Abstract
BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection correlated with the development of cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a huge health burden on the global community. However, the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unclear. Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) mainly secreted by hepatocytes, represents the major protein component of high-density lipoprotein. ApoA1 secretion may be disrupted by HBV infection. In this study, we mainly investigated the molecular mechanism of ApoA1 down regulated by HBV for revealing the pathogenesis of CHB.MethodsApoA1 expression in livers of CHB patients as well as healthy controls were performed by Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot. The serum ApoA1 levels were measured by Enzymed-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expression of ApoA1 mRNA and protein levels were performed by RT-PCR and Western blot in human hepatoma HepG2 cells and subline HepG2.2.15 cells. HBV expression construct, pHBV1.3 were transfected into HepG2, the changes of ApoA1 mRNA and protein expression were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. To further study the mechanism of ApoA1 down regulation by HBV, 11 CpG islands in ApoA1 promotor were tested for DNA methylation status by MSP. HepG2.2.15 cell lines were treated with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), then, expression of ApoA1 mRNA and HBV particles in the supernatant, as well as ApoA1 protein levels were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. Secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg in HepG2 cells cotransfected with pApoA1 and pHBV1.3 constructs was tested by ELISA. Meanwhile, secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg in the supernatant were quantified by ELISA in the HepG2.2.15 cells treated with 5-aza-dC plus ApoA1 siRNA.ResultsExpression of ApoA1 mRNA and protein levels, as well as serum ApoA1 levels in CHB patients were decreased corresponding healthy controls in vivo. In addition, the expression of ApoA1 mRNA and protein levels were down regulated in HepG2.2.15 cells correponding HepG2 cells, 11 CpG islands in ApoA1 promoter were tested for methylation status by MSP in HepG2.2.15 cells compared to HepG2 cells, while two CpG islands were found hypermethylated. Expression of ApoA1 mRNA and protein levels were increased in HepG2.2.15 cells treated with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-dC. Furthermore, overexpression of ApoA1 can enhance HBV expression in HepG2 cells while the inhibitory effect of 5-aza-dC on HBV expression was completely abolished by blocking 5-aza-dC-induced up-regulation of ApoA1 using RNAi.ConclusionsEpigenetic silencing of ApoA1 gene expression by CpG island DNA hypermethylation induced by HBV may contribute to the pathogenesis of CHB.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection correlated with the development of cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a huge health burden on the global community
Expression of Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) mRNA and protein levels was significantly decreased in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients ApoA1 expression has been shown to be suppressed in CHB patients corresponding healthy controls [1], the evidences remain insufficient enough
HBV induced down-regulation of ApoA1 we explored whether the expression of ApoA1 was affected by HBV in hepatoma cells, HepG2 and HepG2.2.15 cells were selected for testing whether ApoA1 was subject to regulation by HBV because HepG2.2.15 cells stably produce HBV virus and derived from HepG2 cell lines
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection correlated with the development of cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a huge health burden on the global community. The pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unclear. Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) mainly secreted by hepatocytes, represents the major protein component of high-density lipoprotein. ApoA1 secretion may be disrupted by HBV infection. We mainly investigated the molecular mechanism of ApoA1 down regulated by HBV for revealing the pathogenesis of CHB. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) correlated with a significant increased risk of cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a huge health burden on the global community [1,2,3]. Apoliprotein A1 (ApoA1), as a major protein component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is secreted normally by live and intestine. Hyperlipidemia and Atherogenesis are often accompanied by abnormal expression of ApoA1 and HDL [7, 8]
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