Hepatitis B virus X protein and its host partners

摘要

Hepatitis B virus(HBV)is a widespread human pathogen,especially in China,and is known to cause liver inflammation,cirrhosis,and hepatocellular carcinoma.A total of ten different genotypes of HBV(A–J)have been reported worldwide.HBV has partially double-stranded DNA,and the 3.2-kb viral genome is located in the nucleus of infected hepatocytes.All of the viral RNAs are transcribed from the covalently closed circular DNA(cccDNA),which acts as the transcription template.The seven main proteins of HBV include Core,pre-Core,Small S,Middle S,Large S,Polymerase,and the critical HBV-encoded regulatory protein hepatitis B virus X protein(HBx).HBx is a 154-amino acid(aa)protein that facilitates the efficient replication of HBV by stimulating HBV gene expression from the cccDNA template.However,the mechanism by which HBx interacts with host proteins and facilitates HBV replication is not precisely known.