Journal article
Single-molecule sequencing reveals complex genome variation of hepatitis B virus during 15 Years of chronic infection following liver transplantation
BD Betz-Stablein, A Töpfer, M Littlejohn, L Yuen, D Colledge, V Sozzi, P Angus, A Thompson, P Revill, N Beerenwinkel, N Warner, F Luciani
Journal of Virology | AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY | Published : 2016
DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00243-16
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is prevalent worldwide. The infectious agent, hepatitis B virus (HBV), replicates via an RNA intermediate and is error prone, leading to the rapid generation of closely related but not identical viral variants, including those that can escape host immune responses and antiviral treatments. The complexity of CHB can be further enhanced by the presence of HBV variants with large deletions in the genome generated via splicing (spHBV variants). Although spHBV variants are incapable of autonomous replication, their replication is rescued by wild-type HBV. spHBV variants have been shown to enhance wildtype virus replication, and their prevalence increases with liver disea..
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Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This work, including the efforts of F. Luciani, N. Warner, A. Thompson, and N. Beerenwinkel, was funded by Department of Health vertical bar National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (APP1060199).