Viral determinants and innate immunity in persistent hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus infections (15)

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Human hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis D viruses (HDV) cause persistent infections in more than 240 million people worldwide. Maintenance of persistence requires viral strategies to counteract intrinsic host immune responses. In this project, we aim to understand such responses on the molecular level in order to develop novel strategies to improve therapeutic outcomes of infection (functional cure). Specifically we will (i) investigate the impact of HBV integration on preservation of HBV and HDV templates (cccDNA and HDV RNA); (ii) elucidate the mechanism of innate immune sensing of replicating HDV RNA; (iii) uncover how IFNs suppress HDV spread during cell division.