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Effects of hepatitis B virus X gene on apoptosis and expression of immune molecules of human proximal tubular epithelial cells

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Abstract

The hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) is the most important determinant in viral pathogenesis. HBx regulates HBV replication, cellular transcription, signal transduction, proteasome activity and cell cycle progression. In this study, HK-2 cells were transiently transfected with the HBx gene using a eukaryotic vector, pcDNA3.1/myc-HBx. Transfection with the HBx gene increased the number of apoptotic cells. In addition, cultured HK-2 cells became irregular in shape. The expression of α-SMA and E-cadherin, TLR4, MHC-II and CD40 was increased. The transfection resulted in increased IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels in the supernatant and decreased IL-4 in the supernatant. In conclusion, overexpression of the HBx gene in renal tubular epithelial cells induces apoptosis of HK-2 cells and promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation. HBx transfection upregulates the expression of immune molecules in renal tubular epithelial cells and induces an imbalance in cytokine levels.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81170672).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Shanghai First People’s Hospital, 100 Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, China

    Xuan Wang, Yi Zhou, Nan Zhu & Wei-jie Yuan

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  1. Xuan Wang
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  2. Yi Zhou
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  3. Nan Zhu
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  4. Wei-jie Yuan
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Correspondence to Wei-jie Yuan.

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Wang, X., Zhou, Y., Zhu, N. et al. Effects of hepatitis B virus X gene on apoptosis and expression of immune molecules of human proximal tubular epithelial cells. Arch Virol 158, 2479–2485 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-013-1759-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-013-1759-7

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