Hepatitis B Surface Antigen: A Pivotal Role in the Virus–Host Interactions

Dear Colleagues,

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the surface antigen encoded by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), is the main component of the viral envelope of HBV but also of its occasional satellite virus, the  Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV). These two human viruses cause chronic infection of the liver, which may lead to severe liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The elimination of HBsAg from the blood circulation becomes a main goal for achieving a long-term functional cure in patients.

HBsAg is produced from a single open reading frame that gives rise to three different isoforms that differ in their N-terminal ends, namely, the small (S-HBsAg), the medium (M-HBsAg), and the large (L-HBsAg). In chronically infected individuals, HBsAg is mostly found as part of non-infectious subviral particles (SVPs) composed almost exclusively of S-HBsAg that are in large excess over the infectious HBV virion (Dane particles). Infectious HBV and HDV virions contain the three HBsAg isoforms, where S-HBsAg drives virions morphogenesis and L-HBsAg is essential for the recruitment of the HBV capsid as well as for viral entry into hepatocytes through its direct interaction with the sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) receptor.

In this Special Issue, we welcome any novel works regarding HBsAg translation, maturation, intracellular trafficking, SVP and Dane particle formation and secretion, meaningful HBsAg–host protein interaction, and its involvement in cell entry.

Dr. Patrick Labonte
Dr. Matthieu Blanchet
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• hepatitis B surface antigen
• HBsAg
• HBV
• HDV