Interferon drives HCV scarring of the epigenome and creates targetable vulnerabilities following viral clearance.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Chronic HCV infection is a leading etiologic driver of cirrhosis and ultimately HCC. Of the approximately 71 million individuals chronically infected with HCV, 10%-20% are expected to develop severe liver complications in their lifetime. Epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation and histone modifications become profoundly disrupted in disease processes including liver disease.

Approach and results

To understand how HCV infection influences the epigenome and whether these events remain as "scars" following cure of chronic HCV infection, we mapped genome-wide DNA methylation, four key regulatory histone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K4me1, H3K27ac, and H3K27me3), and open chromatin in parental and HCV-infected immortalized hepatocytes and the Huh7.5 HCC c

SUBMITTER: Hlady RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9416882 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature