Taylor John M
Fox Chase Cancer Center, 7701 Burholme Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-2497, USA.
Trends Microbiol. 2003 Apr;11(4):185-90. doi: 10.1016/s0966-842x(03)00045-3.
In a natural setting, hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is only found in patients that are also infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). In hepatocytes infected with these two viruses, HDV RNA genomes are assembled using the envelope proteins of HBV. Since 1986, we have known that HDV has a small single-stranded RNA genome with a unique circular conformation that is replicated using a host RNA polymerase. These and other features make HDV and its replication unique, at least among agents that infect animals. This mini-review focuses on advances gained over the last 2-3 years, together with an evaluation of HDV questions that are either unsolved or not yet solved satisfactorily.
在自然环境中，丁型肝炎病毒（HDV）仅在同时感染乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）的患者中发现。在感染这两种病毒的肝细胞中，HDV RNA基因组利用HBV的包膜蛋白进行组装。自1986年以来，我们已经知道HDV有一个小的单链RNA基因组，具有独特的环状构象，可利用宿主RNA聚合酶进行复制。这些以及其他特征使得HDV及其复制具有独特性，至少在感染动物的病原体中是如此。这篇小型综述聚焦于过去两到三年取得的进展，同时对尚未解决或尚未得到满意解决的HDV相关问题进行评估。
