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Zeng W, Zheng L, Li Y, Yang J, Mao T, Zhang J, Liu Y, Ning J, Zhang T, Huang H, Chen X, Lu F. Engineered extracellular vesicles for delivering functional Cas9/gRNA to eliminate hepatitis B virus cccDNA and integration. Emerg Microbes Infect 2024; 13:2284286. [PMID: 37982370 PMCID: PMC10763861 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2284286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
The persistence of HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and HBV integration into the host genome in infected hepatocytes pose significant challenges to the cure of chronic HBV infection. Although CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing shows promise for targeted clearance of viral genomes, a safe and efficient delivery method is currently lacking. Here, we developed a novel approach by combining light-induced heterodimerization and protein acylation to enhance the loading efficiency of Cas9 protein into extracellular vesicles (EVs). Moreover, vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein (VSV-G) was incorporated onto the EVs membrane, significantly facilitating the endosomal escape of Cas9 protein and increasing its gene editing activity in recipient cells. Our results demonstrated that engineered EVs containing Cas9/gRNA and VSV-G can effectively reduce viral antigens and cccDNA levels in the HBV-replicating and infected cell models. Notably, we also confirmed the antiviral activity and high safety of the engineered EVs in the HBV-replicating mouse model generated by hydrodynamic injection and the HBV transgenic mouse model. In conclusion, engineered EVs could successfully mediate functional CRISPR/Cas9 delivery both in vitro and in vivo, leading to the clearance of episomal cccDNA and integrated viral DNA fragments, and providing a novel therapeutic approach for curing chronic HBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanjia Zeng
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Liwei Zheng
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yukun Li
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Yang
- School of Medicine, Shihezi University, Shihezi, People’s Republic of China
| | - Tianhao Mao
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanna Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Ning
- Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Upper Gastrointestinal Diseases, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongxin Huang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Biosecurity, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiangmei Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fengmin Lu
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
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Su X, Wang Z, Li J, Gao S, Fan Y, Wang K. Hypermethylation of the glutathione peroxidase 4 gene promoter is associated with the occurrence of immune tolerance phase in chronic hepatitis B. Virol J 2024; 21:72. [PMID: 38515187 PMCID: PMC10958902 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-024-02346-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a public health problem that seriously threatens human health. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4) in the occurrence and development of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS A total of 169 participants including 137 patients with CHB and 32 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. We detected the expression of GPX4 and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The methylation level of GPX4 gene promoter in PBMCs was detected by TaqMan probe-based quantitative methylation-specific PCR (MethyLight). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the serum levels of GPX4, IFN-β, oxidative stress (OS) related molecules, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. RESULTS The expression levels of GPX4 in PBMCs and serum of CHB patients were lower than those of HCs, but the methylation levels of GPX4 promoter were higher than those of HCs, especially in patients at the immune tolerance phase. STING mRNA expression levels in PBMCs and serum IFN-β levels of patients at the immune activation phase and reactivation phase of CHB were higher than those at other clinical phases of CHB and HCs. GPX4 mRNA expression level and methylation level in PBMCs from patients with CHB had a certain correlation with STING and IFN-β expression levels. In addition, the methylation level of the GPX4 promoter in PBMCs from patients with CHB was correlated with molecules associated with OS and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS GPX4 may play an important role in the pathogenesis and immune tolerance of CHB, which may provide new ideas for the functional cure of CHB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Su
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107#, 250012, Jinan City, Shandong Province, China
| | - Zhaohui Wang
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107#, 250012, Jinan City, Shandong Province, China
| | - Jihui Li
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107#, 250012, Jinan City, Shandong Province, China
| | - Shuai Gao
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107#, 250012, Jinan City, Shandong Province, China
- Hepatology Institute of Shandong University, 250012, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Yuchen Fan
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107#, 250012, Jinan City, Shandong Province, China
- Hepatology Institute of Shandong University, 250012, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Kai Wang
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107#, 250012, Jinan City, Shandong Province, China.
- Hepatology Institute of Shandong University, 250012, Jinan, Shandong, China.
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Kusunoki H, Sakamoto T, Kobayashi N, Kohno T, Wakamatsu K, Nagata T. Structural Insights into the Interaction between the C-Terminal-Deleted BH3-like Motif Peptide of Hepatitis B Virus X Protein and Bcl-x L. Biochemistry 2024; 63:632-643. [PMID: 38377677 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) plays a crucial role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The full-length HBx protein interacts with Bcl-xL and is involved in the HBV replication and cell death processes. The three hydrophobic residues Trp120, Leu123, and Ile127 of the HBx BH3-like motif are essential for the Bcl-xL-binding. On the other hand, various lengths of C-terminal-truncated HBx mutants are frequently detected in HCC tissues, and these mutants, rather than the full-length HBx, appear to be responsible for HCC development. Notably, the region spanning residues 1-120 of HBx [HBx(1 and 120)] has been strongly associated with an increased risk of HCC development. However, the mode of interaction between HBx(1-120) and Bcl-xL remains unclear. HBx(1-120) possesses only Trp120 among the three hydrophobic residues essential for the Bcl-xL-binding. To elucidate this interaction mode, we employed a C-terminal-deleted HBx BH3-like motif peptide composed of residues 101-120. Here, we present the NMR complex structure of Bcl-xL and HBx(101-120). Our results demonstrate that HBx(101-120) binds to Bcl-xL in a weaker manner. Considering the high expression of Bcl-xL in HCC cells, this weak interaction, in conjunction with the overexpression of Bcl-xL in HCC cells, may potentially contribute to HCC development through the interaction between C-terminal-truncated HBx and Bcl-xL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideki Kusunoki
- Research Center for Biological Products in the Next Generation, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
| | - Taiichi Sakamoto
- Department of Life Science, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan
| | - Naohiro Kobayashi
- Laboratory for Advanced NMR Application and Development, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Kohno
- Department of Medical Informatics, Research and Development Center for Medical Education, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0374, Japan
| | - Kaori Wakamatsu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Graduate School of Engineering, Gunma University, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan
| | - Takashi Nagata
- Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Uji 611-0011, Japan
- Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Uji 611-0011, Japan
- Integrated Research Center for Carbon Negative Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Uji 611-0011, Japan
- Biomass Product Tree Industry-Academia Collaborative Research Laboratory, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Uji 611-0011, Japan
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4
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Fukuoka M, Kodama T, Murai K, Hikita H, Sometani E, Sung J, Shimoda A, Shigeno S, Motooka D, Nishio A, Furuta K, Tatsumi T, Yusa K, Takehara T. Genome-wide loss-of-function genetic screen identifies INSIG2 as the vulnerability of hepatitis B virus-integrated hepatoma cells. Cancer Sci 2024; 115:859-870. [PMID: 38287498 PMCID: PMC10920982 DOI: 10.1111/cas.16070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
There are approximately 250 million people chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) worldwide. Although HBV is often integrated into the host genome and promotes hepatocarcinogenesis, vulnerability of HBV integration in liver cancer cells has not been clarified. The aim of our study is to identify vulnerability factors for HBV-associated hepatocarcinoma. Loss-of-function screening was undertaken in HepG2 and HBV-integrated HepG2.2.15 cells expressing SpCas9 using a pooled genome-wide clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) library. Genes whose guide RNA (gRNA) abundance significantly decreased in HepG2.2.15 cells but not in HepG2 cells were extracted using the MAGeCK algorithm. We identified four genes (BCL2L1, VPS37A, INSIG2, and CFLAR) that showed significant reductions of gRNA abundance and thus potentially involved in the vulnerability of HBV-integrated cancer cells. Among them, siRNA-mediated mRNA inhibition or CRISPR-mediated genetic deletion of INSIG2 significantly impaired cell proliferation in HepG2.2.15 cells but not in HepG2 cells. Its inhibitory effect was alleviated by cotransfection of siRNAs targeting HBV. INSIG2 inhibition suppressed the pathways related to cell cycle and DNA replication, downregulated cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) levels, and delayed the G1 -to-S transition in HepG2.2.15 cells. CDK2 inhibitor suppressed cell cycle progression in HepG2.2.15 cells and INSIG2 inhibition did not suppress cell proliferation in the presence of CDK2 inhibitor. In conclusion, INSIG2 inhibition induced cell cycle arrest in HBV-integrated hepatoma cells in a CDK2-dependent manner, and thus INSIG2 might be a vulnerability factor for HBV-associated liver cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makoto Fukuoka
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Takahiro Kodama
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Kazuhiro Murai
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Hayato Hikita
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Emi Sometani
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Jihyun Sung
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Akiyoshi Shimoda
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Satoshi Shigeno
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Daisuke Motooka
- Genome Information Research Center, Research Institute for Microbial DiseasesOsaka UniversitySuitaJapan
| | - Akira Nishio
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Kunimaro Furuta
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Tomohide Tatsumi
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
| | - Kosuke Yusa
- Stem Cell Genetics, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical SciencesKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Tetsuo Takehara
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOsaka University Graduate School of MedicineSuitaOsakaJapan
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5
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Deng H, Zhong Y, Zhao J, Li X, Luo G, Li H. Serum exosomes from hepatitis B virus-infected patients inhibit glycolysis in Sertoli cells via miR-122-5p/ALDOA axis. Reprod Biol 2024; 24:100845. [PMID: 38159424 DOI: 10.1016/j.repbio.2023.100845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with male infertility. The mechanism includes an increase in chromosomal instability in sperm, which has an adverse effect on sperm viability and function. Sertoli cells (SCs) are vital in spermatogenesis because they use glycolysis to provide energy to germ cells and themselves. HBV infection impairs sperm function. However, whether HBV infection disrupts energy metabolism in SCs remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the role of serum exosomes of HBV-infected patients in SC viability and glycolysis. Serum exosomes were obtained from 30 patients with (HBV+_exo) or without (HBV-_exo) HBV infection using high-speed centrifugation and identified by transmission electron microscopy and western blot analysis. Cell viability is determined by CCK-8 assay. Glycolysis is determined by detecting extracellular acidification rate and ATP levels. miR-122-5p expression levels are detected by quantitative RT-PCR, and a dual-luciferase gene reporter assay confirms the downstream target gene of miR-122-5p. Protein expression is determined by western blot analysis. The results show that HBV+ _exo inhibited cell viability, extracellular acidification rate, and ATP production of SCs. miR-122-5p is highly expressed in HBV+ _exo compared with that in HBV-_exo. Furthermore, HBV+ _exo is efficiently taken up by SCs, whereas miR-122-5p is efficiently transported to SCs. miR-122-5p overexpression downregulates ALDOA expression and inhibits SC viability and glycolysis. However, ALDOA overexpression reverses the effects of miR-122-5p and HBV+ _exo on SC viability and glycolysis. HBV+ _exo may deliver miR-122-5p to target ALDOA and inhibit SC viability and glycolysis, thus providing new therapeutic ideas for treating HBV-associated male infertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Deng
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Women and Children Hospital, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Yucheng Zhong
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Women and Children Hospital, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Jun Zhao
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Women and Children Hospital, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Xiaohang Li
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Women and Children Hospital, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Guoqun Luo
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Women and Children Hospital, Foshan 528000, China.
| | - Huan Li
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Center, Foshan Women and Children Hospital, Foshan 528000, China.
