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Hepatitis B Virus Inhibits Apoptosis of Hepatoma Cells by Sponging the MicroRNA 15a/16 Cluster
Ningning Liu a,b,
Jinfang Zhang a,
Tong Jiao a,b,
Zhiwei Li c,
Jirun Peng d,
Zhuqingqing Cui d and
Xin Ye a
- Author Affiliations
Center for Molecular Immunology, CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, Chinaa
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Chinab
302 Hospital of PLA, Beijing, Chinac
Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, Chinad
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes chronic hepatitis in hundreds of millions of people worldwide, which can eventually lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The molecular mechanisms underlying HBV persistence are not well understood. In this study, we found that HBV inhibited the chemotherapy drug etoposide-induced apoptosis of hepatoma cells. Further analysis revealed that HBV mRNAs possess a microRNA 15a/16 (miR-15a/16)-complementary site (HBV nucleotides [nt] 1362 to 1383) that acts as a sponge to bind and sequester endogenous miR-15a/16. Consequently, Bcl-2, known as the target of miR-15a/16, was upregulated in HBV-infected cells. The data from HBV-transgenic mice further confirmed that HBV transcripts cause the reduction of miR-15a/16 and increase of Bcl-2. More importantly, we examined the levels of HBV transcripts and miR-15a/16 in HBV-infected HCC from patients and found that the amount of HBV mRNA and the level of miR-15a/16 were negatively correlated. Consistently, the level of Bcl-2 mRNA was upregulated in HBV-infected patients. In conclusion, we identified a novel HBV mRNA–miR-15a/16–Bcl-2 regulatory pathway that is involved in inhibiting etoposide-induced apoptosis of hepatoma cells, which may contribute to facilitating chronic HBV infection and hepatoma development.
FOOTNOTES
Received 7 August 2013.
Accepted 25 September 2013.
Address correspondence to Xin Ye, [email protected].
Published ahead of print 2 October 2013
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