Mechanisms of hepatitis B virus cccDNA formation

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Project summary Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection results in 887,000 deaths annually. The central challenge in curing HBV is eradication of the stable covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) form of the viral genome, which depends on elusive host factors for its generation. Using a yeast extract screen, we identified five core components of lagging strand synthesis –PCNA, the replication factor C (RFC) complex, DNA polymerase δ (POLδ), FEN-1, and DNA ligase 1 (LIG1) – as essential for cccDNA formation. We reconstituted cccDNA formation with purified human homologs, establishing these as a minimal set of factors necessary and sufficient for cccDNA formation. We further demonstrated that inhibiting POLδ significantly diminishes cccDNA formation. In this proposal, we will build on these findings to determine the precise kinetics of cccDNA formation, delineating the role of each factor at every step of the repair process. In understanding the dynamics of rcDNA to cccDNA repair, we can identify potential rate-limiting steps that could be novel therapeutic targets for disrupting cccDNA formation and maintenance. Using a series of innovative techniques in both cell culture and mouse model systems, we will be able to test our findings in physiologically relevant platforms that will strengthen the impact of our data. Factors found to be critical for rc- to cccDNA conversion will be disrupted in these systems by a degron-mediated approach that will allow for fine-tuned control of expression to alleviate any potential cytotoxicity. We can then monitor the effect of each factor in turn on cccDNA formation or the maintenance of established cccDNA pools in chronically infected cells. To increase the resolution of such studies, we will also examine at the single-cell level how the expression levels of a given factor correlate with that of cccDNA. Altogether, these data will give us a far more comprehensive view of this process critical to the persistence of HBV in chronically infected individuals.