FIG. 3.

DHBV is not cleared from the livers of experimentally infected ducklings after l-FMAU withdrawal. (A) Analysis of intrahepatic viral DNA. A preparation of enriched protein-bound viral DNAs, extracted from the livers of experimentally infected birds, was subjected to Southern blot analysis 16 days after the cessation of therapy. Liver samples from three control animals, four animals that received l-FMAU for 8 days, and four animals that were treated for 5 days were available for analysis. The positions of relaxed circular (RC), linear (L), CCC, and single-stranded (SS) DNAs are indicated, as are the therapeutic protocols (controls, oral administration of l-FMAU for 5 or 8 days). (B) Analysis of intrahepatic viral proteins. Viral core proteins were analyzed by Western blotting of the same liver samples, as described in Material and Methods. MW, molecular mass.