title: The Structural Biology of Hepatitis B Virus: Form and Function.
abstract: Hepatitis B virus is one of the smallest human pathogens, encoded by a 3,200-bp genome with only four open reading frames. Yet the virus shows a remarkable diversity in structural features, often with the same proteins adopting several conformations. In part, this is the parsimony of viruses, where a minimal number of proteins perform a wide variety of functions. However, a more important theme is that weak interactions between components as well as components with multiple conformations that have similar stabilities lead to a highly dynamic system. In hepatitis B virus, this is manifested as a virion where the envelope proteins have multiple structures, the envelope-capsid interaction is irregular, and the capsid is a dynamic compartment that actively participates in metabolism of the encapsidated genome and carries regulated signals for intracellular trafficking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405; email: azlotnic@indiana.edu.
authors.forename: Balasubramanian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Venkatakrishnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405; email: azlotnic@indiana.edu.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zlotnick
mesh_terms: D002213:Capsid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000821:virology; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019065:Virus Assembly / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins
keywords: antiviral; capsid; icosahedral; nucleoprotein complex; reverse transcriptase; self-assembly