NOVEL EARLY DETECTION STRATEGY FOR LIVER CANCER USING HEPATITIS B SPLICE VARIANTS TO EXPEDIATE DIAGNOSIS AND IMPROVE TREATMENT OUTCOME

Grant number: 1145977 | Funding period: 2018 - 2021

Completed

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes liver cancer, which is one of the only cancers that is increasing in prevalence. We have shown that smaller versions of HBV, termed splice variants, are even more strongly associated with liver cancer- people with higher levels of the splice variants were over 3 times more likely to have liver cancer. We will find out why, by thoroughly studying how the splice variants alter the virus and the host cell to promote liver cancer.

Related publications (4)

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The in vitro replication phenotype of hepatitis B virus (HBV) splice variant Sp1.

V Sozzi, L McCoullough, H Mason, M Littlejohn, PA Revill

2022-09-01

Although not critical for hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication, splicing of HBV pre-genomic RNA generates multiple HBV splice varia..

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Secreted hepatitis B virus splice variants differ by HBV genotype and across phases of chronic hepatitis B infection

Olivia Maslac, Josef Wagner, Vitina Sozzi, Hugh Mason, Jenny Svarovskaia, Susanna Tan, Anuj Gaggar, Stephen Locarnini, Lilly Yuen, Margaret Littlejohn, Peter A Revill

2022-05-28

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is characterized by progression through different phases of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and diseas..

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Clinical stage drugs targeting inhibitor of apoptosis proteins purge episomal Hepatitis B viral genome in preclinical models

Michelle P Clark, Thao Huynh, Shringar Rao, Liana Mackiewicz, Hugh Mason, Shahla Romal, Michael D Stutz, Sang H Ahn, Linda Earnest, Vitina Sozzi, Margaret Littlejohn, Bang M Tran, Norbert Wiedemann, Elizabeth Vincan, Joseph Torresi, Hans J Netter, Tokameh Mahmoudi, Peter Revill, Marc Pellegrini, Gregor Ebert

2021-06-23

A major unmet clinical need is a therapeutic capable of removing hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome from the liver of infected individ..

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Quantitative analysis of the splice variants expressed by the major hepatitis B virus genotypes

Chun Shen Lim, Vitina Sozzi, Margaret Littlejohn, Lilly KW Yuen, Nadia Warner, Brigid Betz-Stablein, Fabio Luciani, Peter A Revill, Chris M Brown

2021-01-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major human pathogen that causes liver diseases. The main HBV RNAs are unspliced transcripts that enc..