Table 2.
Animal Models of Chronic HBV Infection
| Immune response |
Preclinical studies |
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptive immunity |
Pathogenesis |
|||||||||||
| HBV infection |
B cell |
T cell |
||||||||||
| Animal | System | cccDNA | Infectability | Persistence | Innate immunity |
Seroconversion to HBeAg and HBsAg seroconversion |
Tolerance and clearance |
Hepatitis | Cirrhosis | HCC | Antiviral | Immune modulator |
| Transgenic mice | Expression of HBV transgenes | − | − | + | − | −/− | Tolerance | − | − | +/− | + | + |
| Expression of human NTCP | − | +/− | − | − | −/− | NA | − | − | − | − | − | |
| Transfected mice | Hydro-dynamic injection | − | − | +/− | + | +/+ or +/− | Tolerance and clearance | − | − | − | + | + |
| AAV injection | − | − | + | + | −/− | Tolerance | − | − | + | + | + | |
| AdV injection | − | − | +/− (dose–dependent) | + | −/− or +/+ | Tolerance or clearance | − | − | − | + | + | |
| Mice with humanized liver | human hepatocytes | + | + | + | +/− | −/− | tolerance | + | − | − | + | − |
| Human hepatocytes and human hematopoietic cells | + | + | + | + | −/− | Tolerance | + | + | − | + | + | |
| Other animals | Woodchuck | + | + | + | − | +/+ | Tolerance and age-dependence | + | + | + | + | + |
| Tupaia | + | + | +/− | +/− | +/− | Tolerance and clearance | +/− | +/− | +/− | ? | ? | |
| Macaque | +/− | +/− | +/− | − | −/− | Tolerance | − | − | − | − | − | |
| Macaque expressing human NTCP transgene | + | + | + | + | +/+ | Tolerance and clearance | ? | ? | − | ? | ? | |
NOTE. +/– signs indicate the presence/absence or occurrence/non-occurrence of the corresponding characteristics, whereas question marks (?) indicate the status of the specific characteristics are currently not sure unclear.
AAV, adeno-associated virus; NA, not applicable.