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6
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Harris JM, Magri A, Faria AR, Tsukuda S, Balfe P, Wing PAC, McKeating JA. Oxygen-dependent histone lysine demethylase 4 restricts hepatitis B virus replication. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105724. [PMID: 38325742 PMCID: PMC10914488 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Mammalian cells have evolved strategies to regulate gene expression when oxygen is limited. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) are the major transcriptional regulators of host gene expression. We previously reported that HIFs bind and activate hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA transcription under low oxygen conditions; however, the global cellular response to low oxygen is mediated by a family of oxygenases that work in concert with HIFs. Recent studies have identified a role for chromatin modifiers in sensing cellular oxygen and orchestrating transcriptional responses, but their role in the HBV life cycle is as yet undefined. We demonstrated that histone lysine demethylase 4 (KDM4) can restrict HBV, and pharmacological or oxygen-mediated inhibition of the demethylase increases viral RNAs derived from both episomal and integrated copies of the viral genome. Sequencing studies demonstrated that KDM4 is a major regulator of the hepatic transcriptome, which defines hepatocellular permissivity to HBV infection. We propose a model where HBV exploits cellular oxygen sensors to replicate and persist in the liver. Understanding oxygen-dependent pathways that regulate HBV infection will facilitate the development of physiologically relevant cell-based models that support efficient HBV replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M Harris
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrea Magri
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ana Rita Faria
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Senko Tsukuda
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Peter Balfe
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Peter A C Wing
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Jane A McKeating
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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7
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Matrenec R, Oropeza CE, Dekoven E, Tarnow G, Maienschein-Cline M, Chau CS, Green SJ, McLachlan A. Ten-eleven translocation (Tet) methylcytosine dioxygenase-dependent viral DNA demethylation mediates in vivo hepatitis B virus (HBV) biosynthesis. J Virol 2024; 98:e0172123. [PMID: 38179947 PMCID: PMC10878274 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01721-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver-specific ten-eleven translocation (Tet) methylcytosine dioxygenases 2 and 3 (Tet2 plus Tet3)-deficient hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic mice fail to support viral biosynthesis. The levels of viral transcription and replication intermediates are dramatically reduced. Hepatitis B core antigen is only observed in a very limited number of pericentral hepatocytes in a pattern that is similar to glutamate-ammonia ligase (Glul), a β-catenin target gene. HBV transcript abundance in adult Tet-deficient mice resembles that observed in wild-type neonatal mice. Furthermore, the RNA levels of several β-catenin target genes including Glul, Lhpp, Notun, Oat, Slc1a2, and Tbx3 in Tet-deficient mice were also similar to that observed in wild-type neonatal mice. As HBV transcription is regulated by β-catenin, these findings support the suggestion that neonatal Tet deficiency might limit β-catenin target gene expression, limiting viral biosynthesis. Additionally, HBV transgene DNA displays increased 5-methylcytosine (5mC) frequency at CpG sequences consistent with neonatal Tet deficiency being responsible for decreased developmental viral DNA demethylation mediated by 5mC oxidation to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, a process that might be responsible for the reduction in cellular β-catenin target gene expression and viral transcription and replication.IMPORTANCEChronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes significant worldwide morbidity and mortality. There are no curative therapies available to resolve chronic HBV infections, and the small viral genome limits molecular targets for drug development. An alternative approach to drug development is to target cellular genes essential for HBV biosynthesis. In the liver, ten-eleven translocation (Tet) genes encode cellular enzymes that are not essential for postnatal mouse development but represent essential activities for viral DNA demethylation and transcription. Consequently, Tet inhibitors may potentially be developed into therapeutic agents capable of inducing and/or maintaining HBV covalently closed circular DNA methylation, resulting in transcriptional silencing and the resolution of chronic viral infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Matrenec
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Claudia E Oropeza
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Eddie Dekoven
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Grant Tarnow
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Mark Maienschein-Cline
- Research Informatics Core, Research Resources Center, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Cecilia S Chau
- Genomics and Microbiome Core Facility, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Stefan J Green
- Genomics and Microbiome Core Facility, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Alan McLachlan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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8
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Zheng Y, Wang M, Yin J, Duan Y, Wu C, Xu Z, Bu Y, Wang J, Chen Q, Zhu G, Zhao K, Zhang L, Hua R, Xu Y, Hu X, Cheng X, Xia Y. Hepatitis B virus RNAs co-opt ELAVL1 for stabilization and CRM1-dependent nuclear export. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011999. [PMID: 38306394 PMCID: PMC10866535 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) chronically infects 296 million people worldwide, posing a major global health threat. Export of HBV RNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is indispensable for viral protein translation and genome replication, however the mechanisms regulating this critical process remain largely elusive. Here, we identify a key host factor embryonic lethal, abnormal vision, Drosophila-like 1 (ELAVL1) that binds HBV RNAs and controls their nuclear export. Using an unbiased quantitative proteomics screen, we demonstrate direct binding of ELAVL1 to the HBV pregenomic RNA (pgRNA). ELAVL1 knockdown inhibits HBV RNAs posttranscriptional regulation and suppresses viral replication. Further mechanistic studies reveal ELAVL1 recruits the nuclear export receptor CRM1 through ANP32A and ANP32B to transport HBV RNAs to the cytoplasm via specific AU-rich elements, which can be targeted by a compound CMLD-2. Moreover, ELAVL1 protects HBV RNAs from DIS3+RRP6+ RNA exosome mediated nuclear RNA degradation. Notably, we find HBV core protein is dispensable for HBV RNA-CRM1 interaction and nuclear export. Our results unveil ELAVL1 as a crucial host factor that regulates HBV RNAs stability and trafficking. By orchestrating viral RNA nuclear export, ELAVL1 is indispensable for the HBV life cycle. Our study highlights a virus-host interaction that may be exploited as a new therapeutic target against chronic hepatitis B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingcheng Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Mengfei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiatong Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yurong Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Chuanjian Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zaichao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanan Bu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jingjing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Quan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Guoguo Zhu
- Department of Emergency, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of People’s Liberation Army of China, Wuhan, China
| | - Kaitao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Rong Hua
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiyu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaoming Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Jiangxia Laboratory, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuchen Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Jiangxia Laboratory, Wuhan, China
- Pingyuan Laboratory, Henan, China
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9
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Yip RPH, Kwok DCY, Lai LTF, Ho SM, Wong ICK, Chan CP, Lau WCY, Ngo JCK. SRPK2 Mediates HBV Core Protein Phosphorylation and Capsid Assembly via Docking Interaction. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011978. [PMID: 38324561 PMCID: PMC10878513 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Members of the serine-arginine protein kinase (SRPK) family, SRPK1 and SRPK2, phosphorylate the hepatitis B core protein (Cp) and are crucial for pregenomic RNA encapsidation during viral nucleocapsid assembly. Among them, SRPK2 exhibits higher kinase activity toward Cp. In this study, we identified Cp sites that are phosphorylated by SRPK2 and demonstrated that the kinase utilizes an SRPK-specific docking groove to interact with and regulate the phosphorylation of the C-terminal arginine rich domain of Cp. We determined that direct interaction between the docking groove of SRPK2 and unphosphorylated Cp inhibited premature viral capsid assembly in vitro, whereas the phosphorylation of the viral protein reactivated the process. Pull-down assays together with the new cryo-electron microscopy structure of the HBV capsid in complex with SRPK2 revealed that the kinases decorate the surface of the viral capsid by interacting with the C-terminal domain of Cp, underscoring the importance of the docking interaction in regulating capsid assembly and pregenome packaging. Moreover, SRPK2-knockout in HepG2 cells suppressed Cp phosphorylation, indicating that SRPK2 is an important cellular kinase for HBV life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Pak Hong Yip
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Doris Ching Ying Kwok
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Louis Tung Faat Lai
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Siu-Ming Ho
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- State Key Laboratory of Liver Research (The University of Hong Kong), Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ivan Chun Kit Wong
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chi-Ping Chan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- State Key Laboratory of Liver Research (The University of Hong Kong), Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Wilson Chun Yu Lau
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
- Center for Soybean Research of the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jacky Chi Ki Ngo
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
- Center for Soybean Research of the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
- Center for Novel Biomaterials, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
- Center for Protein Science and Crystallography, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
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10
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Miao LL, Wang JW, Liu HH, Gao S, Fan YC, Wang K. Hypomethylation of glycine dehydrogenase promoter in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is a new diagnostic marker of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2024; 23:35-42. [PMID: 36878837 DOI: 10.1016/j.hbpd.2023.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glycine dehydrogenase (GLDC) plays an important role in the initiation and proliferation of several human cancers. In this study, we aimed to detect the methylation status of GLDC promoter and its diagnostic value for hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC). METHODS We enrolled 197 patients, 111 with HBV-HCC, 51 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and 35 healthy controls (HCs). The methylation status of GLDC promoter in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was identified by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). The mRNA expression was examined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). RESULTS The methylation frequency of the GLDC promoter was significantly lower in HBV-HCC patients (27.0%) compared to that in CHB patients (68.6%) and HCs (74.3%) (P < 0.001). The methylated group had lower alanine aminotransferase level (P = 0.035) and lower rates of tumor node metastasis (TNM) III/IV (P = 0.043) and T3/T4 (P = 0.026). TNM stage was identified to be an independent factor for GLDC promoter methylation. GLDC mRNA levels in CHB patients and HCs were significantly lower than those in HBV-HCC patients (P = 0.022 and P < 0.001, respectively). GLDC mRNA levels were significantly higher in HBV-HCC patients with unmethylated GLDC promoters than those with methylated GLDC promoters (P = 0.003). The diagnostic accuracy of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) combined with GLDC promoter methylation for HBV-HCC was improved compared with that of AFP alone (AUC: 0.782 vs. 0.630, P < 0.001). In addition, GLDC promoter methylation was an independent predictor for overall survival of HBV-HCC patients (P = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS The methylation frequency of GLDC promoter was lower in PBMCs from HBV-HCC patients than that from patients with CHB and HCs. The combination of AFP and GLDC promoter hypomethylation significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy of HBV-HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Li Miao
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China; Experimental Center, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China
| | - Jing-Wen Wang
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Hui-Hui Liu
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Shuai Gao
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Yu-Chen Fan
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China; Institute of Hepatology, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Kai Wang
- Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China; Institute of Hepatology, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
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11
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Tsukuda S, Harris JM, Magri A, Balfe P, Siddiqui A, Wing PA, McKeating JA. The N6-methyladenosine demethylase ALKBH5 regulates the hypoxic HBV transcriptome. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011917. [PMID: 38227578 PMCID: PMC10817175 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B is a global health problem and current treatments only suppress hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, highlighting the need for new curative treatments. Oxygen levels influence HBV replication and we previously reported that hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) activate the basal core promoter (BCP). Here we show that the hypoxic-dependent increase in BCP-derived transcripts is dependent on N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications in the 5' stem loop that regulate RNA half-life. Application of a probe-enriched long-read sequencing method to accurately map the HBV transcriptome showed an increased abundance of pre-genomic RNA under hypoxic conditions. Mapping the transcription start sites of BCP-RNAs identified a role for hypoxia to regulate pre-genomic RNA splicing that is dependent on m6A modification. Bioinformatic analysis of published single cell RNA-seq of murine liver showed an increased expression of the RNA demethylase ALKBH5 in the peri-central low oxygen region. In vitro studies with a human hepatocyte derived HepG2-NTCP cell line showed increased ALKBH5 gene expression under hypoxic conditions and a concomitant reduction in m6A-modified HBV BCP-RNA and host RNAs. Silencing the demethylase reduced the level of BCP-RNAs and host gene (CA9, NDRG1, VEGFA, BNIP3, FUT11, GAP and P4HA1) transcripts and this was mediated via reduced HIFα expression. In summary, our study highlights a previously unrecognized role for ALKBH5 in orchestrating viral and cellular transcriptional responses to low oxygen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Senko Tsukuda
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - James M. Harris
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Magri
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Balfe
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Aleem Siddiqui
- Department of Medicine, University of California, California, United States of America
| | - Peter A.C. Wing
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jane A. McKeating
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Medicine, University of California, California, United States of America
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12
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Kasianchuk N, Dobrowolska K, Harkava S, Bretcan A, Zarębska-Michaluk D, Jaroszewicz J, Flisiak R, Rzymski P. Gene-Editing and RNA Interference in Treating Hepatitis B: A Review. Viruses 2023; 15:2395. [PMID: 38140636 PMCID: PMC10747710 DOI: 10.3390/v15122395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to cause substantial health and economic burdens, and its target of elimination may not be reached in 2030 without further efforts in diagnostics, non-pharmaceutical prevention measures, vaccination, and treatment. Current therapeutic options in chronic HBV, based on interferons and/or nucleos(t)ide analogs, suppress the virus replication but do not eliminate the pathogen and suffer from several constraints. This paper reviews the progress on biotechnological approaches in functional and definitive HBV treatments, including gene-editing tools, i.e., zinc-finger proteins, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and CRISPR/Cas9, as well as therapeutics based on RNA interference. The advantages and challenges of these approaches are also discussed. Although the safety and efficacy of gene-editing tools in HBV therapies are yet to be demonstrated, they show promise for the revitalization of a much-needed advance in the field and offer viral eradication. Particular hopes are related to CRISPR/Cas9; however, therapeutics employing this system are yet to enter the clinical testing phases. In contrast, a number of candidates based on RNA interference, intending to confer a functional cure, have already been introduced to human studies. However, larger and longer trials are required to assess their efficacy and safety. Considering that prevention is always superior to treatment, it is essential to pursue global efforts in HBV vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadiia Kasianchuk
- Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | | | - Sofiia Harkava
- Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Regional Branch in Dnipro, 49000 Dnipro, Ukraine;
| | - Andreea Bretcan
- National College “Ienăchiță Văcărescu”, 130016 Târgoviște, Romania;
| | - Dorota Zarębska-Michaluk
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Allergology, Jan Kochanowski University, 25-317 Kielce, Poland;
| | - Jerzy Jaroszewicz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Bytom, Poland;
| | - Robert Flisiak
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Białystok, 15-540 Białystok, Poland;
| | - Piotr Rzymski
- Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznań, Poland
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13
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Zeng M, Tang Z, Ren L, Wang H, Wang X, Zhu W, Mao X, Li Z, Mo X, Chen J, Han J, Kong D, Ji J, Carr AM, Liu C. Hepatitis B virus infection disrupts homologous recombination in hepatocellular carcinoma by stabilizing resection inhibitor ADRM1. J Clin Invest 2023; 133:e171533. [PMID: 37815873 PMCID: PMC10688980 DOI: 10.1172/jci171533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Many cancers harbor homologous recombination defects (HRDs). A HRD is a therapeutic target that is being successfully utilized in treatment of breast/ovarian cancer via synthetic lethality. However, canonical HRD caused by BRCAness mutations do not prevail in liver cancer. Here we report a subtype of HRD caused by the perturbation of a proteasome variant (CDW19S) in hepatitis B virus-bearing (HBV-bearing) cells. This amalgamate protein complex contained the 19S proteasome decorated with CRL4WDR70 ubiquitin ligase, and assembled at broken chromatin in a PSMD4Rpn10- and ATM-MDC1-RNF8-dependent manner. CDW19S promoted DNA end processing via segregated modules that promote nuclease activities of MRE11 and EXO1. Contrarily, a proteasomal component, ADRM1Rpn13, inhibited resection and was removed by CRL4WDR70-catalyzed ubiquitination upon commitment of extensive resection. HBx interfered with ADRM1Rpn13 degradation, leading to the imposition of ADRM1Rpn13-dependent resection barrier and consequent viral HRD subtype distinguishable from that caused by BRCA1 defect. Finally, we demonstrated that viral HRD in HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma can be exploited to restrict tumor progression. Our work clarifies the underlying mechanism of a virus-induced HRD subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Zeng
- Department of Pediatrics, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Ministry of Education), West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zizhi Tang
- Department of Pediatrics, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Ministry of Education), West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Laifeng Ren
- Department of Immunology, Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Taiyuan, China
| | - Haibin Wang
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Wuhan Children’s Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaojun Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Ministry of Education), West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Wenyuan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaobing Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zeyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xianming Mo
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jun Chen
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection and Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Junhong Han
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Daochun Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jianguo Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Antony M. Carr
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Cong Liu
- Department of Pediatrics, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Ministry of Education), West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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14
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Ramakrishnan K, Babu S, Shaji V, Soman S, Leelamma A, Rehman N, Raju R. Hepatitis B Virus Modulated Transcriptional Regulatory Map of Hepatic Cellular MicroRNAs. OMICS 2023; 27:581-597. [PMID: 38064540 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2023.0171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an enveloped, hepatotropic, noncytopathic virus with a partially double-stranded DNA genome. It infects hepatocytes and is associated with progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, culminating in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), accounting for 55% of total HCC cases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulated by HBV play an important role in these pathologies. Mapping the miRNAs responsive to HBV and HBV-specific proteins, including HBV X protein (HBx) that harbor the majority of HBV-human protein interactions, could aid accelerate the diagnostics and therapeutics innovation against the infection and associated diseases. With this in mind, we used a unique annotation strategy whereby we first amassed 362 mature HBV responsive-human Differentially Expressed miRNAs (HBV-hDEmiRs). The core experimentally-validated messenger RNA targets of the HBV-hDEmiRs were mostly associated with viral infections and hepatic inflammation processes. Moreover, our annotation strategy enabled the characterization of HBx-dependent/independent HBV-hDEmiRs as a tool for evaluation of the impact of HBx as a therapeutic target. Bioinformatics analysis of the HBV-human protein-protein interactome revealed new insights into the transcriptional regulatory network of the HBV-hDEmiRs. We performed a comparative analysis of data on miRNAs gathered from HBV infected cell line studies and from tissue studies of fibrosis, cirrhosis, and HCC. Accordingly, we propose hsa-miR-15a-5p that is downregulated by multiple HBV proteins, including HBx, as a potential biomarker of HBV infection, and its progression to HCC. In all, this study underscores (1) the complexity of miRNA regulation in response to HBV infection and its progression into other liver pathologies and (2) provides a regulatory map of HBV-hDEmiRs and the underlying mechanisms modulating their expression through a cross talk between HBV viral proteins and human transcription factors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sreeranjini Babu
- Centre for Integrative Omics Data Science, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, India
- Centre for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine (CSBMM), Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Vineetha Shaji
- Centre for Integrative Omics Data Science, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, India
- Centre for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine (CSBMM), Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Sowmya Soman
- Centre for Integrative Omics Data Science, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, India
| | - Anila Leelamma
- Department of Biochemistry, NSS College, Nilamel, Kollam, Kerala, India
| | - Niyas Rehman
- Centre for Integrative Omics Data Science, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, India
| | - Rajesh Raju
- Centre for Integrative Omics Data Science, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, India
- Centre for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine (CSBMM), Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
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15
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Visentini M, Pica A, D'Ippolito G, Sculco E, La Gualana F, Gragnani L, Miglionico M, Mazzaro C, Fiorilli M, Basili S, Martelli M, Di Rocco A, Casato M, Gentile G, Pulsoni A. High prevalence of past hepatitis B virus infection in diffuse large B cell lymphoma: a retrospective study from Italy. Ann Hematol 2023; 102:3457-3463. [PMID: 37650886 PMCID: PMC10640471 DOI: 10.1007/s00277-023-05412-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Studies from high endemic areas, mostly China, indicate that surface antigen positive (HBsAgpos) chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with an increased risk of developing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), whereas studies in low endemic areas have provided conflicting results. Past infection, serologically defined by negative HBsAg and positive anti-core antibody (HBsAgnegHBcAbpos), has also been suggested to increase the risk of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in high endemic areas. We retrospectively reviewed unselected clinical records of 253 patients with DLBCL (54% male, aged 60.3 ± 14.6 years at diagnosis) and 694 patients with different types of indolent B-cell NHL (46% male, aged 61.7 ± 12.8 years). Patients were seen at a single center in Italy between 2001 and 2022 and HBV serological status (HBsAg, HBsAb, HBcAb, HBeAg, HBeAb, and HBV DNA) was analyzed through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and molecular assays; patients infected with hepatitis C virus or human immunodeficiency virus were excluded. We used an unconditional multiple logistic regression model including as matching variables gender, age at diagnosis, immigrant status, and HBV serological status. Patients with DLBCL had, compared to indolent NHL, a higher prevalence of HBsAgpos active infection (odds ratio (OR) 2.8, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.2-6.3, p = 0.014). Strikingly, patients with DLBCL had also a significantly higher prevalence of past infection (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.5-4.0, p = 0.0006). Male gender was associated with increased risk of DLBCL independently of the HBV serological status. These findings suggest that both past and active HBV infection may increase the risk of DLBCL in a low endemic area. Our study needs confirmation by studies in areas or populations with different rates of chronic or past HBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcella Visentini
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Andrea Pica
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giancarlo D'Ippolito
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Eleonora Sculco
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca La Gualana
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Gragnani
- Department of Translational Research & NTMS, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marzia Miglionico
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Cesare Mazzaro
- Unit of Clinical of Experimental Onco-Haematology, IRCCS Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO), Aviano, Pordenone, Italy
| | - Massimo Fiorilli
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefania Basili
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Martelli
- Division of Hematology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Alice Di Rocco
- Division of Hematology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Milvia Casato
- Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Gentile
- Division of Hematology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Pulsoni
- Division of Hematology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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16
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Xu X, Zhang L, Ye G, Shi J, Peng Y, Xin F, Lin Y, Wu Q, Lin X, Chen W. Hepatitis B doubly spliced protein (HBDSP) promotes hepatocellular carcinoma cell apoptosis via ETS1/GATA2/YY1-mediated p53 transcription. J Virol 2023; 97:e0108723. [PMID: 37929990 PMCID: PMC10688342 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01087-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Hepatitis B virus (HBV) spliced variants are associated with viral persistence or pathogenicity. Hepatitis B doubly spliced protein (HBDSP), which has been previously reported as a pleiotropic transactivator protein, can potentially serve as an HBV virulence factor. However, the underlying mechanisms of HBDSP in HBV-associated liver diseases remain to be elucidated. In this study, we revealed that HBDSP promotes cellular apoptosis and induces wt-p53-dependent apoptotic signaling pathway in wt-p53 hepatocellular cells by transactivating p53 transcription, and increases the release of HBV progeny. Therefore, HBDSP may promote the HBV particles release through wt-p53-dependent hepatocellular apoptosis. Our findings suggest that blocking HBDSP-induced wt-p53-dependent apoptosis might have therapeutic values for chronic hepatitis B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiazhen Xu
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Guiying Ye
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jiajian Shi
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yibin Peng
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Fan Xin
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Tumor Microbiology, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yi Lin
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Tumor Microbiology, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Qiong Wu
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Tumor Microbiology, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xu Lin
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Tumor Microbiology, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Wannan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer (Fujian Medical University), Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Tumor Microbiology, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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Nayak S, Gowda J, Abbas SA, Kim H, Han SB. Recent Advances in the Development of Sulfamoyl-Based Hepatitis B Virus Nucleocapsid Assembly Modulators. Viruses 2023; 15:2367. [PMID: 38140607 PMCID: PMC10747759 DOI: 10.3390/v15122367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the primary contributor to severe liver ailments, encompassing conditions such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Globally, 257 million people are affected by HBV annually and 887,000 deaths are attributed to it, representing a substantial health burden. Regrettably, none of the existing therapies for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) have achieved satisfactory clinical cure rates. This issue stems from the existence of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which is difficult to eliminate from the nucleus of infected hepatocytes. HBV genetic material is composed of partially double-stranded DNA that forms complexes with viral polymerase inside an icosahedral capsid composed of a dimeric core protein. The HBV core protein, consisting of 183 to 185 amino acids, plays integral roles in multiple essential functions within the HBV replication process. In this review, we describe the effects of sulfamoyl-based carboxamide capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) on capsid assembly, which can suppress HBV replication and disrupt the production of new cccDNA. We present research on classical, first-generation sulfamoyl benzocarboxamide CAMs, elucidating their structural composition and antiviral efficacy. Additionally, we explore newly identified sulfamoyl-based CAMs, including sulfamoyl bicyclic carboxamides, sulfamoyl aromatic heterocyclic carboxamides, sulfamoyl aliphatic heterocyclic carboxamides, cyclic sulfonamides, and non-carboxamide sulfomoyl-based CAMs. We believe that certain molecules derived from sulfamoyl groups have the potential to be developed into essential components of a well-suited combination therapy, ultimately yielding superior clinical efficacy outcomes in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandesha Nayak
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Jayaraj Gowda
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Syed Azeem Abbas
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyejin Kim
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo Bong Han
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
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18
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Zhang Y, Lao W, Yang K, Kong X, Li Y, Yu X, Wang X, Liu Y, Li Z, Deng Y, Nie S, Bi C, Wu C, Zhai A. SUV39H1 is a novel biomarker targeting oxidative phosphorylation in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:1159. [PMID: 38017386 PMCID: PMC10683103 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-11633-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As a histone methyltransferase, suppressor of variegation 3-9 homolog 1 (SUV39H1) plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cancer. To explore the mechanism and biological function of SUV39H1 in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) can gain an insight into the pathogenesis of HBV-HCC. METHODS The effect of HBV infection on SUV39H1 in hepatoma cells was detected. CCK-8, colony growth assay and wound healing assay were used to assess the proliferation and migration of HBV-positive hepatoma cells. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was applied to find differential genes and enriched pathways. The serum SUV39H1 level in HBV-HCC patients was detected and its correlation with clinical indicators was analyzed. RESULTS SUV39H1 was increased by HBV infection and promoted the proliferation and migration of hepatoma cells. SUV39H1 could upregulate the expression of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway-related genes. OXPHOS pathway inhibitors could reduce the capacity of proliferation and migration of hepatoma cells after overexpressing SUV39H1. Serum SUV39H1 levels were higher in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients than in healthy controls and higher in HBV-HCC patients than in CHB patients. In the diagnosis of HCC, the predictive value of SUV39H1 combined with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was better than that of AFP alone. CONCLUSION SUV39H1 is regulated by HBV infection and promotes the proliferation and migration of hepatoma cells by targeting OXPHOS pathway. It indicates that SUV39H1 may be a new biomarker of the diagnosis of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanping Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Wanwen Lao
- Department of Endocrinology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Kaming Yang
- Department of Endocrinology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Xinyi Kong
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Yuetong Li
- Department of Endocrinology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Xin Yu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Xumeng Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
- Department of Microbiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Zhenlin Li
- Department of Endocrinology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Yilin Deng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Shuping Nie
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China
| | - Changlong Bi
- Department of Endocrinology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China.
| | - Chao Wu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China.
| | - Aixia Zhai
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China.
