Figure 1.

An overview of the HBV lifecycle. The enveloped DNA virus enters hepatocytes via an as yet unknown receptor, followed by disassembly of nucleocapsid. The partially double-stranded DNA genome is delivered to the nucleus and converted to cccDNA, which serves as the template for viral mRNA transcription. The mRNAs are transported to the cytoplasm for protein synthesis. The pgRNA is packaged together with the P protein into the nucleocapsid assembled from the core protein, followed by sequential synthesis of minus- and plus-strand DNA. The nucleocapsids are then enveloped and secreted as virions.