Presence of integrated hepatitis B virus DNA sequences in cellular DNA of human hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) may be one of the agents involved in the aetiology of human primary liver cancer. This hypothesis is supported by (1) the similarity between the geographical distribution of chronic carriers of the viral surface antigen (HBsAg) and that of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); (2) the increase in the prevalence of HBV markers in serum of patients with primary liver cancer when compared with the general population; (3) the observation that HBV infection precedes the development of the tumour. Moreover, these epidemiological indications of an association between HBV infecton and hepatocellular carcinoma are supported by the detection of HBV markers such as HBsAg or viral DNA sequences, although in a non-integrated form in tumour tissue. To study the relationship between HBV and primary liver cancer further, we looked for the presence of free or integrated viral DNA in tumour tissue of human hepatocellular carcinomas and in a HBsAg-producing human hepatoma cell line. Using the blot-transfer hybridization technique and cloned HBV DNA as a probe, we have now demonstrated that the viral DNA is integrated in the cellular genome both in tumour tissue and in a hepatoma cell line.     

Expression in Escherichia coli of hepatitis B virus DNA sequences cloned in plasmid pBR322.

Fragments of hepatitis B virus DNA isolated from Dane particles have been inserted into the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322 and cloned. Cells carrying the hybrid plasmid synthesise antigenic material that reacts specifically with antisera to hepatitis B viral antigens.     

Hepatitis B virus genes and their expression in E. coli.

A composite DNA sequence of regions of hepatitis B virus, determined from a series of recombinant plasmids, reveals the genes for the surface antigen and the core antigen of the virus. The sequence of the core antigen shows it to be a DNA binding protein. The core antigen gene is expressed in Escherichia coli and when injected into rabbits the bacterial product induces antibodies which react with core antigen isolated from human sources.     

Integration of telomere sequences with the draft human genome sequence

Telomeres are the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. To ensure that no large stretches of uncharacterized DNA remain between the ends of the human working draft sequence and the ends of each chromosome, we would need to connect the sequences of the telomeres to the working draft sequence. But telomeres have an unusual DNA sequence composition and organization that makes them particularly difficult to isolate and analyse. Here we use specialized linear yeast artificial chromosome clones, each carrying a large telomere-terminal fragment of human DNA, to integrate most human telomeres with the working draft sequence. Subtelomeric sequence structure appears to vary widely, mainly as a result of large differences in subtelomeric repeat sequence abundance and organization at individual telomeres. Many subtelomeric regions appear to be gene-rich, matching both known and unknown expressed genes. This indicates that human subtelomeric regions are not simply buffers of nonfunctional 'junk DNA' next to the molecular telomere, but are instead functional parts of the expressed genome.     

Antibody production to the nucleocapsid and envelope of the hepatitis B virus primed by a single synthetic T cell site

The nucleocapsid (HBcAg) of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can induce antibody responses via both a T-cell dependent and a T-cell independent pathway and is highly immunogenic during infection. We have examined the T-cell determinants of the antigen and find that HBcAg-specific helper T cells (TH) can help B cells produce antibody against envelope (HBsAg) antigens as well as HBcAg, even though these antigens are found on separate molecules. We have also been able to prime helper T cells with synthetic T-cell epitopes of HBcAg; helper cells primed with a single synthetic epitope can induce B cells to produce antibody that reacts with multiple HBsAg epitopes. One problem with the development of an HBV vaccine is that some vaccinees and patients do not respond to HBsAg directly; our results indicate that this problem can be circumvented using the response to HBcAg.     

