Trans-complementation among naturally occurring deletion mutants of hepatitis B virus and integrated viral DNA for the production of viral particles with mutant genomes in hepatoma cell lines Okamoto, Hiroaki and Wang, Yu and Tanaka, Takeshi and Machida, Atsuhiko and Miyakawa, Yuzo and Mayumi, Makoto,, 74, 407-414 (1993), doi = https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-74-3-407, publicationName = Microbiology Society, issn = 0022-1317, abstract= Cultured hepatoma cells (HepG2) were cotransfected with two different plasmids carrying a head-to-tail dimer of recombinant hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA cloned from deletion mutants isolated from the circulation of persistently infected hosts. They were tested for the secretion of viral particles with mutant genome encapsidation. A recombinant plasmid defective in the S gene and one defective in both the C and P genes complemented in trans for the production of viral particles. Mutant genomes from either of the recombinants were encapsidated. Similarly, a recombinant defective in the C gene and another defective in the P gene trans-complemented for the production of viral particles containing mutant genomes. A hepatoma cell line with integrated HBV DNA sequences defective in the C and P genes (PLC/PRF/5) when transfected with a recombinant defective in the S gene produced viral particles with the HBV genome from the transfecting recombinants. These results confirm the expected trans-complementation among the S, C and P genes of HBV, when either episomal or integrated into chromosomes, for the maintenance of defective HBV mutants in persistently infected hosts., language=, type=