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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2014; 20(33): 11650-11670
Published online Sep 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i33.11650
Phage display creates innovative applications to combat hepatitis B virus
Wen Siang Tan, Kok Lian Ho
Wen Siang Tan, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Kok Lian Ho, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Author contributions: Tan WS reviewed the literature and wrote the paper; Ho KL wrote part of the paper and revised the content.
Correspondence to: Wen Siang Tan, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. wstan@upm.edu.my
Telephone: +60-3-89466715 Fax: +60-3-89430913
Received: October 25, 2013
Revised: February 28, 2014
Accepted: April 30, 2014
Published online: September 7, 2014
Processing time: 317 Days and 1.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) poses a major health problem worldwide and currently there is no effective treatment for HBV infection. Treatments of patients with nucleoside analogues have resulted in the selection of vaccine escape and drug resistant mutants. Most frightening, HBV is now linking arms with human immunodeficiency virus to threaten the world. Phage display has been employed extensively to solve these life-threatening problems. This article reviews critically the innovative applications of phage display in epitope mapping and the development of vaccines, therapeutic agents, diagnostic reagents, as well as gene and drug delivery systems.