Applications of CRISPR/Cas As a Toolbox for Hepatitis B Virus Detection and Therapeutics

Overview

Journal Viruses

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2024 Oct 26

PMID 39459899

Authors

Anuj Kumar

Emmanuel Combe

Lea Mougene

Fabien Zoulim

Barbara Testoni

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant global health challenge, leading to chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and integrated HBV DNA are pivotal in maintaining viral persistence. Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas technology offer innovative strategies to inhibit HBV by directly targeting both cccDNA and integrated HBV DNA or indirectly by degrading HBV RNAs or targeting host proteins. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in using CRISPR/Cas to inhibit HBV, with a special highlight on newer non-double-strand (non-DSB) break approaches. Beyond the canonical use of CRISPR/Cas for target inhibition, we discuss additional applications, including HBV diagnosis and developing models to understand cccDNA biology, highlighting the diverse use of this technology in the HBV field.

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