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19
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Hwang N, Wu S, Ban H, Luo H, Ma J, Cheng J, Zhao Q, Laney JA, Du N, Guo J, Suresh M, Shen L, Tolufashe G, Viswanathan U, Kulp J, Lam P, Chang J, Clement JA, Menne S, Guo JT, Du Y. Identification of novel tetrahydroquinoxaline derived phenyl ureas as modulators of the hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid assembly. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 259:115634. [PMID: 37499290 PMCID: PMC10753860 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
A key step of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication is the selective packaging of pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) by core protein (Cp) dimers, forming a nucleocapsid where the reverse transcriptional viral DNA replication takes place. One approach in the development of new anti-HBV drugs is to disrupt the assembly of HBV nucleocapsids by misdirecting Cp dimers to assemble morphologically normal capsids devoid of pgRNA. In this study, we built upon our previous discovery of benzamide-derived HBV capsid assembly modulators by exploring fused bicyclic scaffolds with an exocyclic amide that is β, γ to the fused ring, and identified 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline derived phenyl ureas as a novel scaffold. Structure-activity relationship studies showed that a favorable hydrophobic substitution can be tolerated at the 2-position of the 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline core, and the resulting compound 88 demonstrated comparable or improved antiviral potencies in mouse and human hepatocyte-derived HBV-replicating cell lines compared to our previously reported benzamide compound, 38017 (8). In addition, a novel bis-urea series based on 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline was also found to inhibit HBV DNA replication with sub-micromolar EC50 values. The mode of action of these compounds is consistent with specific inhibition of pgRNA encapsidation into nucleocapsids in hepatocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicky Hwang
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Shuo Wu
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Haiqun Ban
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA; Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 1630 Dongfang Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Huixin Luo
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Julia Ma
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Junjun Cheng
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Qiong Zhao
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Jessilyn A Laney
- United States Naval Academy, 121 Blake Rd, Annapolis, MD, 21402, USA
| | - Na Du
- Pharmaron, 6 Taihe Road, BDA, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Junyang Guo
- Pharmaron, 6 Taihe Road, BDA, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Manasa Suresh
- Georgetown University Medical Center, 3900 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Liangxian Shen
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Gideon Tolufashe
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Usha Viswanathan
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - John Kulp
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Patrick Lam
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Jinhong Chang
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Jason A Clement
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA
| | - Stephan Menne
- Georgetown University Medical Center, 3900 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Ju-Tao Guo
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA.
| | - Yanming Du
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, 18902, USA.
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20
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Jin J, Kouznetsova VL, Kesari S, Tsigelny IF. Synergism in actions of HBV with aflatoxin in cancer development. Toxicology 2023; 499:153652. [PMID: 37858775 DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2023.153652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a fungal metabolite found in animal feeds and human foods. It is one of the most toxic and carcinogenic of aflatoxins and is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen. Dietary exposure to AFB1 and infection with chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) make up two of the major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These two major risk factors raise the probability of synergism between the two agents. This review proposes some collaborative molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction between AFB1 and HBV in accelerating or magnifying the effects of HCC. The HBx viral protein is one of the main viral proteins of HBV and has many carcinogenic qualities that are involved with HCC. AFB1, when metabolized by CYP450, becomes AFB1-exo-8,9-epoxide (AFBO), an extremely toxic compound that can form adducts in DNA sequences and induce mutations. With possible synergisms that exist between HBV and AFB1 in mind, it is best to treat both agents simultaneously to reduce the risk by HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Jin
- IUL Scientific Program, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Valentina L Kouznetsova
- San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; BiAna, La Jolla, CA, USA; Curescience Institute, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Igor F Tsigelny
- San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; BiAna, La Jolla, CA, USA; Curescience Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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21
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Vanrusselt H, Kum DB, Taverniti V, Liu C, Acosta Sanchez A, Corthout N, Munck S, Baumert TF, Beigelman L, Blatt LM, Symons JA, Deval J, Raboisson P, Verrier ER, Jekle A, Vendeville S, Debing Y. Novel non-HAP class A HBV capsid assembly modulators have distinct in vitro and in vivo profiles. J Virol 2023; 97:e0072223. [PMID: 37754761 PMCID: PMC10617565 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00722-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Chronic hepatitis B is the most important cause of liver cancer worldwide and affects more than 290 million people. Current treatments are mostly suppressive and rarely lead to a cure. Therefore, there is a need for novel and curative drugs that target the host or the causative agent, hepatitis B virus itself. Capsid assembly modulators are an interesting class of antiviral molecules that may one day become part of curative treatment regimens for chronic hepatitis B. Here we explore the characteristics of a particularly interesting subclass of capsid assembly modulators. These so-called non-HAP CAM-As have intriguing properties in cell culture but also clear virus-infected cells from the mouse liver in a gradual and sustained way. We believe they represent a considerable improvement over previously reported molecules and may one day be part of curative treatment combinations for chronic hepatitis B.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dieudonné Buh Kum
- Aligos Belgium BV, Leuven, Belgium
- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Valerio Taverniti
- Inserm, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques UMR S1110, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Cheng Liu
- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | | | | | - Thomas F. Baumert
- Inserm, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques UMR S1110, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- Service d’Hépato-gastroenterologie, Pôle Hépato-digestif, IHU Strasbourg, Strasbourg University Hospitals, Strasbourg, France
| | | | | | | | - Jerome Deval
- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | - Eloi R. Verrier
- Inserm, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques UMR S1110, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Andreas Jekle
- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
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22
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Shen S, Liu W, Zeng G, Liang H, Yu X, Zhang H, Sun J, Guo H. Conditional replication and secretion of hepatitis B virus genome uncover the truncated 3' terminus of encapsidated viral pregenomic RNA. J Virol 2023; 97:e0076023. [PMID: 37754759 PMCID: PMC10617516 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00760-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The biogenesis and clinical application of serum HBV pgRNA have been a research hotspot in recent years. This study further characterized the heterogeneity of the 3' terminus of capsid RNA by utilizing a variety of experimental systems conditionally supporting HBV genome replication and secretion, and reveal that the 3' truncation of capsid pgRNA is catalyzed by cellular ribonuclease(s) and viral RNaseH at positions after and before 3' DR1, respectively, indicating the 3' DR1 as a boundary between the encapsidated portion of pgRNA for reverse transcription and the 3' unprotected terminus, which is independent of pgRNA length and the 3' terminal sequence. Thus, our study provides new insights into the mechanism of pgRNA encapsidation and reverse transcription, as well as the optimization of serum HBV RNA diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Shen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Research in South China, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Wendong Liu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Research in South China, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ge Zeng
- Department of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Research in South China, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongyan Liang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Research in South China, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyang Yu
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hu Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jian Sun
- Department of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Research in South China, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Haitao Guo
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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23
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Cole AG, Kultgen SG, Mani N, Quintero JG, Yi Fan K, Ardzinski A, Stever K, Dorsey BD, Phelps JR, Lee ACH, Thi EP, Chiu T, Tang S, Horanyi PS, Mayclin SJ, Harasym TO, Sofia MJ. Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship of a bicyclic HBV capsid assembly modulator chemotype leading to the identification of clinical candidate AB-506. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2023; 94:129456. [PMID: 37633618 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2023.129456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Disruption of the HBV capsid assembly process through small-molecule interaction with HBV core protein is a validated target for the suppression of hepatitis B viral replication and the development of new antivirals. Through combination of key structural features associated with two distinct series of capsid assembly modulators, a novel aminochroman-based chemotype was identified. Optimization of anti-HBV potency through generation of SAR in addition to further core modifications provided a series of related functionalized aminoindanes. Key compounds demonstrated excellent cellular potency in addition to favorable ADME and pharmacokinetic profiles and were shown to be highly efficacious in a mouse model of HBV replication. Aminoindane derivative AB-506 was subsequently advanced into clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew G Cole
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA.
| | - Steven G Kultgen
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Nagraj Mani
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Jorge G Quintero
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Kristi Yi Fan
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Andrzej Ardzinski
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Kim Stever
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Bruce D Dorsey
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Janet R Phelps
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Amy C H Lee
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Emily P Thi
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Tim Chiu
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Sunny Tang
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Peter S Horanyi
- UCB Pharma, 87 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA
| | | | - Troy O Harasym
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
| | - Michael J Sofia
- Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., 701 Veterans Circle, Warminster, PA 18974, USA
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24
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Hesterman M, Furrer S, Fallon B, Weller M. Analysis of Hepatitis D Virus in Minor Salivary Gland of Sjögren's Disease. J Dent Res 2023; 102:1272-1279. [PMID: 37575047 PMCID: PMC10626587 DOI: 10.1177/00220345231186394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) has been detected in the minor salivary gland (MSG) tissue of Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients in the absence of a hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection. Previous research has shown that HDV antigen (HDAg) expression can trigger an SjD-like phenotype in vivo, demonstrating a potential cause-and-effect relationship. We hypothesize that if HDV plays a role in the development of SjD, then HDV profiles may be correlated with disease manifestations. This retrospective study characterized HDV in a cohort of 48 SjD MSG samples collected between 2014 and 2021. Analyses of HDAg expression, including cell type and subcellular localization, in situ hybridization of HDV RNA, and comparative analyses with associated SjD and viral hepatitis clinical features, were conducted. HDAg was detected in MSG acinar, ductal, myoepithelial, and adipose cells and localized with the nuclei, cytoplasm, and mitochondria. In situ hybridization detected HDV genomic RNA localization in the MSG nuclei. A significant negative correlation was found between HDAg intensity and focal lymphocytic inflammation and in patients with both anti-SSA/Ro-52 and anti-SSA/Ro-60. In analyzing autoimmune disease comorbidities with SjD, it was found that SjD patients diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis and/or hypothyroidism were significantly more represented in the high HDAg intensity group compared to the negative and moderate HDAg intensity groups. No significant associations were detected between MSG-localized HDAg and liver enzymes or an evident HBV coinfection. This study has further confirmed that there is a nonhepatic reservoir for chronic HDV persistence in SjD-affected salivary gland tissue in a third independent SjD patient cohort. In addition, this study describes the unique colocalization of HDAg with mitochondria. The detection of HDV antigen and sequence within SjD-affected salivary gland tissue, and in the absence of an evident current or past HBV coinfection, warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- M.C. Hesterman
- School of Dentistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - S.V. Furrer
- School of Dentistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - B.S. Fallon
- School of Dentistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - M.L. Weller
- School of Dentistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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25
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Shofa M, Ohkawa A, Kaneko Y, Saito A. Conserved use of the sodium/bile acid cotransporter (NTCP) as an entry receptor by hepatitis B virus and domestic cat hepadnavirus. Antiviral Res 2023; 217:105695. [PMID: 37536428 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2023.105695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
The Orthohepadnavirus genus includes hepatitis B virus (HBV) that can cause chronic hepatitis and hepatocarcinoma in humans. Recently, a novel hepadnavirus in cats, domestic cat hepadnavirus (DCH), was identified that is genetically close to HBV. DCH infection is associated with chronic hepatitis in cats, suggesting a similarity with HBV pathogenesis and the potential to use DCH as a novel animal model for HBV research. HBV is shown to use the sodium/bile acid cotransporter (NTCP) as a major cell entry receptor, but the equivalent receptor for DCH remains unknown. Here we sought to identify the entry receptor for DCH. HBV- and DCH-derived preS1 peptides efficiently bound to both human and cat NTCPs, and residue 158 of NTCP proteins determined the species-specific binding of the DCH preS1 peptide. Myrcludex B, an HBV entry inhibitor, blocked the binding of the DCH preS1 peptide. Thus, DCH and HBV may share cell entry molecules, suggesting a possibility of inter-species transmission. Furthermore, our study suggests that DCH can be useful as a novel model for HBV research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Shofa
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8892192, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8891692, Japan
| | - Akiho Ohkawa
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8892192, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Kaneko
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8892192, Japan; Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8892192, Japan
| | - Akatsuki Saito
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8892192, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8891692, Japan; Center for Animal Disease Control, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 8892192, Japan.
