Sibiya Thabani, Xaba Lunga, Mthethwa Lulama, Chuturgoon Anil A, Msomi Nokukhanya
Discipline of Virology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences and National Health Laboratory Service, Durban 4013, South Africa.
Discipline of Medical Biochemistry and Chemical Pathology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus, Durban 4013, South Africa.
Viruses. 2025 Jul 29;17(8):1057. doi: 10.3390/v17081057.
The global burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains high, with ongoing concerted efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health concern by 2030. The absence of curative treatment against HBV makes it an active area of research to further study HBV pathogenesis. In vitro cell culture systems are essential in exploration of molecular mechanisms for HBV propagation and the development of therapeutic targets for antiviral agents. The lack of an efficient cell culture system is one of the challenges limiting the development and study of novel antiviral strategies for HBV infection. However, the evolution of cell culture systems to study HBV pathogenesis and treatment susceptibility in vitro has made a significant contribution to public health. The currently available cell culture systems to grow HBV have their advantages and limitations, requiring further optimization. The discovery of sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) as a receptor for HBV was a major breakthrough for the development of a robust cell model, allowing the study of de novo HBV infection through NTCP expression in the HepG2 hepatoma cell line. This review is aimed at highlighting the evolution of cell culture systems to study HBV pathogenesis and in vitro treatment susceptibility.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）的全球负担仍然很高，目前正在共同努力，到2030年将病毒性肝炎作为一个公共卫生问题加以消除。由于缺乏针对HBV的治愈性治疗方法，进一步研究HBV发病机制成为一个活跃的研究领域。体外细胞培养系统对于探索HBV传播的分子机制以及开发抗病毒药物的治疗靶点至关重要。缺乏高效的细胞培养系统是限制HBV感染新型抗病毒策略开发和研究的挑战之一。然而，用于体外研究HBV发病机制和治疗敏感性的细胞培养系统的发展对公共卫生做出了重大贡献。目前可用的用于培养HBV的细胞培养系统有其优点和局限性，需要进一步优化。牛磺胆酸钠共转运多肽（NTCP）作为HBV受体的发现是开发强大细胞模型的一项重大突破，使得通过在HepG2肝癌细胞系中表达NTCP来研究HBV的从头感染成为可能。本综述旨在突出用于研究HBV发病机制和体外治疗敏感性的细胞培养系统的发展历程。
