Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major health concern worldwide. Globally, approximately 2 billion people show evidence of past or present HBV infection, and 350 million people are chronically infected. In Canada, there are 300,000 people living with chronic HBV infection. Chronic infection often leads to progressive liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. In fact, about half of all liver cancer mortality can be attributed to HBV infection. Thus, HBV-induced liver disease is a major public health challenge. Although there is an effective preventative vaccine for HBV, it cannot help those already infected. Furthermore, current antiviral treatments control HBV infection, if they are administered life-long, but they do not cure the infection and are associated with negative side effects and selection for resistance. There is an urgent medical need to develop new antiviral strategies to cure HBV infection. Until very recently, cell culture systems for HBV have not been available. As a result, many key aspects of the HBV life cycle are unknown. This lack of knowledge has hindered the development of new antiviral approaches. Recently, a cell culture system was developed that allows for full characterization of the HBV life cycle. I propose to take advantage of this system to identify the steps involved in HBV entry, which plays an important role in the spread and control of HBV infection. Using methods already established in the Baumert group, I will determine which cellular factors and pathways HBV uses to enter cells. Taken together, these studies will identify how HBV enters cells, which will improve our understanding of the HBV life cycle and allow for the development of new antiviral approaches with the potential to cure HBV infection.