To explore the presence of distinct viral infection events in individual hepatocytes using single-cell sequencing.
Used single-cell sequencing to analyze hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in hepatocytes.
Identified transcriptionally active cccDNA molecules within hepatocytes.
Demonstrated that individual hepatocytes may contain multiple active HBV cccDNA.
Findings support the occurrence of superinfection in hepatocytes with distinct infection backgrounds.
Abstract
Taken together, our findings demonstrate that individual hepatocytes may harbor multiple, transcriptionally active HBV cccDNA molecules, which likely arose from distinct infection events.