Hepatitis B virus inhibits the expression of complement C3 and C4, in vitro and in vivo - PubMed (original) (raw)

Hepatitis B virus inhibits the expression of complement C3 and C4, in vitro and in vivo

Chengliang Zhu et al. Oncol Lett. 2018 May.

Abstract

The immune system serves an important function in Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and the complement system is a major component of innate immunity. However, the regulatory effect of HBV on complement proteins has not yet been fully elucidated. The present study focused on investigating the impact of HBV on the expression of complement proteins C3 and C4. A total of 226 patients with a clinical diagnosis of HBV infection were enrolled in the study, including 153 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 73 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whereas 116 healthy individuals were included as a control group. Immunoturbidimetric detection was performed to determine the levels of complement C3 and C4 in the serum of the patients with HBV and the control group. The results revealed that the mean ± standard deviation C3 and C4 content was 1.223±0.237 and 0.226±0.052 g/l for the control group, 0.687±0.150 and 0.145±0.070 g/l for the patients with CHB, and 0.829±0.332 and 0.174±0.088 g/l for the patients with HCC, respectively. The levels of complement C3 and C4 in the patients with CHB or HCC were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). The HBV infectious clone pHBV1.3 was used to transfect Huh7 cells; Huh7 cells transfected with the pBlue-ks empty vector were used as the blank control. The changes in mRNA and protein expression of complements C3 and C4 were detected by RT-PCR and western blotting. When compared with the control cells, the Huh7 cells transfected with pHBV1.3 exhibited reduced C3 and C4 mRNA and protein expression levels. It was concluded that HBV can inhibit the expression of complement C3 and C4 in vitro and in vivo, which may lay the foundation for revealing the pathogenesis of HBV.

Keywords: complement C3; complement C4; expression; hepatitis B virus; innate immunity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Comparison of the serum levels of complement C3 for patients with HBV infection and healthy controls. *P<0.05. HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Comparison of the serum levels of complement C4 for patients with HBV infection and healthy controls. *P<0.05. HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Effect of pHBV1.3 on the mRNA expression of complement C3 as determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Effect of pHBV1.3 on the mRNA expression of complement C4 as determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Figure 5.

Figure 5.

Effect of pHBV1.3 on the protein expression of complement C3 as determined by western blotting.

Figure 6.

Figure 6.

Effect of pHBV1.3 on the protein expression of complement C4 as determined by western blotting.

References

    1. Zhang AY, Lai CL, Poon RT, Huang FY, Seto WK, Fung J, Wong DK, Yuen MF. Hepatitis B virus full-length genomic mutations and quasispecies in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;31:1638–1645. doi: 10.1111/jgh.13316. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Seeger C, Mason WS. Molecular biology of hepatitis B virus infection. Virology. 2015;479–480:672–686. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2015.02.031. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chang ML, Liaw YF. Hepatitis B flares in chronic hepatitis B: Pathogenesis, natural course, and management. J Hepatol. 2014;61:1407–1417. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2014.08.033. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Huang X, Hollinger FB. Occult hepatitis B virus infection and hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review. J Viral Hepat. 2014;21:153–162. doi: 10.1111/jvh.12222. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Custer B, Sullivan SD, Hazlet TK, Iloeje U, Veenstra DL, Kowdley KV. Global epidemiology of hepatitis B virus. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2004;38(10 Suppl 3):S158–S168. doi: 10.1097/00004836-200411003-00008. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources