Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019163 (hepatitis B)
38,309 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The hepatitis B virus X protein (HBX) plays key regulatory roles in viral replication and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. HBX is an unstable protein; its instability is attributed to rapid degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Here, we show that the middle and carboxyl-terminal domains of HBX, independently fused to GFP, render the recombinant proteins susceptible to proteasomal degradation, while the amino-terminal domain has little effect on the ubiquitination or stability of HBX. Mutation of any single or combination of up to five of six lysine residues, all located in the middle and carboxyl-terminal domain, did not prevent HBX from being ubiquitinated, ruling out any specific lysine as the sole site of ubiquitination. Surprisingly, HBX in which all six lysines were mutated and showed no evidence of ubiquitination, was still susceptible to proteasomal degradation. These results suggest that both ubiquitin-dependent and -independent proteasomal degradation processes are operative in HBX turnover.
...
PMID:Ubiquitin-dependent and -independent proteasomal degradation of hepatitis B virus X protein. 1815 58

HBs antigen (HBsAg)183-191 (FLLTRILTI, R187 peptide) is a dominant human leucocyte antigen-A2 (HLA-A2)-restricted epitope associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Caucasian populations. However, its prevalence is poorly understood in China, where there is a high incidence of HBV infection. In this report, we sequenced the region of HBsAg derived from 103 Chinese patients. Approximately 16.5% of the patients bore a mutant HBsAg183-191 epitope in which the original arginine (R187) was substituted with a lysine (K187 mutant peptide). Importantly, K187 still bound to HLA-A2 with high affinity, and elicited specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in HLA-A2/K(b) transgenic mice. K187-specific CTLs were also generated successfully in acute hepatitis B (AHB) patients, indicating that this mutant epitope is processed and presented effectively. Our findings show that R187-specific CTLs can cross-react with the K187 peptide. These findings reveal that K187 still has the property of an HLA-A2 restricted epitope, and elicits a protective anti-HBV CTL response in humans.
...
PMID:A mutant HBs antigen (HBsAg)183-191 epitope elicits specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in acute hepatitis B patients. 1823 55

Glycoproteins of several viruses have the capacity to induce release of noninfectious, capsidless particulate structures containing only the viral glycoprotein. Such structures are often called subviral particles (SVP). Foamy viruses (FVs), a special type of retroviruses with a replication strategy combining features of both orthoretroviruses and hepadnaviruses, express a glycoprotein (Env) which has the ability to induce SVP release. However, unlike human hepatitis B virus, prototype FV (PFV) naturally secretes only small amounts of SVPs, because ubiquitination of the Env protein seems to suppress the intrinsic capacity for induction of SVP release. In this study, we characterized the structural determinants influencing PFV SVP release, examined the role of specific Env ubiquitination sites in the regulation of this process, and analyzed the requirement of the cellular vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) machinery for SVP egress. We observed that the cytoplasmic and membrane-spanning domains of both the leader peptide (LP) and the transmembrane (TM) subunit harbor essential as well as inhibitory domains. Furthermore, only ubiquitination at the most N-terminal lysine residues (K(14) and K(15)) in LP reduced cell surface expression and suppressed SVP release to wild-type levels. This suggests that interaction of Env with cellular components required for SVP release suppression is effective only when Env is ubiquitinated at these lysine residues but not at others. Finally, SVP release was sensitive to dominant-negative mutants of late components, but not early components, of the cellular VPS machinery. PFV therefore differs from hepatitis B virus in using the same cellular pathway for egress of both virions and SVPs.
...
PMID:Subviral particle release determinants of prototype foamy virus. 1868 14

The hepatitis B virus precore protein is closely related to the nucleocapsid core protein but is processed distinctly in the cell and plays a different role in the viral cycle. Precore is addressed to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through a signal peptide, and the form present in the ER is the P22 protein. P22 is then cleaved in its C-terminal part to be secreted as HBe antigen. In addition, a cytosolic form of 22 kDa less characterized has been observed. Precore gene was shown to be implicated in viral persistence, but until now, the actual protein species involved has not been determined. Our work focuses on the cytosolic form of precore. Using human cells expressing precore and a convenient fractionation assay, we demonstrated that the cytosolic form is identical to the ER form and retrotransported in the cytoplasm through the ER-associated degradation pathway. This cellular machinery translocates misfolded proteins to the cytoplasm, where they are ubiquitinated on lysine residues and degraded by proteasome. We showed that precore escapes proteasome due to its low lysine content and accumulates in the cytosol. The role of this retrotransport was investigated. In the presence of precore, we found a specific redistribution of the Grp78/BiP chaperone protein to cytosol and demonstrated a specific interaction between precore and Grp78/BiP. Altogether, these data support the idea that the hepatitis B virus develops a strategy to take advantage of the ER-associated degradation pathway, allowing distinct subcellular localization and probably distinct roles for the viral precore protein.
...
PMID:The hepatitis B virus precore protein is retrotransported from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to cytosol through the ER-associated degradation pathway. 1880 86

