biostudies-literatureUnknown19(1)Cheng B<h4>Background</h4>Hepatitis B virus can induce hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by inducing a host immune response against infected hepatocytes. C-terminally truncated middle surface protein (MHBSt) has been reported to contribute to HCC through transcriptional activation in epidemiology studies, while the underlying mechanism of MHBSt-induced HCC is unknown.<h4>Methods</h4>In this study, a premature stop at codon 167 in MHBS (MHBSt¹⁶⁷) was investigated into eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1(-). MHBSt¹⁶⁷ expressed plasmid was transfected into the L02 cell line, cell proliferation was analyzed by CCK-8 and high-content screening assays, the cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and autophagy were analyzed by immunoblottVirology journal110https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9235077biostudies-literatureMHBSt¹⁶⁷ induced autophagy promote cell proliferation and EMT by activating the immune response in L02 cells.PMC9235077Zeng SWang QHe YCheng BLi RWei ZMeng ZLiu GfalseMHBSt¹⁶⁷ induced autophagy promote cell proliferation and EMT by activating the immune response in L02 cells.<h4>Background</h4>Hepatitis B virus can induce hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by inducing a host immune response against infected hepatocytes. C-terminally truncated middle surface protein (MHBSt) has been reported to contribute to HCC through transcriptional activation in epidemiology studies, while the underlying mechanism of MHBSt-induced HCC is unknown.<h4>Methods</h4>In this study, a premature stop at codon 167 in MHBS (MHBSt¹⁶⁷) was investigated into eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1(-). MHBSt¹⁶⁷ expressed plasmid was transfected into the L02 cell line, cell proliferation was analyzed by CCK-8 and high-content screening assays, the cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and autophagy were analyzed by immunoblott2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Jun2025-04-22T11:49:50.535Z2025-04-06T00:08:35.709ZS-EPMC92350773576133110.1186/s12985-022-01840-z