Interleukin-28B Polymorphisms Predict the Efficacy of Peginterferon Alpha in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B: A Meta-Analysis

Prediction Model for the Clearance of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B before Interferon Therapy: A Prospective Case-Control Study

To evaluate the prediction model comprised of patients' laboratory results and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers of host gene for the clearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who underwent interferon (IFN)-α therapy, this prospective case-control study enrolled 131 patients with CHB who underwent IFN-α-based regimens in our hospital between January 2015 and September 2019. Among them, 56 cases were without HBsAg clearance, while the other 75 cases had HBsAg clearance. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that CYP27B1 rs4646536 (odd ratio [OR] = 0.155, 95% CI: 0.030-0.807, p = 0.027), PAK4 rs9676717 (OR = 11.237, 95% CI: 1.768-71.409, p = 0.010), IL28B rs12979860 (OR = 0.059, 95% CI: 0.006-0.604, p = 0.017), baseline HBsAg (OR = 0.170, 95% CI: 0.040-0.716, p = 0.016), and HBeAg status (OR = 3.971, 95% CI: 1.138-13.859, p = 0.031) were independently associated with HBsAg clearance. The model that included rs3077, rs4646536, rs9676717, rs2850015, rs12979860, baseline HBsAg, HBeAg status, and HBV DNA had the best prediction performance for HBsAg clearance prediction, with AUC = 0.877, 80% sensitivity, and 81% specificity. In conclusion, laboratory results and gene polymorphisms before treatment might have a good predictive value for HbsAg clearance after IFN-α treatment in CHB.

Suppression of Interferon-α Treatment Response by Host Negative Factors in Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection remains a major global public health issue for which there is still lacking effective curative treatment. Interferon-α (IFN-α) and its pegylated form have been approved as an anti-HBV drug with the advantage of antiviral activity and host immunity against HBV infection enhancement, however, IFN-α treatment failure in CHB patients is a challenging obstacle with 70% of CHB patients respond poorly to exogenous IFN-α treatment. The IFN-α treatment response is negatively regulated by both viral and host factors, and the role of viral factors has been extensively illustrated, while much less attention has been paid to host negative factors. Here, we summarized evidence of host negative regulators and parameters involved in IFN-α therapy failure, review the mechanisms responsible for these effects, and discuss the possible improvement of IFN-based therapy and the rationale of combining the inhibitors of negative regulators in achieving an HBV cure.

Trophoblasts Modulate the Ca2+ Oscillation and Contraction of Myometrial Smooth Muscle Cells by Small Extracellular Vesicle- (sEV-) Mediated Exporting of miR-25-3p during Premature Labor

The placenta could transmit information to the maternal circulation via the secretion of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), but little is known about whether and how these sEVs participate in premature labor (PTL). We speculate that miRNA plays an important role in sEV-mediated fetal-maternal information transmission. The present study was aimed at investigating whether the placenta can regulate the contraction of the maternal myometrium via sEV-mediated transmit of miR-25-3p during PTL. The expression of miR-25-3p and its targets Cav3.2 and SERCA2a in clinical samples, cells, and animal specimens was detected. The role of miR-25-3p was observed in the LPS-induced preterm labor mouse model. The sEVs from HTR-8/SVneo cells were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. The Ca²⁺ oscillation in HMSMs was analyzed by an intracellular Ca²⁺ change tracking assay on a confocal microscope. The contraction of HMSMs was detected by a collagen matrix contraction assay. We found that miR-25-3p can directly bind to the 3′UTR of Cav3.2 and SERCA2a. The miR-25-3p level was decreased, and the expression of its targets Cav3.2 and SERCA2a was increased in the placenta and myometrium tissues of PTL patients. Forced upregulation of miR-25-3p reduced the oxidative stress and inflammation responses and the incidence of PTL in LPS-treated mice. The expression of miR-25-3p was not changed in LPS-stimulated human myometrial smooth muscle cells (HMSMs) but was strongly reduced in the trophoblast cell and its sEVs. Additionally, the trophoblast cell line HTR-8/SVneo could transmit miR-25-3p into HMSMs via sEVs. The sEVs derived from LPS-stimulated trophoblasts upregulated the expression of Cav3.2 and SERCA2a and triggered Ca²⁺ oscillation as well as the contraction of HMSMs; these effects were partially reversed by the overexpression of miR-25-3p in the trophoblasts. Further, the upregulation of miR-25-3p induced changes of Ca²⁺ oscillation and contraction of HMSMs mediated by sEVs which were also abrogated by the knockdown of miR-25-3p in HMSMs. The results demonstrated that miR-25-3p plays a crucial role in PTL via Cav3.2- and SERCA2a-mediated Ca²⁺ oscillation and contraction of HMSMs. PTL seems to be related to the decreased exosomal miR-25-3p content transmitted by the trophoblasts under inflammatory conditions.