Biosynthesis of hepatitis B virus surface antigen in Escherichia coli

Hepatitis B is a widespread viral disease. In the absence of cell cultures capable of propagating the virus (HBV) an efficient vaccine has been prepared from viral envelopes isolated from the plasma of chronic carriers. The major polypeptide of the envelope is one of molecular weight 25,000 which carries the surface antigen (HBsAg). Therefore, the biosynthesis of this polypeptide in Escherichia coli may offer an alternative procedure to produce HbsAg free from human proteins. Recently, the HBV genome has been cloned in E.coli. Determination of its primary structure allowed the localization of the gene (called gene S) coding for HBsAg and the synthesis of the core antigen in E.coli has been reported. We have constructed a derivative of bacteriophage lambda carrying a fusion between the beta-galactosidase gene (lacZ) and the HBsAg coding sequence (lambdalacHBs-1). Infection of E.coli with lambdalacHBs-1 leads to the biosynthesis of a polypeptide of molecular weitht 138,000 carrying antigenic determinants of HBV surface antigen.     

Myofibrillogenesis regulator-1 promotes cell adhesion and migration in human hepatoma cells

Myofibrillogenesis regulator-1 (MR-1) is a gene overexpressed usually in many human cancers. However, the effects of MR-1 on cell proliferation, adhesion, migration and genome-wide gene regulation are still unclear. In this study, a human hepatoma cell line that highly overexpresses MR-1, BEL-7402/MR-1 cells was established. While the high expression of MR-1 did not promote cell proliferation, it significantly increased cell spreading, adhesion and migration compared with control cells. A total of 147 genes were regulated by MR-1 expression, 46 genes were down-regulated and 101 genes were up-regulated by MR-1 overexpression. Many of these genes were related to cell adhesion, cytoskeletal regulation, MAPK signaling, and cell cycle related pathways. Western blot analysis further confirmed the regulation of pathways associated with migration by MR-1. These results suggest that MR-1 is involved in the regulation of cancer cell adhesion, migration and related gene expression.     

Analysis of human T-lymphotrophic virus sequences in multiple sclerosis tissue

Several observations suggest that retroviral infection is involved in the pathogenesis of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). First, lymphadenopathy-associated virus/human T-lymphotropic virus type III (LAV/HTLV-III), the agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), has been shown to be neurotropic in man. Second, the genetic organization of the lentivirus visna, which causes a chronic demyelinating disease of sheep, closely resembles that of LAV/HTLV-III. Recently, Koprowski and colleagues reported that MS is associated both with raised levels of circulating antibodies to HTLV-I and with the presence of HTLV-I-specific RNA within cell lines derived from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Here we report that no HTLV-I-like or LAV/HTLV-III-like sequences can be detected, by in situ hybridization, in central nervous system (CNS) tissues from MS patients, and that nonspecific HTLV-I-like signal in peripheral blood mononuclear cells or in CSF cell lines is characteristic of MS. Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis of circulating and CSF antibodies for HTLV-I reactivity fails to distinguish between MS and control groups.     

Egfl3在肝癌组织及细胞系中的表达水平及意义

目的:研究表皮细胞生长因子3(Egfl3)在肝癌组织及细胞系中的表达及其与肝癌病理临床特性的相关性.方法:采用荧光实时定量PCR(RT-qPCR)检测Egfl3基因在20对肝癌及相应癌旁肝组织,5株迁移、侵袭潜能不同的肝癌细胞系(SMMC-7721、BEL-7402、Huh-7、HepG2、Hep3B)和正常肝细胞系HL-7702中的表达水平;采用免疫组化检测Egfl3蛋白在40对肝癌及相应癌旁肝组织石蜡切片中的表达水平并分析其表达与肝癌临床病理特性的相关性.结果:RT-qPCR结果显示,Egfl3基因在20对肝癌组织中的表达水平(0.77±0.15)显著高于相应的癌旁肝组织(0.25±0.10)(t=2.904,P=0.006).Egfl3在5株肝癌细胞系中的表达水平也均明显高于正常肝细胞系HL-7702(P<0.05),且在侵袭迁移潜能中等的肝癌细胞系SMMC-7721中的表达高于侵袭迁移潜能较低的肝癌细胞系Bel-7402和Huh-7,后者又高于侵袭迁移潜能最低的肝癌细胞系HepG2和Hep3B.免疫组化结果显示Egfl3蛋白大多数表达于肝癌细胞或正常肝细胞的胞质内,并在62.5％(25/40)的肝癌组织中的表达显著高于相应的癌旁肝组织,且其表达与肝癌的TNM分期密切相关(P=0.04).结论:Egfl3在肝癌组织及细胞系中的表达显著上调,且其上调与肝癌的TNM分期及肝癌细胞的侵袭迁移潜能密切相关.     

