The Pathogenesis of Hepatitis B Virus and Its Role in the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Focus on cccDNA

Abstract

The online internship took place at Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF) ONLUS (Non-Profit Organization of Social Utility) and Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology. FIF is a non-profit organization in the field of liver diseases that combines basic research and clinical activity. The Liver Lab of the FIF is mainly associated with investigations on the molecular pathology of various liver diseases, such as liver cancer and congenital syndromes with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. The Hepatitis Laboratory of Eijkman Institute investigates multiple aspects of hepatitis diseases, including its epidemiology, virology, diagnostic and clinical implications. Therefore, the main area of this internship is hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis B virus infections. Chronic HBV infection is a major health problem that may lead to further health complications, including severe liver diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In fact, around 70-90% of HCC developed from persistent chronic HBV infections. One of the major contributing factors to HBV-related HCC development is cccDNA and HBx protein. Therefore, there is an urgent need to detect and eliminate HBV cccDNA in HBV patients, especially in chronic HBV patients. Not to mention, other HBV factors that may possess carcinogenic effects which contribute to the development of HBV-related HCC. Therefore, there is a need to investigate and understand the pathogenesis of HBV and HBV-related HCC, which was conducted in this internship project by developing a literature review on the pathogenesis of HBV and its role in the development of HCC.