Investigation of a two-patch within-host model of hepatitis B viral infection

TL;DR

This study develops and analyzes two mathematical models of hepatitis B virus infection within the liver, examining how liver structure, immune response, and virus movement influence infection outcomes and informing potential treatment strategies.

Contribution

The paper introduces two novel within-host models of HBV infection considering reversible and irreversible patch movement, providing insights into virus dynamics and intervention points.

Findings

Cell susceptibility and movement rate significantly affect HBV spread.

Immune response impacts viral clearance and localization.

Models identify conditions for systemic infection versus clearance.

Abstract

Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) can lead to formation of abnormal nodular structures within the liver. To address how changes in liver anatomy affect overall virus-host dynamics, we developed within-host ordinary differential equation models of two-patch hepatitis B infection, one that assumes irreversible and one that assumes reversible movement between nodular structures. We investigated the models analytically and numerically, and determined the contribution of patch susceptibility, immune responses, and virus movement on within-patch and whole-liver virus dynamics. We explored the structural and practical identifiability of the models by implementing a differential algebra approach and the Monte Carlo approach for a specific HBV data set. We determined conditions for viral clearance, viral localization, and systemic viral infection. Our study suggests that cell susceptibility to infection within modular structures, the movement rate between patches, and the immune-mediated infected cell killing have the most influence on HBV dynamics. Our results can help inform intervention strategies.