The carcinogenic role of Hepatitis B X (HBX) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely unknown. Histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferase SMYD3 was found to be over-expressed and have a pro-carcinogenic effect in HCC. The role of HBX in regulating SMYD3 activity and the corresponding C-MYC gene in HCC carcinogenesis was investigated. SMYD3 and C-MYC expression in HBV-negative HepG2 and HBV-positive HepG2.2.15 were detected by real time PCR and Western blot. After transfection of HBX into HepG2, SMYD3 and C-MYC protein expression was detected and the apoptosis and proliferation of hepatoma cells were assayed. After SMYD3 expression in HepG2 with HBX transfection downregulated by siRNA, the corresponding C-MYC expression, cellular apoptosis, and proliferation were assayed by FACS. SMYD3 mRNA and protein and C-MYC protein were significantly higher in HepG2.2.15 than in HepG2. HBX transfection resulted in enhanced SMYD3 and C-MYC expressions, decreased cell apoptosis, and increased cell proliferation in HepG2 cells. Knocking down of SMYD3 in HepG2 with HBX transfection inhibited C-MYC expression and promoted apoptosis. These results suggest that HBX upregulates SMYD3 expression in HepG2, which may promote hepatoma development and progress. C-MYC may act as a down-stream gene in HBX-SMYD3-related hepatocarcinogenesis.
...
PMID:Hepatitis B virus X protein upregulates expression of SMYD3 and C-MYC in HepG2 cells. 1908 26

Ubiquitin conjugation to lysine residues regulates a variety of protein functions, including endosomal trafficking and degradation. While ubiquitin plays an important role in the release of many viruses, the requirement for direct ubiquitin conjugation to viral structural proteins is less well understood. Some viral structural proteins require ubiquitin ligase activity, but not ubiquitin conjugation, for efficient release. Recent evidence has shown that, like other viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV) requires a ubiquitin ligase for release from the infected cell. The HBV core protein contains two lysine residues (K7 and K96), and K96 has been suggested to function as a potential ubiquitin acceptor site based on the fact that previous studies have shown that mutation of this amino acid to alanine blocks HBV release. We therefore reexamined the potential connection between core lysine ubiquitination and HBV replication, protein trafficking, and virion release. In contrast to alanine substitution, we found that mutation of K96 to arginine, which compared to alanine is more conserved but also cannot mediate ubiquitin conjugation, does not affect either virus replication or virion release. We also found that the core lysine mutants display wild-type sensitivity to the antiviral activity of interferon, which demonstrates that ubiquitination of core lysines does not mediate the interferon-induced disruption of HBV capsids. However, mutation of K96 to arginine alters the nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution of core, leading to an accumulation in the nucleolus. In summary, these studies demonstrate that although ubiquitin may regulate the HBV replication cycle, these mechanisms function independently of direct lysine ubiquitination of core protein.
...
PMID:Hepatitis B virus replication and release are independent of core lysine ubiquitination. 1924 16

In acetate buffer solution, the reaction of H2O2 with KI was catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to form I3-. The I3- combined respectively with rhodamine S(RhS), rhodamine 6G(Rh6G), rhodamine B(RhB) and butyl-rhodamine B(b-RhB) to form RhS-I3, Rh6G-I3, RhB-I3 and b-RhB-I3 association particles, resulting in the fluorescence quenching at 580, 580, 554 and 554 nm, respectively. The effect of pH value, rhodamine dye concentration, KI concentration, H2O2 concentration, reaction temperature and time on the fluorescence quenching intensity (deltaF) of the four catalytic systems was considered respectively. For the RhS, Rh6G, RhB and b-RhB catalytic systems, pH 4.6-3.2 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) RhS-4 x 10(-3) mol x L(-1) KI-1.30 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) H2O2-25 degrees C-20 min, 4.8-2.4 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) Rh6G-4 x 10(-3) mol x L(-1) KI-2.59 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) H2O2-25 degrees C-20 min, 4.6-1.6 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) RhB-4 x 10(-3) mol x L(-1) KI-2.16 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) H2O2-25 degrees C-20 min, and 4.6-1.6 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) b-RhB-4 X 10(-3) mol x L(-1) KI-3.02 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1) H2O2-25 degrees C-20 min were chosen for use respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the HRP linear range was 8-6 400 pg x mL(-1) for the RhS catalytic system, 40-4 000 pg x mL(-1) for the Rh6G catalytic system, 32-3 200 pg x mL(-1) for the RhB catalytic system and 40-6 400 pg x mL(-1) for the b-RhB catalytic system, with a detection limit of 3.2, 3.0, 2.4 and 3.7 pg x mL(-1) HRP, respectively. The regress equation of the four catalytic systems was deltaF = 0.061 1c+39.6, deltaF = 0.047 2c+50.4, deltaF = 0.138 6c+34.2 and deltaF = 0.026 25c+36.72, with a correlation coefficient of 0.997 9, 0.999 0, 0.997 3 and 0.996 9, respectively. The RhS catalytic system was most sensitive, and was chosen for the determination of HRP. The influence of foreign substance on the RhS assay of 3.5 ng x mL(-1) HRP was examined, with a relative error of +/- 10%. A 3000-times L-glutamic acid, L-lysine, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+ and vitamin B6, 1000-times HAS etc did not interfere with the assay. This showed that the assay has good selectivity. The RhS fluorescence quenching assay was applied to the determination of HRP in the solution of hepatitis B surface antibody labeling HRP, with satisfactory results.
...
PMID:[Fluorescence quenching assay of ultratrace horseradish peroxidase using rhodamine dye]. 1945 17

