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Fletcher SP, Chin DJ, Cheng DT, Ravindran P, Bitter H, Gruenbaum L, Cote PJ, Ma H, Klumpp K, Menne S. Identification of an intrahepatic transcriptional signature associated with self-limiting infection in the woodchuck model of hepatitis B. Hepatology 2013; 57:13-22. [PMID: 22806943 PMCID: PMC3525799 DOI: 10.1002/hep.25954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2012] [Accepted: 06/30/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The woodchuck model of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection displays many characteristics of human infection and has particular value for characterizing the host immune responses during the development of chronic infection. Using the newly developed custom woodchuck microarray platform, we compared the intrahepatic transcriptional profiles of neonatal woodchucks with self-limiting woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) infection to those woodchucks progressing to persistent WHV infection. This revealed that WHV does not induce significant intrahepatic gene expression changes during the early-acute stage of infection (8 weeks), suggesting it is a stealth virus. At the mid-acute phase of infection (14 weeks), resolution was associated with induction of a prominent cytotoxic T-cell signature. Strikingly, this was accompanied by high-level expression of PD-1 and various other inhibitory T-cell receptors, which likely act to minimize liver damage by cytotoxic T cells during viral clearance. In contrast to the expression of perforin and other cytotoxic effector genes, the interferon-γ (IFN-γ) signaling response in the mid-acute phase was comparable to that in chronically infected adult animals. The absence of a strong IFN-α/β transcriptional response indicated that type I IFN is not a critical mediator of self-limiting infection. Nevertheless, a number of antiviral genes, including viperin, were differentially expressed during resolving infection, suggesting that a subset of IFN-stimulated genes (ISG) may play a role in the control of WHV replication. CONCLUSION We identified new immune pathways associated with the clearance of hepadnavirus infection revealing novel molecular targets with potential for the therapeutic treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon P. Fletcher
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Daniel J. Chin
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Donavan T. Cheng
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | | | - Hans Bitter
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Lore Gruenbaum
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Paul J. Cote
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical-Dental Building, 3900 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Han Ma
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Klaus Klumpp
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Stephan Menne
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical-Dental Building, 3900 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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Fletcher SP, Chin DJ, Ji Y, Iniguez AL, Taillon B, Swinney DC, Ravindran P, Cheng DT, Bitter H, Lopatin U, Ma H, Klumpp K, Menne S. Transcriptomic analysis of the woodchuck model of chronic hepatitis B. Hepatology 2012; 56:820-30. [PMID: 22431061 PMCID: PMC3401284 DOI: 10.1002/hep.25730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2012] [Accepted: 03/06/2012] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The Eastern woodchuck (Marmota monax) is naturally infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV), a hepadnavirus closely related to the human hepatitis B virus (HBV). The woodchuck is used as an animal model for studying chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in humans, but the lack of sequence information has hitherto precluded functional genomics analysis. To address this major limitation of the model, we report here the sequencing, assembly, and annotation of the woodchuck transcriptome, together with the generation of custom woodchuck microarrays. Using this new platform, we characterized the transcriptional response to persistent WHV infection and WHV-induced HCC. This revealed that chronic WHV infection, like HBV, is associated with (1) a limited intrahepatic type I interferon response; (2) intrahepatic induction of markers associated with T cell exhaustion; (3) elevated levels of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) in the liver; and (4) intrahepatic accumulation of neutrophils. Underscoring the translational value of the woodchuck model, this study also determined that WHV-induced HCC shares molecular characteristics with a subtype of human HCC with poor prognosis. CONCLUSION Our data establish the translational value of the woodchuck model and provide new insight into immune pathways which may play a role either in the persistence of HBV infection or the sequelae of CHB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon P. Fletcher
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Daniel J. Chin
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Yongmei Ji
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | | | - Bruce Taillon
- 454 Life Sciences, A Roche Company, 1 Commercial Street, Branford, CT 06457, USA
| | - David C. Swinney
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | | | - Donavan T. Cheng
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Hans Bitter
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Uri Lopatin
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Han Ma
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Klaus Klumpp
- Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, NJ 07006, USA
| | - Stephan Menne
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical-Dental Building, Room C 301, 3900 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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