Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 1983 · 167 citations · 32 references
Life SciencesInfectious DiseasesMolecular BiologyHepatologyMolecular VirologyVirologyHepatic PathologyLiver DiseaseViral GeneticsViral HepatitisViral InfectionsViral PathologyChronic Viral HepatitisDna In Situ HybridizationHepatic Viral InfectionsViral Dissemination Within HostsViral Hepatitis Pathogenesis
A radiolabeled probe specific for hepatitis B virus (HBV) nucleotide sequences was hybridized in situ to liver tissue from three patients with chronic hepatitis B. The HBV genome was detected not only in infected hepatocytes but also in bile duct epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. These findings extend the known host cell range for HBV, suggest new mechanisms of viral dissemination, and illustrate the usefulness of in situ hybridization in the study of pathogenesis of HBV infection.
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