The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the core protein of hepatitis B virus is not necessary for capsid assembly. However, the CTD does contribute to encapsidation of pregenomic RNA (pgRNA). The contribution of the CTD to DNA synthesis is less clear. This is the case because some mutations within the CTD increase the proportion of spliced RNA to pgRNA that are encapsidated and reverse transcribed. The CTD contains four clusters of consecutive arginine residues. The contributions of the individual arginine clusters to genome replication are unknown. We analyzed core protein variants in which the individual arginine clusters were substituted with either alanine or lysine residues. We developed assays to analyze these variants at specific steps throughout genome replication. We used a replication template that was not spliced in order to study the replication of only pgRNA. We found that alanine substitutions caused defects at both early and late steps in genome replication. Lysine substitutions also caused defects, but primarily during later steps. These findings demonstrate that the CTD contributes to DNA synthesis pleiotropically and that preserving the charge within the CTD is not sufficient to preserve function.
...
PMID:The arginine clusters of the carboxy-terminal domain of the core protein of hepatitis B virus make pleiotropic contributions to genome replication. 2108 67

The aim of gene therapy is to treat inherited or acquired genetic deficiencies (e.g., cystic fibrosis) or viral diseases (e.g., hepatitis B, HIV) by introduction of DNA encoding a therapeutic protein or a specific virus antigen, respectively, into the nucleus of the target cell. Because naked DNA will barely pass cellular membranes, a carrier system is required for transfection (1-4). Cationic polymers, which condense DNA by ionic interaction, form a promising class of nonviral transfection agents. Well-known examples of these polymers are DEAE dextran, poly(L-lysine), poly(ethylenimine), and poly(2- [dimethylamino]ethyl methacrylate) (pDMAEMA) (5-10). In order to achieve transfection, aplasmid must be delivered into the nucleus, which requires cellular uptake of polymerDNA complexes, generally referred to as "polyplexes" (11), which most likely occurs via endocytosis, followed by endosomal escape and transport to the nucleus. The polyplex must dissociate, either in the cytosol or in the nucleus, which may be a critical step in the transfection process.
...
PMID:Water-soluble cationic methacrylate polymers for nonviral gene delivery. 2131 44

This study examines the differential activities between wild-type Hepatitis B virus X protein (WtHBx) and a mutant HBx (MutHBx), which bears a hotspot mutation at nucleotides 1,762 and 1,764, resulting in a lysine to methionine change at codon 130 and a valine to isoleucine change at codon 131. This mutation leads to hepatocellular carcinoma, and we evaluated how WtHBx and MutHBx proteins differ in their interactions with the p53 tumor suppressor protein. This was experimentally addressed through co-immunoprecipitation assays examining the interaction between WtHBx and MutHBx proteins with p53, reporter assays determining the impact of the HBx proteins on p53-mediated gene transcription, and clonogenic survival assays evaluating the effect of HBx on cell growth in lines of varying p53-expression status. Both WtHBx and MutHBx proteins physically interact with p53 protein, but have different impacts on p53-mediated gene transcription. WtHBx did not effect p53-mediated gene transcription, whereas MutHBx inhibited it (P < 0.01). MutHBx inhibited colony formation in p53-proficient cells (P < 0.01), but not p53-deficient lines. Although both HBx proteins interact with p53, they affect p53-mediated gene transcription differently. WtHBx has no effect, whereas MutHBx inhibits it. In clonogenic survival assays, MutHBx inhibited cell growth in p53-proficient cells rather than enhanced it. This suggests that for MutHBx to behave oncogenically, the p53 pathway must be crippled or absent. This study has identified some important novel ways in which WtHBx and MutHBx differentially interact with p53 and this could begin to form the cellular explanation for the association between this particular mutant and liver cancer.
...
PMID:Interaction of mutant hepatitis B X protein with p53 tumor suppressor protein affects both transcription and cell survival. 2143 26


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>