Development of a CRE/CREB-driven HBx responsive HBV cell culture reporter system for antiviral drug evaluation

The HBx-responsive vCRE-nLuc reporter system provides a sensitive and scalable platform to monitor HBV infection and evaluate antiviral compounds targeting HBx function. Its ability to detect HBx activity from both laboratory and clinical HBV isolates underscore its translational relevance. By enabling selective screening of HBx-targeting agents, this system may advance efforts to silence covalently closed circular DNA and accelerate the development of curative therapies for chronic hepatitis B.