Stability and Shape of Hepatitis B Virus Capsids In Vacuo

摘要

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of liver disease in humans and its non-infectious capsid is of interest for nanotechnology, including for drug-delivery applications. A precise biophysical characterization of these particles is of importance not only for these applications, but also because it may provide further insight into the replication cycle and assembly pathway of the virus, and thus contribute to the future development of drugs. The HBV capsid protein (cp) forms icosahedral capsids of two sizes in vivo and in vitro (with triangulation numbers of T= 3 and T= 4 that contain 180 and 240 subunits, respectively).