Hepatocytes traffic and export hepatitis B virus basolaterally by polarity-dependent mechanisms.

Viruses commonly utilize the cellular trafficking machinery of polarized cells to effect viral export. Hepatocytes are polarized in vivo, but most in vitro hepatocyte models are either nonpolarized or have morphology unsuitable for the study of viral export. Here, we investigate the mechanisms of trafficking and export for the hepadnaviruses hepatitis B virus (HBV) and duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) in polarized hepatocyte-derived cell lines and primary duck hepatocytes.

Vectorial entry and release of hepatitis A virus in polarized human hepatocytes.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an enterically transmitted virus that replicates predominantly in hepatocytes within the liver before excretion via bile through feces. Hepatocytes are polarized epithelial cells, and it has been assumed that the virus load in bile results from direct export of HAV via the apical domain of polarized hepatocytes. We have developed a subclone of hepatocyte-derived HepG2 cells (clone N6) that maintains functional characteristics of polarized hepatocytes but displays morphology typical of columnar epithelial cells, rather than the complex morphology that is typical of hepatocytes.

Relationship of body size, body image, and self-esteem in African American, European American, and Mexican American middle-class women.

In this study we examined the influence of ethnicity on weight, body image, and self-esteem among adult women while controlling for socioeconomic status (SES). Fifty women of African American (AA), European American (EA), and Mexican American (MA) descent completed interviews and questionnaires related to body size and self-esteem, and were measured for weight and height. AA women were significantly heavier than EA women, but MA women did not differ materially from either grouping.

Normal phosphorylation of duck hepatitis B virus L protein is dispensable for infectivity.

A fraction of the large surface protein (L) of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) is phosphorylated at serine or threonine residues (E. Grgacic & D. Anderson, Journal of Virology 68, 7344-7350, 1994).