土拨鼠肝炎病毒感染模型在乙型肝炎研究中的应用

乙型肝炎病毒(hepatitis B virus, HBV)是嗜肝DNA病毒的原型,HBV感染所致的乙型肝炎是严重危害我国人民身体健康的公共卫生问题。现有的抗乙肝药物包括核苷类似物和干扰素均难以达到临床治愈,研究新的抗乙肝药物、评价新的联合治疗策略均离不开合适的动物模型。土拨鼠肝炎病毒(woodchuck hepatitis virus, WHV)于1978年美国费城动物园患肝癌的土拨鼠中首次被发现,因其基因组结构、复制周期与HBV高度近似,被归类为嗜肝DNA病毒。WHV感染土拨鼠后的自然史与HBV感染人高度近似,因此土拨鼠模型很早就被用于乙肝DNA疫苗、抗HBV药物的评价。近年来土拨鼠多种细胞因子及其受体、免疫细胞表面标志先后被克隆和鉴定,T细胞应答的检测方法包括淋巴细胞增殖实验、CD107a脱颗粒实验逐步被建立,大大促进了土拨鼠模型在HBV发病机制及免疫调节治疗中的应用。本文主要综述了WHV感染土拨鼠模型的免疫学特征,以及该模型在抗乙肝病毒药物评价和免疫调节治疗中的应用。     

RNAi技术靶向HBV相关宿主因子治疗慢性乙肝的研究进展

乙型肝炎病毒(hepatitis B virus,HBV)是一种嗜肝性DNA病毒.HBV慢性感染是导致肝炎、肝硬化以及肝癌的一个重要原因.早期抗HBV研究策略一般是靶向HBV自身进行干预,包括核酸药物、干扰素药物等.然而,由于病毒易突变,且易发生耐药,近年研究者将治疗靶点逐渐转向与HBV入侵、复制及组装等相关的宿主蛋白,这为抗慢性HBV感染治疗带来了新的视野和思路.因此,基于RNAi技术并靶向宿主蛋白抗HBV的策略受到研究者的青睐,并且取得良好的治疗效果.本文将对这一研究领域的最新进展作一综述.     

基因芯片分析干扰素对乙型肝炎病毒转染细胞基因表达的影响

乙型肝炎病毒 (HepatitisBvirus ,HBV)的持续性感染是影响人类健康的重大问题 ,而α 干扰素 (IFN α)和γ 干扰素(IFN γ)分别具有抗HBV的作用。为了研究HBV持续存在对IFN效应基因表达的影响 ,将HepG2细胞和来源于HepG2细胞并整合有HBV基因组的HepG2 .2 .15细胞经IFN α或IFN γ处理 6h后 ,用含 14 112个靶基因的人cDNA基因芯片检测了各组基因表达谱的差异。结果证实 ,许多与细胞周期、增殖、凋亡相关的基因及部分EST和功能未知基因受IFN调节 ;IFN诱导后 ,一些与激酶和信号转导、转录调节、抗原递呈和处理相关的基因在两株细胞间表达存在差异 ,提示HBV影响IFN诱导的细胞基因的表达。进一步挑选部分显著差异表达的基因 ,研究其对HBV复制的影响 ,结果发现在两个细胞株中IFN诱导后基因表达差异的双遍在蛋白 (Diubiquitin)和髓样细胞分化蛋白 (MyD88)均可显著降低HBV抗原表达 ,并证实MyD88能抑制HBV复制。这有助于揭示IFN抗病毒效应及HBV持续性感染机制 ,为分子水平寻找新型抗HBV药物的靶点打下基础。     

应用RNAi文库筛选HBV复制相关基因

深入研究HBV复制机理,筛选参与HBV复制的基因,可能为开发抗乙肝病毒新药提供新 的靶点．本文拟建立一种筛选HBV复制相关基因的方法: RNAi文库感染HepG2.2.15细胞后,利用免疫磁珠收集HBsAg表达降低的细胞,提取DNA,PCR扩增siRNA编码序列,将PCR产物克隆入T-easy载体,随机挑选克隆测序,发现DDB1基因可能参与HBV复制．本试验建立了一种筛选HBV复制相关基因的方法,为大规模全基因组筛选参与HBV复制的基因奠定了基础．     

抗HCV药物筛选系统研究进展

丙型肝炎病毒(Hepatitis C virus,HCV)感染的持久性引发慢性肝病疾病,并可能发展成为肝硬化和肝癌。目前对HCV的治疗不能达到理想的治疗效果,所以开发新型抗HCV药物迫在眉睫。抗HCV药物筛选的细胞模型,如复制子系统、假病毒系统、细胞培养系统,动物模型,如黑猩猩、uPA-SCID小鼠等,取得了快速的进展,并推动丙型肝炎的研究和抗HCV药物的发现。     

