©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Feb 27, 2015; 7(2): 150-164
Published online Feb 27, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i2.150
Published online Feb 27, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i2.150
Gene therapeutic approaches to inhibit hepatitis B virus replication
Maren Gebbing, Thorsten Bergmann, Eric Schulz, Anja Ehrhardt, Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Department of Human Medicine, Faculty of Health, University Witten/Herdecke, 58453 Witten, Germany
Author contributions: Gebbing M mainly contributed to this review; Bergmann T and Schulz E equally contributed to this work; Ehrhardt A contributed to and finalized this review.
Supported by The Else-Kröner-Fresenius-Foundation (EKFS) and the UWH Forschungsförderung.
Correspondence to: Anja Ehrhardt, PhD, Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Department of Human Medicine, Faculty of Health, University Witten/Herdecke, Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50, 58453 Witten, Germany. anja.ehrhardt@uni-wh.de
Telephone: +49-2302-926273 Fax: +49-2302-92644278
Received: August 27, 2014
Peer-review started: August 29, 2014
First decision: October 14, 2014
Revised: October 23, 2014
Accepted: November 17, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 27, 2015
Processing time: 169 Days and 16.3 Hours
Peer-review started: August 29, 2014
First decision: October 14, 2014
Revised: October 23, 2014
Accepted: November 17, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 27, 2015
Processing time: 169 Days and 16.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: With various successful clinical trials ongoing, gene therapeutic approaches gained increasing attention in the community over the recent years. Here we introduce gene therapy as a versatile platform for treatment of hepatitis B (HBV) virus infection. Newest delivery methods based on non-viral and viral techniques combined with most advanced technologies for inhibition of HBV replication based on DNA, RNA and designer nucleases are discussed. An overview of various gene therapeutic systems which were explored in vitro and in vivo is provided. Advantages but also limitations of the different strategies to inhibit HBV replication are mentioned.