Key scientific issues and breakthrough paths to eliminate the harm of hepatitis B virus infection

Yixue WANG; Bo PENG; Lei WEI; Quanxin LONG; Yuchen XIA; Yinyan SUN; Wenhui LI

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Key scientific issues and breakthrough paths to eliminate the harm of hepatitis B virus infection

VernacularTitle:消除乙型肝炎病毒感染危害的关键科学问题与突破路径
Author: Yixue WANG ¹ ; Bo PENG ¹ ; Lei WEI ² ; Quanxin LONG ³ ; Yuchen XIA ⁴ ; Yinyan SUN ¹ ; Wenhui LI ¹
Author Information

1. National Institute of Biological Sciences， Beijing 102206， China
2. Center for Infectious Disease Research， School of Medicine， Westlake University， Hangzhou 310024， China
3. Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases （Ministry of Education）， Institute for Viral Hepatitis， Department of Infectious Diseases， The Second Affiliated Hospital， Chongqing Medical University， Chongqing 400010， China
4. TaiKang Medical School， Wuhan University， Wuhan 430071， China
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Hepatitis B Virus; Covalently Closed Circular DNA; Molecular Mechanisms
From: Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(1):2-6
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Hepatitis B virus （HBV） exclusively infects liver parenchymal cells and forms covalently closed circular DNA （cccDNA） within their nuclei. HBV cccDNA serves as the essential template for viral gene transcription， the sole source of progeny virus production， and the key driver of viral antigen expression， and it is the molecular basis for the persistence of HBV infection. Therefore， elimination and/or functional silencing of cccDNA is the key to eradicate chronic HBV infection. This article discusses the critical scientific issues that need to be solved during elimination of the harm of HBV infection from the perspectives of the synthesis， transcription， and clearance of cccDNA， as well as the impact of nonparenchymal cells on cccDNA， in order to provide a reference for eradicating HBV infection in the future.