抗HBcAg人源性单链抗体细胞内表达及其抗病毒复制的实验研究

应用人源性抗HBcAg单链抗体细胞内表达技术,探讨抗HBV复制基因治疗的应用价值.应用噬菌体展示和基因重组技术,从HBV感染的外周血淋巴细胞克隆了人源性抗HBcAg单链抗体,并重组至逆转录病毒载体.以人肝癌细胞smmc-7721和PLC/PRF/5为靶细胞进行基因共转染,分别测定实验组细胞上清中的HBsAg和HBeAg,与对照组做比较,观察抗HBcAg单链抗体细胞内表达的抗病毒治疗作用.结果显示,在急性HBV感染的细胞株中,抑制病毒复制效率为49%～61%,在慢性病毒感染细胞,抑制率为41%～54%.实验结果表明,应用单链抗体细胞内表达技术,在抗病毒治疗研究中具有潜在的应用价值.应对HBV的4个开放阅读框架编码产物进行全面的对比研究,以发现抑制效率高、实用价值大的靶基因.     

抗多药耐药靶点及相关药物的研究进展

抗多药耐药是指在疾病的治疗过程中,细胞对多种药物产生广泛的耐受,导致治疗效果不理想的现象。多药耐药多发于感染与肿瘤疾病的治疗中,已成为治愈这2 类疾病的主要障碍。从转运蛋白和离子通道、酶以及核糖体这3 个方面综述抗多药耐药靶点的机制及相关药物的研究进展,旨在为抗多药耐药药物的研发提供参考。     

综述:Ⅰ型干扰素在HIV-1感染中的作用具有两面性

Ⅰ型干扰素(以下简称为干扰素)是重要的抗病毒因子,也是临床上治疗病毒感染性疾病的药物．然而,干扰素在HIV感染中的作用一直存在争议．最近在HIV感染的人源化小鼠模型中发现,干扰素具有抑制HIV复制和破坏抗病毒免疫的双重作用．在抗病毒药物治疗的同时,注射干扰素受体的阻断抗体显著提高抗HIV特异性免疫反应,延缓停药后病毒反弹．这些研究结果提示,干扰素有望成为研发治疗艾滋病新型药物的靶点．     

Ⅰ型干扰素在HIV-1感染中的作用具有两面性

Ⅰ型干扰素(以下简称为干扰素)是重要的抗病毒因子,也是临床上治疗病毒感染性疾病的药物.然而,干扰素在HIV感染中的作用一直存在争议.最近在HIV感染的人源化小鼠模型中发现,干扰素具有抑制HIV复制和破坏抗病毒免疫的双重作用.在抗病毒药物治疗的同时,注射干扰素受体的阻断抗体显著提高抗HIV特异性免疫反应,延缓停药后病毒反弹.这些研究结果提示,干扰素有望成为研发治疗艾滋病新型药物的靶点.     

化学发光Southern blot法检测HBV体外复制及其应用于药物对HBV的抑制分析

目的：建立化学发光Southern blot检测细胞内HBV DNA的方法,同时检测3种不同靶点抗乙肝药物的体外作用。方法：用地高辛标记HBV探针,优化杂交条件,检测来自HepG2及HepG2.2.15 HBV DNA复制中间体;利用建立的化学发光Southern blot检测HBV DNA的方法检测经拉米夫定、Bay41-4109、α-Galcer以不同药物浓度处理的HepG2.2.15HBV DNA复制中间体的水平。结果：（1）标记的HBV探针的检测灵敏度为0.1pg,杂交系统的检测灵敏度为1pg,可检测到HepG2.2.15细胞内的HBV DNA特异性信号;（2）以该法检测胞内HBV DNA可见3种药物都有明显的抑制作用,其半数有效量（IC50）分别为1.53μmol/L、0.41μmol/L、0.01μmol/L。结论：胞质HBV DNA的水平能准确地反映不同靶点抗HBV药物的抗病毒效果,建议在观察药物特别是中药抗病毒研究中采用。     

Antisense oligonucleotides targeting abhydrolase domain containing 2 block human hepatitis B virus propagation

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health concern worldwide and only a minority of treated patients develop a sustained protective response following a short course of therapy, and most patients require prolonged treatment to suppress viral replication. However, several recent reports showed that inhibition of certain host cell proteins prevented viral infection, specifically the human abhydrolase domain containing 2 (ABHD2) has been confirmed by our previous study to be upregulated in HepG2.2.15 cells but downregulated by lamivudine. These observations suggested that ABHD2 was important for HBV propagation and could be a target of novel anti-HBV drugs. To assess the importance of ABHD2 to the HBV infection process, antisense oligonucleotides (ASODNs) were used to downregulate ABHD2 expression in HepG2.2.15 cells. From 5 ASODNS candidates tested, AB3 significantly downregulated ABHD2 mRNA and protein expression levels. Further, AB3 significantly reduced HBV DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen, and hepatitis B "e" antigen protein expression levels in cell medium without affecting cell viability. These results suggest that downregulation of ABHD2 using ASODNs blocked HBV replication and expression without affecting host cell physiology. Further, data demonstrated an essential role of ABHD2 in HBV propagation, suggesting it can serve as a novel target for anti-HBV drug development.     

