UNLABELLED The aim of the work was to detect the serum prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in patents with ESRD (end stage renal disease) on haemodialysis treatment from two dialysis units. MATERIAL AND METHODS 178 patients from two haemodialysis units in Skopje (Department of Nephrology and HDC Zelezara) who received haemodialysis treatment over the period January to July 2005 were inv...

Pathogenesis of HDV infection is still insufficiently studied. Such marker of a HBV mono-infection disease activity as HBeAg rarely occurs in HDV co-infected patients. It is known that HDV infection is generally associated with a suppression of HBV replication [2]. In most cases the severity of CHD depends on the level of HDV RNA. A quantification of HDV RNA is done in specialized laboratories ...

AIM To investigate the role of subgenotype specific RNA secondary structure in the compartment specific selection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) immune escape mutations. METHODS This study was based on the analysis of the specific observation of HBV subgenotype A1 in the serum/plasma, while subgenotype A2 with G145R mutation in the peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). Genetic variability found amo...

BACKGROUND The epidemiologies of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in specific populations in certain areas of China are poorly understood. A pilot survey of HCV/HBV infections was carried out in villages in Kuancheng County, Heben Province, where injection of sodium benzoate or amphetamines using shared needles has been a common practice. The aims of this study wer...

We have previously shown that alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) inhibit hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication by eliminating pregenomic RNA containing viral capsids from the hepatocyte. We have also shown that HBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes that induce IFN-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in the liver can inhibit HBV gene expression by ...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a promising target for therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi) since it replicates via RNA transcripts that are vulnerable to RNAi silencing. Clinical translation of RNAi technology, however, requires improvements in potency, specificity and safety. To this end, we systematically compared different strategies to express anti-HBV short hairpin RNA (shRNA) in a pre-c...

Hepatocellular injury during hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been postulated to result from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-restricted T-lymphocyte host immune response against HBV antigens. Although HLA expression is enhanced in the presence of hepatic inflammation, whether HBV itself can induce HLA expression on infected hepatocytes is unknown. In this study, we demonstrate the inductio...

BACKGROUND Antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs in sub-Saharan Africa have for many years included lamivudine as the sole hepatitis B virus (HBV) inhibitor. Long-term outcomes and the effects of introducing tenofovir as part of ART in these populations have not been characterized. METHODS The study comprised a cross-sectional analysis of 106 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HBV-coinfecte...

The structural maintenance of chromosome 5/6 complex (Smc5/6) is a restriction factor that represses hepatitis B virus (HBV) transcription. HBV counters this restriction by expressing HBV X protein (HBx), which targets Smc5/6 for degradation. However, the mechanism by which Smc5/6 suppresses HBV transcription and how HBx is initially expressed is not known. In this study we characterized viral ...

BACKGROUND Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an important cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The major challenges for current therapies are the low efficacy of current drugs and the occurrence of drug resistant HBV mutations. RNA interference (RNAi) of virus-specific genes offers the possibility of developing a new anti-HBV therapy. Recent reports have shown that lentiv...