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26
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Wang J, Huang H, Zhao K, Teng Y, Zhao L, Xu Z, Zheng Y, Zhang L, Li C, Duan Y, Liang K, Zhou X, Cheng X, Xia Y. G-quadruplex in hepatitis B virus pregenomic RNA promotes its translation. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105151. [PMID: 37567479 PMCID: PMC10485161 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a hepatotropic DNA virus that has a very compact genome. Due to this genomic density, several distinct mechanisms are used to facilitate the viral life cycle. Recently, accumulating evidence show that G-quadruplex (G4) in different viruses play essential regulatory roles in key steps of the viral life cycle. Although G4 structures in the HBV genome have been reported, their function in HBV replication remains elusive. In this study, we treated an HBV replication-competent cell line and HBV-infected cells with the G4 structure stabilizer pyridostatin (PDS) and evaluated different HBV replication markers to better understand the role played by the G4. In both models, we found PDS had no effect on viral precore RNA (pcRNA) or pre-genomic RNA (pgRNA), but treatment did increase HBeAg/HBc ELISA reads and intracellular levels of viral core/capsid protein (HBc) in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting post-transcriptional regulation. To further dissect the mechanism of G4 involvement, we used in vitro-synthesized HBV pcRNA and pgRNA. Interestingly, we found PDS treatment only enhanced HBc expression from pgRNA but not HBeAg expression from pcRNA. Our bioinformatic analysis and CD spectroscopy revealed that pgRNA harbors a conserved G4 structure. Finally, we introduced point mutations in pgRNA to disrupt its G4 structure and observed the resulting mutant failed to respond to PDS treatment and decreased HBc level in in vitro translation assay. Taken together, our data demonstrate that HBV pgRNA contains a G4 structure that plays a vital role in the regulation of viral mRNA translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Haiyan Huang
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers-Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Kaitao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Li Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zaichao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yingcheng Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Conghui Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yurong Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Kaiwei Liang
- Department of Pathophysiology, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiang Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers-Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Xiaoming Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Department of Pathology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Jiangxia Laboratory, Wuhan, China.
| | - Yuchen Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Jiangxia Laboratory, Wuhan, China.
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27
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Kim C, Schlicksup CJ, Pérez-Segura C, Hadden-Perilla JA, Wang JCY, Zlotnick A. Structure of the Hepatitis B virus capsid quasi-6-fold with a trapped C-terminal domain reveals capsid movements associated with domain exit. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105104. [PMID: 37517693 PMCID: PMC10463254 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Many viruses undergo transient conformational change to surveil their environments for receptors and host factors. In Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, after the virus enters the cell, it is transported to the nucleus by interaction of the HBV capsid with an importin α/β complex. The interaction between virus and importins is mediated by nuclear localization signals on the capsid protein's C-terminal domain (CTD). However, CTDs are located inside the capsid. In this study, we asked where does a CTD exit the capsid, are all quasi-equivalent CTDs created equal, and does the capsid structure deform to facilitate CTD egress from the capsid? Here, we used Impβ as a tool to trap transiently exposed CTDs and examined this complex by cryo-electron microscopy. We examined an asymmetric reconstruction of a T = 4 icosahedral capsid and a focused reconstruction of a quasi-6-fold vertex (3.8 and 4.0 Å resolution, respectively). Both approaches showed that a subset of CTDs extended through a pore in the center of the quasi-6-fold complex. CTD egress was accompanied by enlargement of the pore and subtle changes in quaternary and tertiary structure of the quasi-6-fold. When compared to molecular dynamics simulations, structural changes were within the normal range of capsid flexibility. Although pore diameter was enlarged in the Impβ-bound reconstruction, simulations indicate that CTD egress does not exclusively depend on enlarged pores. In summary, we find that HBV surveillance of its environment by transient exposure of its CTD requires only modest conformational change of the capsid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Kim
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | | | - Carolina Pérez-Segura
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Jodi A Hadden-Perilla
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Joseph Che-Yen Wang
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Adam Zlotnick
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
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28
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Chen F, Yao Y, Li Z, Deng L, He R. Assessment of compensated advanced chronic liver disease based on serum bile acids in chronic hepatitis B patients. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12834. [PMID: 37553441 PMCID: PMC10409722 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39977-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with chronic liver disease progressed to compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD), the risk of liver-related decompensation increased significantly. This study aimed to develop prediction model based on individual bile acid (BA) profiles to identify cACLD. This study prospectively recruited 159 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and 60 healthy volunteers undergoing liver stiffness measurement (LSM). With the value of LSM, patients were categorized as three groups: F1 [LSM ≤ 7.0 kilopascals (kPa)], F2 (7.1 < LSM ≤ 8.0 kPa), and cACLD group (LSM ≥ 8.1 kPa). Random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) were applied to develop two classification models to distinguish patients with different degrees of fibrosis. The content of individual BA in the serum increased significantly with the degree of fibrosis, especially glycine-conjugated BA and taurine-conjugated BA. The Marco-Precise, Marco-Recall, and Marco-F1 score of the optimized RF model were all 0.82. For the optimized SVM model, corresponding score were 0.86, 0.84, and 0.85, respectively. RF and SVM models were applied to identify individual BA features that successfully distinguish patients with cACLD caused by HBV. This study provides a new tool for identifying cACLD that can enable clinicians to better manage patients with chronic liver disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Yaning Yao
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Zhen Li
- Department of Ultrasound, Donggang Branch, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Long Deng
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Ruiling He
- Department of Ultrasound, Donggang Branch, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
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29
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Zhou Q, Li L, Sha F, Lei Y, Tian X, Chen L, Chen Y, Liu H, Guo Y. PTTG1 Reprograms Asparagine Metabolism to Promote Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression. Cancer Res 2023; 83:2372-2386. [PMID: 37159932 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-22-3561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer and has a poor prognosis. Pituitary tumor transforming gene 1 (PTTG1) is highly expressed in HCC, suggesting it could play an important role in hepatocellular carcinogenesis. Here, we evaluated the impact of PTTG1 deficiency on HCC development using a diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC mouse model and a hepatitis B virus (HBV) regulatory X protein (HBx)-induced spontaneous HCC mouse model. PTTG1 deficiency significantly suppressed DEN- and HBx-induced hepatocellular carcinogenesis. Mechanistically, PTTG1 promoted asparagine synthetase (ASNS) transcription by binding to its promoter, and asparagine (Asn) levels were correspondingly increased. The elevated levels of Asn subsequently activated the mTOR pathway to facilitate HCC progression. In addition, asparaginase treatment reversed the proliferation induced by PTTG1 overexpression. Furthermore, HBx promoted ASNS and Asn metabolism by upregulating PTTG1 expression. Overall, PTTG1 is involved in the reprogramming of Asn metabolism to promote HCC progression and may serve as a therapeutic and diagnostic target for HCC. SIGNIFICANCE PTTG1 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and increases asparagine production to stimulate mTOR activity and promote tumor progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhou
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Leijia Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Feifei Sha
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yiming Lei
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Xuan Tian
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Lingjun Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yan Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Huiling Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yunwei Guo
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
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30
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Ghufran SM, Sharma P, Roy B, Jaiswal S, Aftab M, Sengupta S, Ghose S, Biswas S. Transcriptome wide functional analysis of HBx expressing human hepatocytes stimulated with endothelial cell cross-talk. Genomics 2023; 115:110642. [PMID: 37209778 PMCID: PMC7615065 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2023.110642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Identification of genes dysregulated during the hepatitis B virus (HBV)-host cell interaction adds to the understanding of underlying molecular mechanisms and aids in discovering effective therapies to improve prognosis in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected individuals. Through bioinformatics analyses of transcriptomics data, this study aimed to identify potential genes involved in the cross-talk of human hepatocytes expressing the HBV viral protein HBx with endothelial cells. Transient transfection of HBV viral gene X (HBx) was performed in THLE2 cells using pcDNA3 constructs. Through mRNA Sequencing (RNA Seq) analysis, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. THLE2 cells transfected with HBx (THLE2x) were further treated with conditioned medium from cultured human umbilical vein derived endothelial cells (HUVEC-CM). Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that interferon and cytokine signaling pathways were primarily enriched for the downregulated DEGs in THLE2x cells treated with HUVEC-CM. One significant module was selected following protein-protein interaction (PPI) network generation, and thirteen hub genes were identified from the module. The prognostic values of the hub genes were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter, and three genes (IRF7, IFIT1, and IFITM1) correlated with poor disease specific survival (DSS) in HCC patients with chronic hepatitis. A comparison of the DEGs identified in HUVEC-stimulated THLE2x cells with four publicly available HBV-related HCC microarray datasets revealed that PLAC8 was consistently downregulated in all four HCC datasets as well as in HUVEC-CM treated THLE2x cells. KM plots revealed that PLAC8 correlated with worse relapse free survival and progression free survival in HCC patients with hepatitis B virus infection. This study provided molecular insights which may help develop a deeper understanding of HBV-host stromal cell interaction and open avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Prachi Sharma
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research, AUUP, Noida, India
| | - Bornika Roy
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research, AUUP, Noida, India
| | - Shivani Jaiswal
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research, AUUP, Noida, India
| | - Mehreen Aftab
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Oncology, National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida, India
| | - Shinjinee Sengupta
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research, AUUP, Noida, India
| | - Sampa Ghose
- Department of Medical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
| | - Subhrajit Biswas
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research, AUUP, Noida, India.
