This study identifies that genetic accessibility, not superior fitness, determines the selection of anti-HBs antibody escape variants in patients using in vivo screening.

bioRxiv · Oct 8, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology

The HBV basal core promoter mutation confers a replicative advantage and transcriptionally reprograms hepatocytes toward HCC subtypes

Leon Louis Seifert, Georgios Dangas, Hoyin Chu, Yingpu Yu, Kosuke Ogata, Xupeng Hong, Mengyin Zhang, Yichen Zhou, Chenhui Zou, Alireza Ramandi, Corrine Quirk, Evgenia Moschogianni, Catherine A. Freije, Antonis Athanasiadis, Leonardo Gonzales, , Ype P. de Jong

This study shows that HBV BCP mutations enhance viral replication and alter hepatocyte transcription, linking to specific HCC subtypes.

bioRxiv · Sep 23, 2026 · PreprintMolecular Biology

Orthogonal CRISPR screens and human liver chimeric mice identify hepatitis B virus host factors

Catherine A. Freije, Georgios Dangas, Antonis Athanasiadis, Evgenia Moschogianni, Madeleine K Sanders, Allan Henrique Depieri Cataneo, Chloe K. Boehm, Maria Bousali, Dar-Yin Li, Sooyoung Lee, Guillaume Cornelis, Gary Lo, Leah B. Soriaga, Amalio Telenti, Julia di Iulio, , Eleftherios Michailidis

The paper identifies HBV host factors using CRISPR screens and human liver chimeric mice, finding that EXOC1 is antiviral and ZCCHC14 is proviral.

bioRxiv · Jul 24, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology

An immunocompetent murine model of virus-elicited liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma

Mariana Nogueira Batista, Juliano Bordignon, Ana Luiza Pamplona Mosimann, Tesia Bobrowski, Hsuan-An Chen, Gabriel Tobin-Xet, Erika A. Barrall, Nataliya Prokhnevska, Abishek Balachandra Vaidya, Tyler Lewy, Kenneth H. Dinnon, Leon Louis Seifert, Briana Zeck, Corrine Quirk, Yu-Jui Ho, , Charles M. Rice

This study develops an immunocompetent mouse model of virus-induced liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma using Norway rat hepacivirus.

Journal of Hepatology · Mar 11, 2026Peer-reviewedPathology