Project description:Previous studies have paid more attention to hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) intrauterine exposure, however the effect of solely hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) exposure on the immune response of offspring against hepatitis B virus (HBV) is still unclear. In this study, we investigated whether HBsAg intrauterine exposure affected the offspring's immune response against HBV and the relevant mechanism, which is important for the prevention of HBV mother-to-infant transmission.
Project description:To investigate whether HBsAg intrauterine exposure affected the offspring's immune response against HBV and the relevant mechanism, the difference of fetal liver tissue transcriptome between the C57BL/6 mice and C57BL/6-Tg (HBV Alb-1) Bri44 HBV transgenic mice was analyzed.
Project description:In patient serum, HBsAg particles can outnumber HBV particles by 1000:1 or higher. To explore the interactions between HBsAg and hepatocytes, concentrating on the possible effects of persistently secreting HBsAg on the functions of host cells, we have used the S gene of a full-length HBV isolate derived from an HBsAg chronic carrier (code No. C8, GenBank accession No. AF461363), cloned into pCMV vector to transfect HepG2 cells. G418 resistant clones secreting HBsAg were selected to establish permanent cell lines, and control clones transfected only with the vector were passaged as well to serve as controls. Cells were separately collected on the fourth and the eighth day after seeding, and gene expression profiles of both cell clones were studied and compared by microarray. Totally, 340 genes were suppressed and 673 genes were induced by the expression of HBsAg on the fourth day, whereas 219 genes were down-regulated and 683 genes were up-regulated on the eighth day. Arbitrarily, changes of genes detected on both 4th and 8th day cultures were selected for further study. Many cellular functions such as immune response, xenobiotic metabolism, ubiquitin pathway, transcription regulation were affected by HBsAg expression, indicating a close association between HBsAg and host cells. Experiment Overall Design: HBsAg particles are composed of viral envelope proteins and outnumber HBV virions by 1000:1 or even higher. This unique characteristic of HBV remains to be one of the challenges in basic and clinical aspects of viral hepatitis B. Experiment Overall Design: In this study, we want to explore the interactions between HBsAg and hepatocytes, concentrating on the effects of persistently secreting HBsAg on host cell functions.
Project description:Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) secretion may impact the immune response in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Therapeutic approaches to suppress HBsAg production are being investigated. Our study aims to examine the immunomodulatory effects of high and low levels of circulating HBsAg by analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data (scRNAseq) from blood and liver fine-needle aspirates (FNA). This will help to better understand anti-HBV immunity.
Project description:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can integrate into the chromosomes of infected hepatocytes, contributing to the production of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and to hepatocarcinogenesis. We performed spatial transcriptomics to investigate the intrahepatic cell heterogeneity and the spatial distribution of transcriptionally active HBV integration events in different phases of chronic HBV infection. Our analysis revealed that transcriptionally active HBV integration occurred in chronically HBV-infected patients in different phases, including those patients with HBsAg loss, and antiviral treatment was associated with a decreased number and extent of viral integrations.
Project description:The underlying mechanism of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) functional cure by interferon (IFN), especially in patients with low HBsAg or/and young ages, is still unresolved for lacking surrogate models. Here, we generated a type I interferon receptor humanized mouse (huIFNAR mouse) through a CRISPR/Cas9-based knock-in strategy. Then, we demonstrated that human IFN stimulated a similar gene expression profile of huIFNAR peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to what in human PBMCs, supporting the representativeness of the novel mouse model in functionally analyzing human IFN in vivo. Next, we revealed a markedly tissue-specific gene expression atlas against human IFN treatment in the multiple organs less appreciated in healthy humans in vivo. Finally, using the AAV-HBV model, we test the antiviral effects of human interferon in this mouse. Fifteen-week human PEG-IFNα2 treatment significantly reduced HBsAg and HBeAg and even achieved HBsAg seroconversion. We observed that activation of intrahepatic monocytes and effector memory CD8 T cells by human interferon might be critical for HBsAg suppression. In conclusion, our novel huIFNAR mouse can authentically respond to human Interferon stimulation, providing a novel platform to study interferon function in vivo. The PEG-IFNα2 treatment successfully suppresses intrahepatic HBV replication and achieved HBsAg seroconversion in some mice.
Project description:Studies on human and animals suggest associations between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with impaired cognitive performance in offspring. Using a mouse model of diabetes during pregnancy, we found that intrauterine hyperglycemia exposure resulted in memory impairment in both the first filial (F1) males and the second filial (F2) males from the F1 male offspring. The effects of intrauterine hyperglycemia exposure on F1 and F2 hippocampus gene expression were also examined.
Project description:In patient serum, HBsAg particles can outnumber HBV particles by 1000:1 or higher. To explore the interactions between HBsAg and hepatocytes, concentrating on the possible effects of persistently secreting HBsAg on the functions of host cells, we have used the S gene of a full-length HBV isolate derived from an HBsAg chronic carrier (code No. C8, GenBank accession No. AF461363), cloned into pCMV vector to transfect HepG2 cells. G418 resistant clones secreting HBsAg were selected to establish permanent cell lines, and control clones transfected only with the vector were passaged as well to serve as controls. Cells were separately collected on the fourth and the eighth day after seeding, and gene expression profiles of both cell clones were studied and compared by microarray. Totally, 340 genes were suppressed and 673 genes were induced by the expression of HBsAg on the fourth day, whereas 219 genes were down-regulated and 683 genes were up-regulated on the eighth day. Arbitrarily, changes of genes detected on both 4th and 8th day cultures were selected for further study. Many cellular functions such as immune response, xenobiotic metabolism, ubiquitin pathway, transcription regulation were affected by HBsAg expression, indicating a close association between HBsAg and host cells. Keywords: interaction, HBsAg expression, hepatocyte function
Project description:We analyzed three clinical parameters with gene expression data from 122 liver tissues. Six healthy samples were used in validation. All hepatitis samples were HBV infected, which was validated by positive HBsAg or serum HBV-DNA. The samples with HCV infection or metabolic liver injury (e.g. fatty liver, chronic alcoholic hepatitis, etc.) were excluded. This dataset is part of the TransQST collection.
Project description:HBV vaccine is composed of surface antigen (HBsAg) that spontaneously assembles into subvirus particles. Factors that impede its humoral immunity in 5-10% of vaccinees remain elusive. Herein we showed that the low-level interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) can predict antibody protection both in mice and humans. Mechanistically, murine IL-1Ra inhibited Tfh cell expansion and subsequent GC dependent humoral immunity, resulting in significantly weakened protection against HBV challenge. Compared to soluble antigens, HBsAg particle antigen displayed a unique capture/uptake and innate immune activation, including IL-1Ra expression, preferably of medullary sinus macrophages (MSM). In humans, a unique polymorphism in RelA/p65 binding site of IL-1Ra enhancer associated IL-1Ra levels with ethnicity dependent vaccination outcome. Therefore, the differential IL-1Ra response to particle antigens probably creates a suppressive milieu for Tfh/GC development, and neutralization of IL-1Ra would resurrect antibody response in HBV vaccine non-responders.