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31
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Liu Y, Cafiero TR, Park D, Biswas A, Winer BY, Cho CH, Bram Y, Chandar V, Connell AKO, Gertje HP, Crossland N, Schwartz RE, Ploss A. Targeted viral adaptation generates a simian-tropic hepatitis B virus that infects marmoset cells. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3582. [PMID: 37328459 PMCID: PMC10276007 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39148-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) only infects humans and chimpanzees, posing major challenges for modeling HBV infection and chronic viral hepatitis. The major barrier in establishing HBV infection in non-human primates lies at incompatibilities between HBV and simian orthologues of the HBV receptor, sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP). Through mutagenesis analysis and screening among NTCP orthologues from Old World monkeys, New World monkeys and prosimians, we determined key residues responsible for viral binding and internalization, respectively and identified marmosets as a suitable candidate for HBV infection. Primary marmoset hepatocytes and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells support HBV and more efficient woolly monkey HBV (WMHBV) infection. Adapted chimeric HBV genome harboring residues 1-48 of WMHBV preS1 generated here led to a more efficient infection than wild-type HBV in primary and stem cell derived marmoset hepatocytes. Collectively, our data demonstrate that minimal targeted simianization of HBV can break the species barrier in small NHPs, paving the path for an HBV primate model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongzhen Liu
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Thomas R Cafiero
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Debby Park
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Abhishek Biswas
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
- Research Computing, Office of Information Technology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Benjamin Y Winer
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | | | - Yaron Bram
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Vasuretha Chandar
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Aoife K O' Connell
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Hans P Gertje
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Nicholas Crossland
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Robert E Schwartz
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Alexander Ploss
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
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32
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Dong J, Zhang R, Xia Y, Jiang X, Zhou K, Li J, Guo M, Cao X, Zhang S. The necroptosis related gene LGALS3 can be used as a biomarker for the adverse progression from chronic HBV infection to HCC. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1142319. [PMID: 37180150 PMCID: PMC10169569 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1142319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The number of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains large, despite the remarkable effectiveness of antiviral drugs and vaccines for HBV in preventing and treating HBV infection. Necroptosis is closely related to the occurrence of inflammation, clearance of viral infection, and tumor progression. Presently, little is known about the changes in necroptosis-related genes in the progression from chronic HBV infection (CHI) to HBV-related hepatic fibrosis (HBV-HF) and HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC). In this study, Cox regression analysis was performed using GSE14520 chip data and a necroptosis-related genes survival prognosis score (NRGPS) was established for HBV-HCC patients. NRGPS was constructed using three model genes (G6PD, PINK1 and LGALS3), and verified by data sequencing in the TCGA database. The HBV-HCC cell model was established by transfection of pAAV/HBV1.2C2, constructed by homologous recombination, into HUH7 and HEPG2 cells. The expression levels of G6PD, PINK1, and LGALS3 were detected using RT-qPCR. We further analyzed the expression of the model genes in GSE83148, GSE84044, and GSE14520 and found that LGALS3 was consistently highly expressed in CHI, high fibrosis score and high NRGPS. In addition, immune microenvironment analysis showed that LGALS3 was not only associated with the infiltration of regulatory T cells in the immune microenvironment but also with expression of CCL20 and CCR6. The expression levels of model genes, FOXP3 and CCR6, were analyzed using RT-qPCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 31 hepatitis B surface antibody positive patients, 30 CHI, 21 HBV-HF, and 20 HBV-HCC. In further cell-model experiments, we analyzed the expression of CCL20 by RT-qPCR and the changes in cell proliferation and migration by CCK8 and transwell assays, respectively, in HBV-HCC cell models after LGALS3 knockdown. The findings of this study suggest that LGALS3 could be a biomarker for adverse progression following chronic HBV infection and may also be involved in the regulation of the immune microenvironment, making it a potential therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianming Dong
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Rongzheng Zhang
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yan Xia
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xu Jiang
- Department of Parasitology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Kun Zhou
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital Department of Clinical Laboratory, Harbin, China
| | - Jiaqi Li
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Mengrui Guo
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xinyang Cao
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Shuyun Zhang
- Scientific Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
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33
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Zhao K, Guo F, Wang J, Zhong Y, Yi J, Teng Y, Xu Z, Zhao L, Li A, Wang Z, Chen X, Cheng X, Xia Y. Limited disassembly of cytoplasmic hepatitis B virus nucleocapsids restricts viral infection in murine hepatic cells. Hepatology 2023; 77:1366-1381. [PMID: 35718932 DOI: 10.1002/hep.32622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Murine hepatic cells cannot support hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection even with supplemental expression of viral receptor, human sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (hNTCP). However, the specific restricted step remains elusive. In this study, we aimed to dissect HBV infection process in murine hepatic cells. APPROACH AND RESULTS Cells expressing hNTCP were inoculated with HBV or hepatitis delta virus (HDV). HBV pregenomic RNA (pgRNA), covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), and different relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) intermediates were produced in vitro . The repair process from rcDNA to cccDNA was assayed by in vitro repair experiments and in mouse with hydrodynamic injection. Southern blotting and in situ hybridization were used to detect HBV DNA. HBV, but not its satellite virus HDV, was restricted from productive infection in murine hepatic cells expressing hNTCP. Transfection of HBV pgRNA could establish HBV replication in human, but not in murine, hepatic cells. HBV replication-competent plasmid, cccDNA, and recombinant cccDNA could support HBV transcription in murine hepatic cells. Different rcDNA intermediates could be repaired to form cccDNA both in vitro and in vivo . In addition, rcDNA could be detected in the nucleus of murine hepatic cells, but cccDNA could not be formed. Interestingly, nuclease sensitivity assay showed that the protein-linked rcDNA isolated from cytoplasm was completely nuclease resistant in murine, but not in human, hepatic cells. CONCLUSIONS Our results imply that the disassembly of cytoplasmic HBV nucleocapsids is restricted in murine hepatic cells. Overcoming this limitation may help to establish an HBV infection mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Fangteng Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Jingjing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Youquan Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Junzhu Yi
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Yan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Zaichao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Li Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Aixin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Zichen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Xinwen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology , Wuhan Institute of Virology , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Wuhan , China
- Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou , China
| | - Xiaoming Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
- Wuhan University Center for Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics , Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
- Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases , Wuhan , China
| | - Yuchen Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
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34
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Abstract
Not many structures are common among all viruses: only nucleic acid and a protein coat [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- William M. McFadden
- Center for ViroScience and Cure, Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Stefan G. Sarafianos
- Center for ViroScience and Cure, Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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35
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Zhang W, Guo L, Liu H, Wu G, Shi H, Zhou M, Zhang Z, Kou B, Hu T, Zhou Z, Xu Z, Zhou X, Zhou Y, Tian X, Yang G, Young JAT, Qiu H, Ottaviani G, Xie J, Mayweg AV, Shen HC, Zhu W. Discovery of Linvencorvir (RG7907), a Hepatitis B Virus Core Protein Allosteric Modulator, for the Treatment of Chronic HBV Infection. J Med Chem 2023; 66:4253-4270. [PMID: 36896968 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Described herein is the first-time disclosure of Linvencorvir (RG7907), a clinical compound and a hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein allosteric modulator, for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. Built upon the core structure of hetero aryl dihydropyrimidine, RG7907 was rationally designed by combining all the drug-like features of low CYP3A4 induction, potent anti-HBV activity, high metabolic stability, low hERG liability, and favorable animal pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles. In particular, the chemistry strategy to mitigate CYP3A4 induction through introducing a large, rigid, and polar substituent at the position that has less interaction with the therapeutic biological target (HBV core proteins herein) is of general interest to the medicinal chemistry community. RG7907 demonstrated favorable animal PK, pharmacodynamics, and safety profiles with sufficient safety margins supporting its clinical development in healthy volunteers and HBV-infected patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixing Zhang
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Lei Guo
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Haixia Liu
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Guolong Wu
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Houguang Shi
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Mingwei Zhou
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Zhisen Zhang
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Buyu Kou
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Taishan Hu
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Zheng Zhou
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Lead Discovery, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Zhiheng Xu
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Lead Discovery, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Xue Zhou
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Discovery Virology, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Discovery Virology, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Xiaojun Tian
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Discovery Virology, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Guang Yang
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Discovery Virology, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - John A T Young
- Roche Innovation Center Basel, Discovery Virology, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Hongxia Qiu
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Giorgio Ottaviani
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Jianxun Xie
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Alexander V Mayweg
- Roche Innovation Center Basel, Medicinal Chemistry, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Hong C Shen
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Wei Zhu
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Medicinal Chemistry, Building 5, 371 Lishizhen Road, Shanghai 201203, China
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36
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Cheng Z, Li L, Zhang Y, Ren Y, Gu J, Wang X, Zhao H, Lu H. HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma can be robustly classified into three clinically relevant subgroups by a novel analytical protocol. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:7025463. [PMID: 36736372 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbac601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for a relatively large proportion of all primary liver malignancies. Among the several known risk factors, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the important causes of HCC. In this study, we demonstrated that the HBV-infected HCC patients could be robustly classified into three clinically relevant subgroups, i.e. Cluster1, Cluster2 and Cluster3, based on consistent differentially expressed mRNAs and proteins, which showed better generalization. The proposed three subgroups showed different molecular characteristics, immune microenvironment and prognostic survival characteristics. The Cluster1 subgroup had near-normal levels of metabolism-related proteins, low proliferation activity and good immune infiltration, which were associated with its good liver function, smaller tumor size, good prognosis, low alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and lower clinical stage. In contrast, the Cluster3 subgroup had the lowest levels of metabolism-related proteins, which corresponded with its severe liver dysfunction. Also, high proliferation activity and poor immune microenvironment in Cluster3 subgroup were associated with its poor prognosis, larger tumor size, high AFP levels, high incidence of tumor thrombus and higher clinical stage. The characteristics of the Cluster2 subgroup were between the Cluster1 and Cluster3 groups. In addition, MCM2-7, RFC2-5, MSH2, MSH6, SMC2, SMC4, NCPAG and TOP2A proteins were significantly upregulated in the Cluster3 subgroup. Meanwhile, abnormally high phosphorylation levels of these proteins were associated with high levels of DNA repair, telomere maintenance and proliferative features. Therefore, these proteins could be identified as potential diagnostic and prognostic markers. In general, our research provided a novel analytical protocol and insights for the robust classification, treatment and prevention of HBV-infected HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Cheng
- State Key Lab of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- SJTU-Yale Joint Center of Biostatistics and Data Science, National Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
| | - Leijie Li
- State Key Lab of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- SJTU-Yale Joint Center of Biostatistics and Data Science, National Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
| | - Yuening Zhang
- State Key Lab of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- SJTU-Yale Joint Center of Biostatistics and Data Science, National Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
| | - Yongyong Ren
- SJTU-Yale Joint Center of Biostatistics and Data Science, National Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
| | - Jianlei Gu
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Xinbo Wang
- State Key Lab of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- SJTU-Yale Joint Center of Biostatistics and Data Science, National Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
| | - Hongyu Zhao
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Hui Lu
- State Key Lab of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- SJTU-Yale Joint Center of Biostatistics and Data Science, National Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Department of General Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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37
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Wang WM, Yang ZG, Liu C, Dong Q. ELOVL fatty acid elongase 7 (ELOVL7), upregulated by Mdr2-knockout, predicts advanced liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2023; 27:1954-1970. [PMID: 36930494 DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202303_31560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the correlations between gene alterations induced in Mdr2-knockout (Mdr2-/-) models and liver fibrosis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The overlapping genes in Mdr2-/- models were determined and included in logistic regression analysis to identify potential candidates for predicting liver fibrosis. Correlations between the expression levels of the identified candidates and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were addressed. Functional enrichment of the identified candidates was also evaluated via bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS Twenty-two overlapping genes in the GSE4612, GSE8642 and GSE14539 datasets were identified. Univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that ELOVL fatty acid elongase 7 (ELOVL7) was significantly associated with liver fibrosis S ≥ 2 (OR = 11.8, 95% CI = 2.0 - 69.2, p = 0.006). ELOVL7 was significantly upregulated in patients with various types of liver injury including hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and fatty liver diseases, and in multiple liver injury models, including bile duct ligation (BDL), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and paracetamol injection-induced liver damage models (all p < 0.05). The ELOVL7 levels were significantly higher in HSCs than in other liver cells (all p < 0.05) and were significantly upregulated in activated HSCs compared to quiescent HSCs (all p < 0.05). In addition, ELOVL7 expression was positively associated with transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and bone morphogenic protein 9 (BMP9) expression and negatively associated with BMP7 expression. Bioinformatic analysis of functional enrichment indicated that ELOVL7 is mainly involved in fatty acid synthesis and metabolism. CONCLUSIONS ELOVL7 could accurately predict advanced liver fibrosis. It might be involved in the activation of HSCs and the TGFβ signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- W-M Wang
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing Tian Tan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
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38
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Celik-Turgut G, Olmez N, Koc T, Ozgun-Acar O, Semiz A, Dodurga Y, Lale Satiroglu-Tufan N, Sen A. Role of AHR, NF-kB and CYP1A1 crosstalk with the X protein of Hepatitis B virus in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Gene 2023; 853:147099. [PMID: 36476661 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.147099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In this study, it was aimed to elucidate the interaction between aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), and cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) with hepatitis B virus X protein (HBX) in a human liver cancer cell line (HepG2) transfected with HBX. First, AHR, NF-kB, and CYP1A1 genes were cloned into the appropriate region of the CheckMate mammalian two-hybrid recipient plasmids using a flexi vector system. Renilla and firefly luciferases were quantified using the dual-luciferase reporter assay system to measure the interactions. Secondly, transient transfections of CYP1A1 and NF-kB (RelA) were performed into HBX-positive and HBX-negative HepG2 cells. The mRNA expression of CYP1A1 and NF-kB genes were confirmed with RT-PCR, and cell viability was measured by WST-1. Further verification was assessed by measuring the activity and protein level of CYP1A1. Additionally, CYP1A1/HBX protein-protein interactions were performed with co-immunoprecipitation, which demonstrated no interaction. These results have clearly shown that the NF-kB and AHR genes interact with HBX without involving CYP1A1 and HBX protein-protein interactions. The present study confirms that AHR and NF-kB interaction plays a role in the HBV mechanism mediated via HBX and coordinating the carcinogenic or inflammatory responses; still, the CYP1A1 gene has no effect on this interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gurbet Celik-Turgut
- Department of Organic Agriculture Management, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Nazmiye Olmez
- Departments of Biology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Tugba Koc
- Departments of Biology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Ozden Ozgun-Acar
- Seed Breeding & Genetics Application Research Center, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Asli Semiz
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Yavuz Dodurga
- Departments of Medical Biology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
| | | | - Alaattin Sen
- Departments of Biology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey; Departments of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Abdullah Gul University, Kayseri, Turkey.
