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Dobrica MO, Varghese CS, Harris JM, Ferguson J, Magri A, Arnold R, Várnai C, Parish JL, McKeating JA. CTCF regulates hepatitis B virus cccDNA chromatin topology. J Gen Virol 2024; 105. [PMID: 38175123 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a small DNA virus that replicates via an episomal covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) that serves as the transcriptional template for viral mRNAs. The host protein, CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), is a key regulator of cellular transcription by maintaining epigenetic boundaries, nucleosome phasing, stabilisation of long-range chromatin loops and directing alternative exon splicing. We previously reported that CTCF binds two conserved motifs within Enhancer I of the HBV genome and represses viral transcription, however, the underlying mechanisms were not identified. We show that CTCF depletion in cells harbouring cccDNA-like HBV molecules and in de novo infected cells resulted in an increase in spliced transcripts, which was most notable in the abundant SP1 spliced transcript. In contrast, depletion of CTCF in cell lines with integrated HBV DNA had no effect on the abundance of viral transcripts and in line with this observation there was limited evidence for CTCF binding to viral integrants, suggesting that CTCF-regulation of HBV transcription is specific to episomal cccDNA. Analysis of HBV chromatin topology by Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin Sequencing (ATAC-Seq) revealed an accessible region spanning Enhancers I and II and the basal core promoter (BCP). Mutating the CTCF binding sites within Enhancer I resulted in a dramatic rearrangement of chromatin accessibility where the open chromatin region was no longer detected, indicating loss of the phased nucleosome up- and down-stream of the HBV enhancer/BCP. These data demonstrate that CTCF functions to regulate HBV chromatin conformation and nucleosomal positioning in episomal maintained cccDNA, which has important consequences for HBV transcription regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihaela Olivia Dobrica
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Present address: Institute of Biochemistry of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Christy Susan Varghese
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | - Jack Ferguson
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Present address: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Andrea Magri
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Roland Arnold
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Csilla Várnai
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Joanna L Parish
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK
| | - Jane A McKeating
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Tian X, Dong H, Lai X, Ou G, Cao J, Shi J, Xiang C, Wang L, Zhang X, Zhang K, Song J, Deng J, Deng H, Lu S, Zhuang H, Li T, Xiang K. TRIM56 impairs HBV infection and replication by inhibiting HBV core promoter activity. Antiviral Res 2022; 207:105406. [PMID: 36084850 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Members of the tripartite motif (TRIM) protein family strongly induced by interferons (IFNs) are parts of the innate immune system with antiviral activity. However, it is still unclear which TRIMs could play important roles in hepatitis B virus (HBV) inhibition. Here, we identified that TRIM56 expression responded in IFN-treated HepG2-NTCP cells and HBV-infected liver tissues, which was a potent IFN-inducible inhibitor of HBV replication. Mechanistically, TRIM56 suppressed HBV replication via its Ring and C-terminal domain. C-terminal domain was essential for TRIM56 translocating from cytoplasm to nucleus during HBV infection. Further analysis revealed that TRIM56's Ring domain targeted IκBα for ubiquitination. This modification induced phosphorylation of p65, which subsequently inhibited HBV core promoter activity, resulting in the inhibition of HBV replication. The p65 was found to be necessary for NF-κB signal pathway to inhibit HBV replication. We verified our findings using HepG2-NTCP and primary human hepatocytes. Our findings reveal that TRIM56 is a critical antiviral immune effector and exerts an anti-HBV activity via NF-κB signal pathway, which is essential for inhibiting transcription of HBV covalently closed circular DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Tian
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Huijun Dong
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xinyuan Lai
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Guomin Ou
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Junning Cao
- Faculty of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100089, China
| | - Jihang Shi
- Faculty of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100089, China
| | - Chengang Xiang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic, Drugs, Peking University Health Science Center and the MOE Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation, College of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua, Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China; Renal Division, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xuechao Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Kai Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Ji Song
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Juan Deng
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Hongkui Deng
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic, Drugs, Peking University Health Science Center and the MOE Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation, College of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua, Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Shichun Lu
- Faculty of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100089, China
| | - Hui Zhuang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Tong Li
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Kuanhui Xiang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China.
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