{
  "abstract": "During the life cycle of hepatitis B virus (HBV), the large envelope protein (L) plays a pivotal role. Indeed, this polypeptide is essential for viral assembly and probably for the infection process. By performing mutagenesis experiments, we have previously excluded a putative involvement of the pre-S2 domain of the L protein in viral infectivity. In the present study, we have evaluated the role of the pre-S1 region in HBV infection. For this purpose, 21 mutants of the L protein were created. The entire pre-S1 domain was covered by contiguous deletions of 5 amino acids. First, after transfection into HepG2 cells, the efficient expression of both glycosylated and unglycosylated L mutant proteins was verified. The secretion rate of envelope proteins was modified positively or negatively by deletions, indicating that the pre-S1 domain contains several regulating sequences able to influence the surface protein secretion. The ability of mutant proteins to support the production of virions was then studied. Only the four C-terminal deletions, covering the 17 amino acids suspected to interact with the cytoplasmic nucleocapsids, inhibited virion release. Finally, the presence of the modified pre-S1 domain at the external side of all secreted virions was confirmed, and their infectivity was assayed on normal human hepatocytes in primary culture. Only a short sequence including amino acids 78 to 87 tolerates internal deletions without affecting viral infectivity. These results confirm the involvement of the L protein in the infection step and demonstrate that the sequence between amino acids 3 and 77 is involved in this process.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "J. Le Seyec"
    },
    {
      "name": "Philippe Chouteau"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. Cannie"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Guguen-Guillouzo"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Gripon"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8rhjq1jab0dpw.bib",
  "cited_by": 215,
  "doi": "10.1128/jvi.73.3.2052-2057.1999",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8rhjq1jab0dpw",
  "issns": [
    "0022-538X",
    "1098-5514"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05670828v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.sdv"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Hepatitis B Virus Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W2134653235",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05670828/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-24",
  "publisher": "American Society for Microbiology",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8rhjq1jab0dpw.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05670828",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05670828v1"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:50Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05784484",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05784484v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2713|Hepatitis B Virus Studies",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Infection Process of the Hepatitis B Virus Depends on the Presence of a Defined Sequence in the Pre-S1 Domain",
  "title_text": "Infection Process of the Hepatitis B Virus Depends on the Presence of a Defined Sequence in the Pre-S1 Domain",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8rhjq1jab0dpw",
  "venue": "Journal of Virology",
  "versions": []
}