title: Hepatitis B viral infection of hepatic progenitor cells. Resolving unresolved questions?
abstract: Accumulated data to date do not entirely explain the; propensity of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) to cause chronic infections in newborns; failure of antiviral agents to resolve infections or precise mechanism whereby HBV causes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Based on the increased numbers of hepatic stem/progenitor cells (HPCs) present within the neonatal liver, the refractoriness of these cells to the effects of interferons and xenobiotics and their ability to undergo malignant transformation, we hypothesize that HBV infection of HPCs could explain these and perhaps other clinical features of chronic HBV.
authors.affiliation: Section of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Electronic address: gerald.minuk@umanitoba.ca.
authors.forename: G Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Minuk
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baruch
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000821:virology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000821:virology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000821:virology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology*; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015262:Xenobiotics; D007372:Interferons
keywords: Hepatitis B treatment; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatocellular carcinoma and viral hepatitis; Neonatal hepatitis; Progenitor cells; Stem cells