Role of epigenetic modification in interferon treatment of hepatitis B virus infection
Zhijing Yang 1 2 , Baozhen Sun 3 , Jingcheng Xiang 1 2 , Han Wu 1 2 , Shaoning Kan 1 2 , Ming Hao 1 2 , Lu Chang 1 2 , Huimin Liu 1 2 , Dongxu Wang 4 , Weiwei Liu 1 2
Affiliations
Affiliations
1
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
2
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
3
Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
4
Laboratory Animal Center, College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small, enveloped DNA virus that causes acute and chronic hepatitis. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma pathogenesis. Interferons (IFNs) have been used for the treatment of CHB for a long time, with advantages including less treatment duration and sustained virological response. Presently, various evidence suggests that epigenetic modification of the viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and the host genome is crucial for the regulation of viral activity. This modification includes histone acetylation, DNA methylation, N6-methyladenosine, and non-coding RNA modification. IFN treatment for CHB can stimulate multiple IFN-stimulated genes for inhibiting virus replication. IFNs can also affect the HBV life cycle through epigenetic modulation. In this review, we summarized the different mechanisms through which IFN-α inhibits HBV replication, including epigenetic regulation. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying IFN activity are discussed, which indicated its potential as a novel treatment for CHB. It is proposed that epigenetic changes such as histone acetylation, DNA methylation, m6A methylation could be the targets of IFN, which may offer a novel approach to HBV treatment.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The handling editor declared a shared parent affiliation with the authors at the time of review. 作者: StephenW 时间: 2022-11-6 19:09