HEPATITIS B VIRUS INTERACTS WITH CELLULAR DNA REPAIR PROCESSES

摘要

A method of treating viral disease in an animal or human, comprising the step of interfering with the interaction of the viral protein with a DNA repair complex in the animal or human to be treated. Specific examples include inhibition of the interaction of the X protein from HBV and the XAP-1 protein of the DNA repair complex. The method can also be used for the treatment of cancer secondary to viral infection. Also, there is a nucleic acid sequence encoding the XAP-1 protein and the amino acid sequence of the XAP-1 protein. Antibodies to the protein can be used for diagnostic purposes and the XAP-1 gene can be used as the object of screening assays to detect genetic alterations.