West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, University of Ghana, Accra P.O. Box LG 52, Ghana.
Department of Virology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, Ghana.
Viruses. 2024 May 3;16(5):724. doi: 10.3390/v16050724.
Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) are the leading causes of end-stage liver disease worldwide. Although there is a potent vaccine against HBV, many new infections are recorded annually, especially in poorly resourced places which have lax vaccination policies. Again, as HBV has no cure and chronic infection is lifelong, vaccines cannot help those already infected. Studies to thoroughly understand the HBV biology and pathogenesis are limited, leaving much yet to be understood about the genomic features and their role in establishing and maintaining infection. The current knowledge of the impact on disease progression and response to treatment, especially in hyperendemic regions, is inadequate. This calls for in-depth studies on viral biology, mainly for the purposes of coming up with better management strategies for infected people and more effective preventative measures for others. This information could also point us in the direction of a cure. Here, we discuss the progress made in understanding the genomic basis of viral activities leading to the complex interplay of the virus and the host, which determines the outcome of HBV infection as well as the impact of coinfections.
乙型肝炎病毒和丙型肝炎病毒（HBV 和 HCV）是全球终末期肝病的主要病因。尽管有针对 HBV 的有效疫苗，但每年仍有许多新的感染病例记录，特别是在资源匮乏、疫苗接种政策宽松的地方。同样，由于 HBV 目前无法治愈，慢性感染是终身的，因此疫苗对已经感染的人没有帮助。对 HBV 生物学和发病机制的深入研究有限，导致人们对基因组特征及其在建立和维持感染中的作用仍知之甚少。目前对疾病进展和治疗反应的了解（特别是在高度流行地区）还不够充分。这需要对病毒生物学进行深入研究，主要目的是为感染者制定更好的管理策略，并为其他人制定更有效的预防措施。这些信息还可能为我们提供治愈的方向。在这里，我们讨论了在理解导致病毒和宿主之间复杂相互作用的病毒基因组基础方面所取得的进展，这决定了 HBV 感染的结果以及合并感染的影响。
