Hepatitis B virus surface open reading frame mRNA transcript (HBV S mRNA) (HBV S mRNA)

The Hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface (S) open reading frame (ORF) mRNA transcript is a critical genetic element of the HBV genome responsible for encoding the three viral surface proteins: Large (L), Middle (M), and Small (S) HBsAg (NCBI, 2023) [3]. These proteins are essential for the formation of the viral envelope and the assembly of infectious virions, as well as the production of non-infectious subviral particles that circulate in the blood (Journal of Hepatology, 2022) [4]. High levels of circulating HBsAg are believed to act as an immune decoy, leading to T-cell exhaustion and the persistence of chronic infection. Therapeutic agents such as antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are designed to bind specifically to these mRNA transcripts, triggering their degradation and subsequently reducing the production of HBsAg (Yuen et al., 2021) [1]. By lowering the viral protein burden, these therapies aim to restore the host's immune response, potentially leading to a functional cure characterized by sustained HBsAg loss (Gane et al., 2020) [2]. This target is central to modern drug development efforts aimed at moving beyond lifelong nucleos(t)ide analogue suppression toward definitive viral clearance.

Other names

HBV S-mRNAHBsAg mRNAHepatitis B virus S ORF transcriptHBV surface antigen mRNAHepatitis B virus surface mRNA

Degradation of viral mRNA via RNA interference (RNAi) or RNase H-mediated cleavage by antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), leading to reduced translation of viral surface antigens (Yuen et al., 2021; Gane et al., 2020) [1, 2].