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World J Gastroenterol. Mar 21, 2014; 20(11): 2971-2978
Published online Mar 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i11.2971
Host RNA circles and the origin of hepatitis delta virus
John M Taylor
John M Taylor, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States
Author contributions: Taylor JM contributed solely to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: John M Taylor, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States. john.taylor@fccc.edu
Telephone: +1-215-3798622 Fax: +1-215-7282412
Received: November 12, 2013
Revised: December 20, 2013
Accepted: February 20, 2014
Published online: March 21, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: This article includes an evaluation of the hypothesis that in hepatocytes of patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus, some viral RNA sequences can form small RNA circles, leading to the chance selection of one circle that becomes the progenitor of hepatitis delta virus.