title: The HepaRG cell line: a valuable in vitro tool for hepatitis virus infection studies.
abstract: Hepatitis virus infections, mainly hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, constitute a major problem for public health since they have a worldwide distribution and because they are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma and death. Current anti-HBV vaccines seem to be effective in the majority of people. However, an important issue waiting to be tackled nowadays is how to cure patients with chronic hepatitis B. Moreover, no vaccine is available today for the prevention of HCV infection. Therefore, the use of adequate in vitro infection systems is a prerequisite for the molecular understanding of the infection events of these viruses, which could result in the development of novel powerful therapeutics. In this respect, the HepaRG cell line exhibits a hepatocyte-like morphology and displays drug metabolism capacity similar to that of primary hepatocytes. HepaRG cells have yet been proven to be a useful tool in the study of viral infections, particularly for deciphering the mechanism of HBV entry into hepatocytes.
authors.affiliation: Pathlicon, Reibroekstraat 13, B-9940, Evergem, Belgium. liesbeth.ceelen@pathlicon.be.
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ceelen
authors.affiliation: Pathlicon, Reibroekstraat 13, B-9940, Evergem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marusya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lieveld
authors.affiliation: Pathlicon, Reibroekstraat 13, B-9940, Evergem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ramses
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Forsyth
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Center for Pharmaceutical Research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vinken
keywords: HepaRG cell line; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatitis C virus; In vitro model; Viral entry