In vitro investigation of HBV clinical isolates from Chinese patients reveals that genotype C isolates possess higher infectivity than genotype B isolates

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype B and C are two major genotypes that are prevalent in Asia and differ in natural history and disease progression. The impact of HBV genotypes on viral replication and protein expression has been explored by the transfection of hepatoma cells with replication-competent HBV DNA, which mimics the later stages of the viral life cycle. However, the influence of HBV genotypes on the early events of viral infection remains undetermined, mainly due to the difficulties in obtaining sufficient infectious viral particles for infection assays. Here, we report that a high-titer HBV inoculum can be generated from the transient transfection-based cell model after optimizing transfection conditions and modifying the HBV-expressing construct. By performing in vitro infection assays using transiently transfected derived viruses, we found that clinical genotype C isolates possessed higher infectivity than genotype B isolates. Moreover, we identified a naturally occurring mutation sL21S in small hepatitis B surface protein, which markedly decreased the infectivity of HBV genotype C isolates, but not that of genotype B isolates. In summary, using infectious viral particles provided by the optimized transient transfection-based cell model, we have been able to investigate a wide range of HBV variants on viral infectivity, which may contribute to our understanding of the reasons for different clinical outcomes in HBV infections and the development of therapeutic drugs targeting the early stages of HBV life cycle.     

siRNA Combinations Mediate Greater Suppression of Hepatitis B virus Replication in Mice

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major world-wide health problem. The major obstacles for current anti-HBV therapy are the low efficacy and the occurrence of drug resistant HBV mutations. Recent studies have demonstrated that combination therapy can enhance antiviral efficacy and overcome shortcomings of established drugs. In this study, the inhibitory effect mediated by combination of siRNAs targeting different sites of HBV in transgenic mice was analyzed. HBsAg and HBeAg in the sera of the mice were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay, HBV DNA by real-time PCR and HBV mRNA by RT-PCR. Our data demonstrated that all the three siRNAs employed showed marked anti-HBV effects. The expression of HBsAg and the replication of HBV DNA could be specifically inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by siRNAs. Furthermore, combination of siRNAs compared with individual use of each siRNA, exerted a stronger inhibition on antigen expression and viral replication, even though the final concentration of siRNA used for therapy was the same. Secreted HBsAg and HBeAg in the serum of mice treated with siRNA combination were reduced by 96.7 and 96.6 %, respectively. Immunohistochemical detection of liver tissue revealed 91 % reduction of HBsAg-positive cells in the combination therapy group. The combination of siRNAs caused a greater inhibition in the levels of viral mRNA and DNA (90 and 87.7 %) relative to the control group. It was noted that the siRNA3 showed stronger inhibition of cccDNA (78.6 %). Our results revealed that combination of siRNAs mediated a stronger inhibition of viral replication and antigen expression in transgenic mice than single siRNAs.     

Sulfamoylbenzamide Derivatives Inhibit the Assembly of Hepatitis B Virus Nucleocapsids

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, a serious public health problem leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, is currently treated with either pegylated alpha interferon (pegIFN-α) or one of the five nucleos(t)ide analogue viral DNA polymerase inhibitors. However, neither pegIFN-α nor nucleos(t)ide analogues are capable of reliably curing the viral infection. In order to develop novel antiviral drugs against HBV, we established a cell-based screening assay by using an immortalized mouse hepatocyte-derived stable cell line supporting a high level of HBV replication in a tetracycline-inducible manner. Screening of a library consisting of 26,900 small molecules led to the discovery of a series of sulfamoylbenzamide (SBA) derivatives that significantly reduced the amount of cytoplasmic HBV DNA. Structure-activity relationship studies have thus far identified a group of fluorine-substituted SBAs with submicromolar antiviral activity against HBV in human hepatoma cells. Mechanistic analyses reveal that the compounds dose dependently inhibit the formation of pregenomic RNA (pgRNA)-containing nucleocapsids of HBV but not other animal hepadnaviruses, such as woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) and duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV). Moreover, heterologous genetic complementation studies of capsid protein, DNA polymerase, and pgRNA between HBV and WHV suggest that HBV capsid protein confers sensitivity to the SBAs. In summary, SBAs represent a novel chemical entity with superior activity and a unique antiviral mechanism and are thus warranted for further development as novel antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.