Elucidation of HBV life cycle and Drug Development Research (Shimotohno Group)
The goal of this group is to elucidate the details of the HBV life cycle, which is still not well understood. Based on the information, we pursue the goal to develop both a methods to block persistent HBV infections and a chemical compounds exhibiting novel anti-HBV activity which is different from polymerase inhibitor. More specifically, we are conducting research such as: 1) analyzing the mechanisms that HBV avoids the natural immune system of the host; 2) analyzing the mechanisms HBV invades target cells, and developing drugs to block the invasion; 3) discovering host factors controlling HBV infection and replication; 4) discovering the mechanisms that HBV cccDNA is maintained in infected cells, and developing drugs to inhibit those processes; and 5) developing neutralizing antibodies against cell surface proteins to block HBV infection. These research projects will enhance the improvement of HBV reporter system we developed, which is capable of easily identifying and quantitating HBV infection and HBV cccDNA synthesis.
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