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Murata T, Iwahori S, Okuno Y, Nishitsuji H, Yanagi Y, Watashi K, Wakita T, Kimura H, Shimotohno K. N6-methyladenosine Modification of Hepatitis B Virus RNA in the Coding Region of HBx. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032265. [PMID: 36768585 PMCID: PMC9917364 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a post-transcriptional modification of RNA involved in transcript transport, degradation, translation, and splicing. We found that HBV RNA is modified by m6A predominantly in the coding region of HBx. The mutagenesis of methylation sites reduced the HBV mRNA and HBs protein levels. The suppression of m6A by an inhibitor or knockdown in primary hepatocytes decreased the viral RNA and HBs protein levels in the medium. These results suggest that the m6A modification of HBV RNA is needed for the efficient replication of HBV in hepatocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Murata
- Department of Virology and Parasitology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan
- Department of Virology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
- Correspondence:
| | - Satoko Iwahori
- Department of Virology and Parasitology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan
| | - Yusuke Okuno
- Department of Virology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
| | - Hironori Nishitsuji
- Department of Virology and Parasitology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan
- Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa 272-8516, Japan
| | - Yusuke Yanagi
- Department of Virology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Koichi Watashi
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
- Research Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Takaji Wakita
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kimura
- Department of Virology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan
| | - Kunitada Shimotohno
- Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa 272-8516, Japan
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40
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Islam B, Yu HY, Duan TQ, Pan J, Li M, Zhang RQ, Masroor M, Huang JF. Cell cycle kinases (AUKA, CDK1, PLK1) are prognostic biomarkers and correlated with tumor-infiltrating leukocytes in HBV related HCC. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:11845-11861. [PMID: 36634158 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2164056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the high incidence cancers and third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. HBV is the top most risk factor accounting for 50-80% of the HCC cases. Kinases: Aurora kinase A (AURKA), cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK1) and Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), the key regulators of cell mitosis are overexpressed in varieties of cancers including HCC. However, the exact role of these genes in prognosis of HCC is not fully unveiled. In addition, there is no such an accurate prognostic biomarker for HBV-related HCC. To address this issue, we performed a multidimensional analysis of AURKA, CDK1 and PLK1 with a series of publicly available databases in multiple cancers and with experimental validation in HBV-related HCC tissues. Overexpression of AURKA, CDK1 and PLK1 was found in multiple cancers including HCC. Elevated expression of these genes could result from lowered DNA methylation and genomic alterations. Transcriptional overexpression was significantly correlated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. The expression levels were also significantly positively associated with tumor grades and stages. Furthermore, the expression levels of these genes had a strong correlation with infiltration of immune cells. Our analysis shows that AURKA, CDK1 and PLK1 are correlated with immune infiltration and are the prognostic biomarkers for HBV-induced HCC.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baitul Islam
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Hai-Yang Yu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Tian-Qi Duan
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jing Pan
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Min Li
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Ru-Qi Zhang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Matiullah Masroor
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Ju-Fang Huang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China
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Yu X, Sun J, Yang F, Mao R, Shen Z, Ren L, Yuan S, He Q, Zhang L, Yang Y, Ding X, He Y, Zhu H, Shen Z, Zhu M, Qiu C, Su Z, Zhang J. Granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells increase infection risk via the IDO/IL-10 pathway in patients with hepatitis B virus-related liver failure. Front Immunol 2023; 13:966514. [PMID: 36685516 PMCID: PMC9847254 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.966514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) results in high susceptibility to infection. Although granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (gMDSC) are elevated in patients with HBV-ACLF, their role in HBV-ACLF pathogenesis is unknown. To elucidate the mechanism of gMDSC expansion and susceptibility to infection in HBV-ACLF patients, we analyzed the proportion of gMDSC in the peripheral blood and organ tissues of patients with HBV-ACLF and an ACLF mouse model established by continuous injection (eight times) of Concanavalin by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. We found that the proportion of gMDSC increased significantly in the blood and liver of patients with HBV-ACLF. This increase was positively correlated with disease severity, prognosis, and infection. gMDSC percentages were higher in peripheral blood, liver, spleen, and bone marrow than control levels in the ACLF mouse model. Immunofluorescence revealed that the gMDSC count increased in the liver of patients with HBV-ACLF as well as in the liver and spleen of ACLF mice. We further exposed peripheral blood monocyte cells from healthy donors to plasma from HBV-ACLF patients, recombinant cytokines, or their inhibitor, and found that TNF-α led to gMDSC expansion and significant upregulation of indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO), while blocking TNF-α signaling decreased gMDSC. Moreover, we detected proliferation and cytokine secretion of T lymphocytes when purified gMDSC was co-cultured with Pan T cells or IDO inhibitor and found that TNF-α-induced gMDSC inhibited T cell proliferation and interferon-γ production through the IDO signaling pathway. Lastly, the ability of gMDSC to phagocytose bacteria was low in patients with HBV-ACLF. Our findings elucidate HBV-ACLF pathogenesis and provide potential therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueping Yu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Infection Diseases, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Jian Sun
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Feifei Yang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Richeng Mao
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhiqing Shen
- Department of Infection Diseases, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian, China
- Department of Cardiology, The People’s Hospital of Fujian Traditional Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Lan Ren
- Department of Infection Diseases, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Songhua Yuan
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qian He
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Linxia Zhang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu Yang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiangqing Ding
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongquan He
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haoxiang Zhu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhongliang Shen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengqi Zhu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chao Qiu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhijun Su
- Department of Infection Diseases, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Jiming Zhang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/MOH), Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Jing’An Branch of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Zhan X, Wu R, Kong X, You Y, He K, Sun X, Huang Y, Chen W, Duan L. Elevated neutrophil extracellular traps by HBV-mediated S100A9-TLR4/RAGE-ROS cascade facilitate the growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Commun (Lond) 2022; 43:225-245. [PMID: 36346061 PMCID: PMC9926958 DOI: 10.1002/cac2.12388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are considered significant contributors to cancer progression, especially metastasis. However, it is still unclear whether NETs are involved in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocarcinogenesis and have potential clinical significance during evaluation and management for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aimed to investigate the functional mechanism of NETs in HBV-related hepatocarcinogenesis and their clinical significance. METHODS A total of 175 HCC patients with and without HBV infection and 58 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. NETs were measured in tissue specimens, freshly isolated neutrophils and blood serum from these patients, and the correlation of circulating serum NETs levels with malignancy was evaluated. The mechanism by which HBV modulates NETs formation was explored using cell-based studies. In addition, in vitro and in vivo experiments were further performed to clarify the functional mechanism of NETs on the growth and metastasis of HCC. RESULTS We observed an elevated level of NETs in blood serum and tissue specimens from HCC patients, especially those infected with HBV. NETs facilitated the growth and metastasis of HCC both in vitro and in vivo, which were mainly dominated by increased angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related cell migration, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)-induced extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and NETs-mediated cell trapping. Inhibition of NETs generation by DNase 1 effectively abrogated the NETs-aroused HCC growth and metastasis. In addition, HBV-induced S100A9 accelerated the generation of NETs, which was mediated by activation of toll-like receptor (TLR4)/receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)-reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. Further, circulatory NETs were found to correlate with viral load, TNM stage and metastasis status in HBV-related HCC, and the identified NETs could predict extrahepatic metastasis, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.83 and 90.3% sensitivity and 62.8% specificity at a cutoff value of 0.32. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicated that activation of RAGE/TLR4-ROS signaling by HBV-induced S100A9 resulted in abundant NETs formation, which subsequently facilitated the growth and metastasis of HCC cells. More importantly, the identified circulatory NETs exhibited potential as an alternative biomarker for predicting extrahepatic metastasis in HBV-related HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Zhan
- Department of Laboratory MedicineThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
| | - Rui Wu
- Department of Laboratory MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400016P. R. China
| | - Xue‐Hua Kong
- Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medical Diagnostics, Ministry of Education, Department of Laboratory MedicineChongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400010P. R. China
| | - Yan You
- Department of PathologyThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
| | - Kun He
- Department of Hepatobiliary SurgeryThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
| | - Xiao‐Yu Sun
- Department of Laboratory MedicineThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
| | - Yong Huang
- Department of Laboratory MedicineThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
| | - Wei‐Xian Chen
- Department of Laboratory MedicineThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
| | - Liang Duan
- Department of Laboratory MedicineThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing400000P. R. China
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Wang C, Su K, Lin H, Cen B, Zheng S, Xu X. Identification and Verification of a Novel MAGI2-AS3/miRNA-374-5p/FOXO1 Network Associated with HBV-Related HCC. Cells 2022; 11:3466. [PMID: 36359865 PMCID: PMC9654666 DOI: 10.3390/cells11213466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a very common neoplasm worldwide, and competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) plays an important role in the development of HCC. The purpose of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of ceRNAs in HCC. METHODS This study detects potential ceRNAs from HCC through whole genome analysis of lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA expression. We then performed high-throughput sequencing of tissues from five hepatitis B related HCC patients to screen ceRNAs and those screened ceRNAs expressions were verified on tissues from an independent group of six patients. Finally, the function of ceRNAs of interest was illustrated in vitro. RESULT Functional and pathway analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas revealed ceRNA networks. The high-throughput sequencing identified 985 upregulated and 1612 downregulated lncRNAs and 887 upregulated and 1116 downregulated mRNAs in HCC patients. Differentially expressed genes were parallel to cancer-associated processes, comprising 18 upregulated and 35 downregulated significantly enriched pathways including alcoholism and viral carcinogenesis. Among them, a potential ceRNA network was detected and verified in six HCC patients. CeRNAs of the lncRNA MAGI2-AS3/miR-374-5p/FOXO1 pathway were significantly dysregulated in HCC, and validation in vitro showed that FOXO1 is positively regulated by MAGI2-AS3 through the induction of miR-374a/b-5p in HCC cells. In addition, the overexpression of FOXO1 is associated with proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells and increases apoptosis of HCC cells. MiR-374a/b-5p caused an opposite effect by directly suppressing FOXO1 in HCC cells. CONCLUSION CeRNA networks were found in HCC and aberrantly expressed ceRNAs of lncRNA MAGI2-AS3/miR-374-5p/FOXO1 plays a crucial role in HCC, assisting in diagnosis and providing a method for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Oncology and Intelligent Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-Organ Transplantation, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Institute of Organ Transplantation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Kunkai Su
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Hanchao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Oncology and Intelligent Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-Organ Transplantation, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Institute of Organ Transplantation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Beini Cen
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Oncology and Intelligent Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-Organ Transplantation, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Institute of Organ Transplantation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Shusen Zheng
- NHC Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-Organ Transplantation, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Xiao Xu
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Oncology and Intelligent Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-Organ Transplantation, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Institute of Organ Transplantation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
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Yang Z, Sun B, Xiang J, Wu H, Kan S, Hao M, Chang L, Liu H, Wang D, Liu W. Role of epigenetic modification in interferon treatment of hepatitis B virus infection. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1018053. [PMID: 36325353 PMCID: PMC9618964 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1018053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small, enveloped DNA virus that causes acute and chronic hepatitis. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma pathogenesis. Interferons (IFNs) have been used for the treatment of CHB for a long time, with advantages including less treatment duration and sustained virological response. Presently, various evidence suggests that epigenetic modification of the viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and the host genome is crucial for the regulation of viral activity. This modification includes histone acetylation, DNA methylation, N6-methyladenosine, and non-coding RNA modification. IFN treatment for CHB can stimulate multiple IFN-stimulated genes for inhibiting virus replication. IFNs can also affect the HBV life cycle through epigenetic modulation. In this review, we summarized the different mechanisms through which IFN-α inhibits HBV replication, including epigenetic regulation. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying IFN activity are discussed, which indicated its potential as a novel treatment for CHB. It is proposed that epigenetic changes such as histone acetylation, DNA methylation, m6A methylation could be the targets of IFN, which may offer a novel approach to HBV treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijing Yang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Baozhen Sun
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jingcheng Xiang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Han Wu
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Shaoning Kan
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Ming Hao
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Lu Chang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Huimin Liu
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Dongxu Wang
- Laboratory Animal Center, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- *Correspondence: Dongxu Wang, ; Weiwei Liu,
| | - Weiwei Liu
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- *Correspondence: Dongxu Wang, ; Weiwei Liu,
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Kusunoki H, Hamaguchi I, Kobayashi N, Nagata T. Chemical shift assignments of a fusion protein comprising the C-terminal-deleted hepatitis B virus X protein BH3-like motif peptide and Bcl-x L. Biomol NMR Assign 2022; 16:357-361. [PMID: 36044106 DOI: 10.1007/s12104-022-10104-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for the development of liver diseases including fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV has the multifunctional protein, HBV X protein (HBx, 154 residues), which plays key roles in HBV replication and liver disease development. Interaction of HBx through its BH3-like motif with the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL leads to HBV replication and induction of apoptosis, resulting in HCC development. Our previous nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study revealed that the HBx BH3-like motif peptide (residues 101-136) binds to the common BH3-binding groove of Bcl-xL. Importantly, a C-terminal-truncated HBx, e.g., residues 1-120 of HBx, is strongly associated with the increased risk of HBV-related HCC development. However, the interaction mode between the C-terminal-truncated HBx and Bcl-xL remains unclear. To elucidate this interaction mode, the C-terminal-deleted HBx BH3-like motif peptide (residues 101-120) was used as a model peptide in this study. To facilitate the NMR analysis, we prepared a fusion protein of HBx (101-120) and Bcl-xL connected with five repeats of the glycine-serine dipeptide as a linker. Here, we report the 1H, 13C, and 15N resonance assignments of the fusion protein. This is the first step for the elucidation of the pathogenesis of liver diseases caused by the interaction between the C-terminal-truncated HBx and Bcl-xL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideki Kusunoki
- Research Center for Biological Products in the Next Generation, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama, Tokyo, 208-0011, Japan.
