Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
hepatitis B virus, HBV, liver disease, three-dimensional modeling
College
Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Abstract
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a pathogen that causes liver disease and death in over one million individuals per year. It is an enveloped retrovirus that is composed of a protein capsid surrounding a nucleic acid core. This nucleic acid core, depending upon the maturation state of the virus, consists of either RNA or DNA. The protein capsid of HBV is composed of four quasiequivalent subunits (subunits that have identical polypeptide (amino acid) sequences but slightly different tertiary structures). Each subunit forms an alpha-helical hairpin structure and dimerizes with another subunit. The result is the appearance of spikes on the surface of the viral capsid. 1
Recommended Citation
Baum, Rebecca and Belnap, Dr. David M.
(2013)
"Three-Dimensional Modeling of Two Forms of the Hepatitis B Virus,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013:
Iss.
1, Article 2561.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/2561