Molecular cloning and sequencing of a human hepatitis delta (delta) virus RNA

Human hepatitis delta (delta) virus (HDV) is a form of defective virus, which infects humans only in the presence of a co-infecting hepatitis B virus (HBV). HDV superinfection in a chronic HBV carrier often results in severe chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, whereas acute HDV and HBV co-infection is frequently associated with fulminant hepatitis. HDV consists of a 36-nm particle, which contains an envelope with HBV surface antigen, and a nucleocapsid containing the hepatitis delta-antigen (HDAg) and an RNA genome of 1.75 kilobases (kb). Recently, the genomic RNA from an HDV serially passaged in chimpanzees has been cloned and sequenced in a study which showed that the HDV RNA is a single-stranded circular molecule with properties similar to those of viroid or virusoid. However, it is not known whether serial passages in chimpanzees had altered the properties of human HDV. Here we report the cloning and sequencing of an HDV RNA isolated directly from a patient with acute delta-hepatitis. The sequence showed considerable divergence (11%) from that of the chimpanzee-adapted HDV. Five open reading frames (ORFs) of more than 100 amino acids in both genomic and anti-genomic sense were found. The largest ORF in antigenomic sense, which can code for 214 amino acids, may correspond to the HDAg.     

Epstein-Barr virus infection and replication in a human epithelial cell system.

Epstein-Barr virus, a human herpesvirus with oncogenic potential, infects two target tissues in vivo: B lymphocytes, where the infection is largely non-productive, and stratified squamous epithelium in which virus replication occurs. The interaction with B cells, initiated through virus binding to the B-cell surface molecule CR2 (ref. 4), has been studied in vitro and the virus 'latent' genes associated with B-cell growth transformation defined. By comparison, viral infection of epithelium remains poorly understood, reflecting the lack of an appropriate cell-culture model. Here we describe the development of such a model using as targets CR2-expressing transfected cells of two independent human epithelial lines. A high proportion of these cells bind virus and become actively infected, expressing the small EBER RNAs (small non-polyadenylated virus-coded RNAs) and the Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 but not other latent proteins; thereafter, under conditions favouring epithelial differentiation, up to 30% of the cells can be induced to enter virus productive cycle with some progressing to full virus replication. We find significant differences between laboratory virus strains in their ability to infect epithelium that do not correlate with their B-cell growth-transforming activity.     

Fibroscan对乙型肝炎病毒携带者纤维化的诊断

目的:探讨3种乙型肝炎病毒携带者肝纤维化程度的差异,为评估预后提供参考.方法:将114例乙肝病毒携带者分组为:乙肝抗原(HBe Ag)阳性HBV DNA阳性携带者(A组)、HBe Ag阴性HBV DNA阴性携带者(B组)、HBe Ag阴性HBV DNA阳性携带者(C组).使用fibroscan对乙型肝炎病毒携带者进行肝脏硬度值(LSM)检测,评估3组肝脏硬度值的差异.结果:A组与B组,B组与C组的肝脏硬度值有显著性差异,A组与C组的肝脏硬度值无显著性差异.结论:说明HBV DNA阳性的携带者无论HBe Ag是否阳性其肝脏硬度值均比HBV DNA阴性的携带者增高.     

乙型肝炎母婴垂直传播(综述)

综述乙肝母婴传播的途径及其阻断方法。乙肝母婴传播主要通过胎盘、乳汁、羊水及唾液传播。目前主要阻断方法为应用乙肝免疫球蛋白、乙肝疫苗及拉米夫定等治疗