| | - Isao Hamaguchi
- Research Center for Biological Products in the Next Generation, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama, Tokyo, 208-0011, Japan
| | - Naohiro Kobayashi
- Laboratory for Advanced NMR Application and Development, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takashi Nagata
- Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan.
- Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan.
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Chen Y, Wen J, Qi D, Tong X, Liu N, Ye X. [HBV-upregulated Lnc-HUR1 inhibits the apoptosis of liver cancer cells]. Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao 2022; 38:3501-3514. [PMID: 36151817 DOI: 10.13345/j.cjb.220101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Lnc-HUR1 is an HBV-related long non-coding RNA, which can promote the proliferation of hepatoma cells and the occurrence and development of liver cancer. In this study we explored the effect of lnc-HUR1 on the apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by taking the approach of immunoblotting, quantitative real time PCR, luciferase reporter assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and flow cytometry. We found that overexpression of lnc-HUR1 significantly reduced the activity of caspase3/7 and the cleavage of PARP-1, while knocking down of lnc-HUR1 significantly increased the activity of caspase3/7 and promoted the cleavage of PARP-1 in HepG2 cells treated with TGF-β, pentafluorouracil or staurosporine. Consistently, the data from Annexin-V/PI staining showed that overexpression of lnc-HUR1 inhibited apoptosis, while knockdown of lnc-HUR1 promoted apoptosis. Moreover, overexpression of lnc-HUR1 up-regulated the apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2 and down-regulated the pro-apoptotic factor BAX at both RNA and protein levels. In the CCL4-induced acute liver injury mice model, the expression of Bcl-2 in the liver tissue of lnc-HUR1 transgenic mice was higher than that of the control mice. The data from ChIP assay indicated that lnc-HUR1 reduced the enrichment of p53 on Bcl-2 and BAX promoters. All these results indicated that lnc-HUR1 inhibited the apoptosis by promoting the expression of apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2 and inhibiting the expression of apoptosis promoting factor BAX. Further studies showed that lnc-HUR1 regulated the transcription of Bcl-2 and BAX in HCT116 cells, but had no effect on the expression of Bcl-2 and BAX in HCT116 p53-/- cells, indicating that lnc-HUR1 regulates the transcription of Bcl-2 and BAX dependent upon the activity of p53. In conclusion, HBV upregulated lnc-HUR1 can inhibit the apoptosis of hepatoma cells. Lnc-HUR1 inhibits apoptosis by inhibiting the transcriptional activity of p53. These results suggest that lnc-HUR1 plays an important role in the occurrence and development of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongchen Chen
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Jinyan Wen
- Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Dandan Qi
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xiaomei Tong
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ningning Liu
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xin Ye
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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Ji X, Jiang X, Kobayashi C, Ren Y, Hu L, Gao Z, Kang D, Jia R, Zhang X, Zhao S, Watashi K, Liu X, Zhan P. Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of a Set of Carboxylic Acid and Phosphate Prodrugs Derived from HBV Capsid Protein Allosteric Modulator NVR 3-778. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27185987. [PMID: 36144715 PMCID: PMC9505734 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27185987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid protein (Cp) is necessary for viral replication and the maintenance of viral persistence, having become an attractive target of anti-HBV drugs. To improve the water solubility of HBV capsid protein allosteric modulator (CpAM) NVR 3-778, a series of novel carboxylic acid and phosphate prodrugs were designed and synthesized using a prodrug strategy. In vitro HBV replication assay showed that these prodrugs maintained favorable antiviral potency (EC50 = 0.28−0.42 µM), which was comparable to that of NVR 3-778 (EC50 = 0.38 µM). More importantly, the cytotoxicity of prodrug N8 (CC50 > 256 µM) was significantly reduced compared to NVR 3-778 (CC50 = 13.65 ± 0.21 µM). In addition, the water solubility of prodrug N6 was hundreds of times better than that of NVR 3-778 in three phosphate buffers with various pH levels (2.0, 7.0, 7.4). In addition, N6 demonstrated excellent plasma and blood stability in vitro and good pharmacokinetic properties in rats. Finally, the hemisuccinate prodrug N6 significantly improved the candidate drug NVR 3-778’s water solubility and increased metabolic stability while maintaining its antiviral efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangkai Ji
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Xiangyi Jiang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Chisa Kobayashi
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 163-8001, Japan
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
| | - Yujie Ren
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Lide Hu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Zhen Gao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Dongwei Kang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Ruifang Jia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Xujie Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Shujie Zhao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Koichi Watashi
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 163-8001, Japan
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
- Research Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 163-8001, Japan
- Correspondence: (K.W.); (X.L.); (P.Z.)
| | - Xinyong Liu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- Correspondence: (K.W.); (X.L.); (P.Z.)
| | - Peng Zhan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 West Culture Road, Jinan 250012, China
- Correspondence: (K.W.); (X.L.); (P.Z.)
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Brezgin SA, Kostyusheva AP, Ponomareva NI, Gegechkori VI, Kirdyashkina NP, Ayvasyan SR, Dmitrieva LN, Kokoreva LN, Chulanov VP, Kostyushev DS. [HBx Protein Potentiates Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation]. Mol Biol (Mosk) 2022; 56:783-794. [PMID: 36165017 DOI: 10.31857/s0026898422050044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can cause chronic hepatitis B, one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world. Global estimates suggest that over 2 billion people are affected by HBV, with over 250 million people developing chronic infection. Upon treatment of comorbidities, patients with chronic infection may develop an abrupt increase of viral replication-HBV reactivation-leading to liver decompensation and, in some cases, death. HBV reactivation occurs mostly due to suppression of antiviral immune response and activation of intracellular pro-viral signaling. Defining the mechanisms of HBV reactivation is necessary for the rational use of drugs and reduction of mortality rates in patients with chronic infection. In this study, for the first time we analyzed the effects of HBx protein on HBV reactivation, described reactivation of HBV from the transcriptionally inactivated state at the methylated recombinant HBV genome model, and investigated HBV reactivation upon treatment with genotoxic agents (doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide) and targeted drug therapies (sunitinib and bortezomib). We report that both wild-type HBx protein and, to a greater extent, the mutant form of HBx protein lacking the nuclear exportation signal, potentiate viral replication and promote HBV reactivation. For the first time, we demonstrate that HBV can reactivate from the transcriptionally inactive state. Doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide induce HBV reactivation at models of both transcriptionally active and transcriptionally silenced viral genome. Sunitinib weakly reactivates HBV, while bortezomib does not affect HBV replication in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Brezgin
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
| | - A P Kostyusheva
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - N I Ponomareva
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
| | - V I Gegechkori
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119991 Russia
| | - N P Kirdyashkina
- Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health, Moscow, 105275 Russia
| | - S R Ayvasyan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - L N Dmitrieva
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - L N Kokoreva
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - V P Chulanov
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- National Medical Research Center for Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases, Moscow, 127994 Russia
| | - D S Kostyushev
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
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Abstract
Several diverse long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified to be involved in hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and oncogenesis, especially those dysregulated in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most of these dysregulated lncRNAs are modulated by the HBV X protein. The regulatory mechanisms of some lncRNAs in HBV replication and oncogenesis have been characterized. Genetic polymorphisms of several lncRNAs affecting HBV replication or oncogenesis have also been studied. The prognosis of HCC remains poor. It is important to identify novel tumor markers for early diagnosis and find more therapeutic targets for effective treatments of HCC. Some dysregulated lncRNAs in HBV-related HCC may become biomarkers for early diagnosis and/or the therapeutic targets of HCC. This mini-review summarizes these findings briefly, focusing on recent developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Chun Li
- Department of Biochemistry, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
| | - Chee-Hing Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Yen Lo
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
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Hong X, Kawasawa YI, Menne S, Hu J. Host cell-dependent late entry step as determinant of hepatitis B virus infection. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010633. [PMID: 35714170 PMCID: PMC9246237 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has a highly restricted host range and cell tropism. Other than the human sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (huNTCP), the HBV entry receptor, host determinants of HBV susceptibility are poorly understood. Woodchucks are naturally infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV), closely related to HBV, but not with HBV. Here, we investigated the capabilities of woodchuck hepatic and human non-hepatic cell lines to support HBV infection. DNA transfection assays indicated that all cells tested supported both HBV and WHV replication steps post entry, including the viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) formation, which is essential for establishing and sustaining infection. Ectopic expression of huNTCP rendered one, but not the other, woodchuck hepatic cell line and the non-hepatic human cell line competent to support productive HBV entry, defined here by cccDNA formation during de novo infection. All huNTCP-expressing cell lines tested became susceptible to infection with hepatitis D virus (HDV) that shares the same entry receptor and initial steps of entry with HBV, suggesting that a late entry/trafficking step(s) of HBV infection was defective in one of the two woodchuck cell lines. In addition, the non-susceptible woodchuck hepatic cell line became susceptible to HBV after fusion with human hepatic cells, suggesting the lack of a host cell-dependent factor(s) in these cells. Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the two woodchuck cell lines revealed widespread differences in gene expression in multiple biological processes that may contribute to HBV infection. In conclusion, other than huNTCP, neither human- nor hepatocyte-specific factors are essential for productive HBV entry. Furthermore, a late trafficking step(s) during HBV infection, following the shared entry steps with HDV and before cccDNA formation, is subject to host cell regulation and thus, a host determinant of HBV infection. Fundamental studies on, and development of therapies against, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which inflicts hundreds of millions worldwide, are impeded by deficiencies in HBV-susceptible animal models. HBV displays a strict species and cell tropism that are not clearly understood. Here, by studying replication of HBV, and the related woodchuck hepatitis virus, in human and woodchuck hepatic or non-hepatic cells, we found that non-hepatic human cells and some woodchuck hepatic cells could support productive HBV entry after expression of the human cell receptor for HBV. Moreover, by studying the infection of hepatitis D virus, which shares the same entry receptor and initial steps of entry with HBV, we could narrow down a host determinant of HBV infection operating at a late entry/trafficking step(s). Our study thus provides new insights into determinants of HBV host tropism and facilitates the development of HBV-susceptible animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xupeng Hong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Yuka Imamura Kawasawa
- Department of Pharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Personalized Medicine, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Stephan Menne
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
| | - Jianming Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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