Investigating the effect of hepatitis B virus splice variants in liver cells and disease progression

Summary This Honours project will investigate how splice variants affect liver cells following infection of primary and transformed hepatocytes.

Project Details

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most important human pathogens, infecting 257 million people worldwide, including 239,000 Australians. We have previously shown that naturally occurring splice variants of HBV are associated with liver cancer, the 5th most prevalent cancer worldwide, and that splice variants are more diverse than previously appreciated. Although the biological impact(s) of splice variants on liver cells is unclear, we have shown that while splice variants production can be abolished by gene mutations, their replication and infection competence are conserved. Building on these observations, this Honours project will investigate how splice variants affect liver cells following infection of primary and transformed hepatocytes. Techniques utilised will include cell culture, real time PCR/digital PCR, southern, northern and western blotting, quantitative serology, RNA sequencing and basic bioinformatics analysis. This project will make a major contribution to our understanding of the role of HBV splice variants in liver cells and disease progression.