Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has become one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma globally. The discovery of sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP), a solute carrier, as a key receptor for HBV and hepatitis D virus (HDV) has opened new avenues for HBV treatment. Additionally, it has led researchers to generate hepatoma cell lines (including HepG2-NTCP and Huh-7-NTCP) susceptible to HBV infection in vitro, hence, paving the way to develop and efficiently screen new and novel anti-HBV drugs. This review summarizes the history, function and critical findings regarding NTCP as a viral receptor for HBV/HDV, and it also discusses recently developed drugs targeting NTCP.
Highlights
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a health issue globally
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) structural protein E2 does not bind to Na+ -taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP), bile acids transported via NTCP suppress the expression of antiviral interferonstimulated genes (ISGs), resulting in increased HCV infectivity
Bile acids induce the inhibition of NTCP transcription via activation of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a bile acid-activated nuclear receptor
Summary
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a health issue globally. According to the World Hepatitis Summit in 2017, more than 240 million people suffer from chronic hepatitis B or C infection globally. Nucleoside analogs inhibit HBV replication mainly through inhibiting the reverse transcription process of the viral lifecycle. These two kinds of drugs are effective in inhibiting HBV replication, their side effects cannot be underestimated. NTCP mediates HBV and HDV entry into hepatocytes [5] This momentous discovery accelerated the development of anti-HBV/HDV drugs. There has been a surge in research focusing on NTCP as a drug target to inhibit HBV and HCV infections. This review summarizes the research history, functions, expression, and drug development of NTCP. It sheds light on anti-HBV drugs that target NTCP
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