the persistence of a nuclear covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which is not targeted by approved drugs. Targeting host factors which contribute to the viral life cycle provides new opportunities for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies aiming at HBV cure. An improved understanding of the host immune system has resulted in new potentially curative candidate approaches. Here, we review the recent advances in understanding HBV-host interactions and highlight how this knowledge contributes to exploiting host-targeting strategies for a viral cure.

Référence

Curr Opin Virol. 2021 May 21;49:41-51