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Zeng W, Zheng L, Li Y, Yang J, Mao T, Zhang J, Liu Y, Ning J, Zhang T, Huang H, Chen X, Lu F. Engineered extracellular vesicles for delivering functional Cas9/gRNA to eliminate hepatitis B virus cccDNA and integration. Emerg Microbes Infect 2024; 13:2284286. [PMID: 37982370 PMCID: PMC10763861 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2284286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
The persistence of HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and HBV integration into the host genome in infected hepatocytes pose significant challenges to the cure of chronic HBV infection. Although CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing shows promise for targeted clearance of viral genomes, a safe and efficient delivery method is currently lacking. Here, we developed a novel approach by combining light-induced heterodimerization and protein acylation to enhance the loading efficiency of Cas9 protein into extracellular vesicles (EVs). Moreover, vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein (VSV-G) was incorporated onto the EVs membrane, significantly facilitating the endosomal escape of Cas9 protein and increasing its gene editing activity in recipient cells. Our results demonstrated that engineered EVs containing Cas9/gRNA and VSV-G can effectively reduce viral antigens and cccDNA levels in the HBV-replicating and infected cell models. Notably, we also confirmed the antiviral activity and high safety of the engineered EVs in the HBV-replicating mouse model generated by hydrodynamic injection and the HBV transgenic mouse model. In conclusion, engineered EVs could successfully mediate functional CRISPR/Cas9 delivery both in vitro and in vivo, leading to the clearance of episomal cccDNA and integrated viral DNA fragments, and providing a novel therapeutic approach for curing chronic HBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanjia Zeng
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Liwei Zheng
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yukun Li
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Yang
- School of Medicine, Shihezi University, Shihezi, People’s Republic of China
| | - Tianhao Mao
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanna Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Ning
- Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Upper Gastrointestinal Diseases, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongxin Huang
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Biosecurity, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiangmei Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fengmin Lu
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
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Giraud G, El Achi K, Zoulim F, Testoni B. Co-Transcriptional Regulation of HBV Replication: RNA Quality Also Matters. Viruses 2024; 16:615. [PMID: 38675956 PMCID: PMC11053573 DOI: 10.3390/v16040615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection is a major public health burden and the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite the efficacy of current treatments, hepatitis B virus (HBV) cannot be fully eradicated due to the persistence of its minichromosome, or covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). The HBV community is investing large human and financial resources to develop new therapeutic strategies that either silence or ideally degrade cccDNA, to cure HBV completely or functionally. cccDNA transcription is considered to be the key step for HBV replication. Transcription not only influences the levels of viral RNA produced, but also directly impacts their quality, generating multiple variants. Growing evidence advocates for the role of the co-transcriptional regulation of HBV RNAs during CHB and viral replication, paving the way for the development of novel therapies targeting these processes. This review focuses on the mechanisms controlling the different co-transcriptional processes that HBV RNAs undergo, and their contribution to both viral replication and HBV-induced liver pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Giraud
- INSERM U1052, CNRS UMR5286, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69008 Lyon, France (F.Z.)
- The Lyon Hepatology Institute EVEREST, 69003 Lyon, France
| | - Khadija El Achi
- INSERM U1052, CNRS UMR5286, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69008 Lyon, France (F.Z.)
| | - Fabien Zoulim
- INSERM U1052, CNRS UMR5286, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69008 Lyon, France (F.Z.)
- The Lyon Hepatology Institute EVEREST, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Croix Rousse, Service d’Hépato-Gastroentérologie, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Barbara Testoni
- INSERM U1052, CNRS UMR5286, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69008 Lyon, France (F.Z.)
- The Lyon Hepatology Institute EVEREST, 69003 Lyon, France
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Giraud G, Rodà M, Huchon P, Michelet M, Maadadi S, Jutzi D, Montserret R, Ruepp MD, Parent R, Combet C, Zoulim F, Testoni B. G-quadruplexes control hepatitis B virus replication by promoting cccDNA transcription and phase separation in hepatocytes. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:2290-2305. [PMID: 38113270 PMCID: PMC10954475 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad1200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Phase separation regulates fundamental processes in gene expression and is mediated by the local concentration of proteins and nucleic acids, as well as nucleic acid secondary structures such as G-quadruplexes (G4s). These structures play fundamental roles in both host gene expression and in viral replication due to their peculiar localisation in regulatory sequences. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is an episomal minichromosome whose persistence is at the basis of chronic infection. Identifying the mechanisms controlling its transcriptional activity is indispensable to develop new therapeutic strategies against chronic hepatitis B. The aim of this study was to determine whether G4s are formed in cccDNA and regulate viral replication. Combining biochemistry and functional studies, we demonstrate that cccDNA indeed contains ten G4s structures. Furthermore, mutations disrupting two G4s located in the enhancer I HBV regulatory region altered cccDNA transcription and viral replication. Finally, we showed for the first time that cccDNA undergoes phase separation in a G4-dependent manner to promote its transcription in infected hepatocytes. Altogether, our data give new insight in the transcriptional regulation of the HBV minichromosome that might pave the way for the identification of novel targets to destabilize or silence cccDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Giraud
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Mélanie Rodà
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Pélagie Huchon
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
- Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
| | - Maud Michelet
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Sarah Maadadi
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 lyon, france; université claude-bernard lyon i, 69003 Lyon, France
| | - Daniel Jutzi
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, WC2R 2LS London, UK
| | - Roland Montserret
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry (MMSB) UMR 5086 CNRS/Université de Lyon, Labex Ecofect, 7 Passage du Vercors 69367Lyon, France
| | - Marc-David Ruepp
- United Kingdom Dementia Research Institute Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, WC2R 2LS London, UK
| | - Romain Parent
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Christophe Combet
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Fabien Zoulim
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
- Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Service, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
| | - Barbara Testoni
- INSERM U1052, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR)-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69003 Lyon, France; Université Claude-Bernard Lyon I, 69003 Lyon, France
- Hepatology Institute of Lyon, 69004 Lyon, France
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Wang J, Yuan X, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Han M, Lu H, Liu S, Zhang Y, Ge F, Liu Y, Cheng J. PreS1BP mediates inhibition of Hepatitis B virus replication by promoting HBx protein degradation. Virus Res 2024; 341:199326. [PMID: 38253259 PMCID: PMC10846407 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND PreS1-binding protein (PreS1BP), recognized as a nucleolar protein and tumor suppressor, influences the replication of various viruses, including vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Its role in hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and the underlying mechanisms, however, remain elusive. METHODS We investigated PreS1BP expression levels in an HBV-replicating cell and animal model and analyzed the impact of its overexpression on viral replication metrics. HBV DNA, covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg), and HBV RNA levels were assessed in HBV-expressing stable cell lines under varying PreS1BP conditions. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation and ubiquitination assays were used to detect PreS1BP- hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) interactions and HBx stability modulated by PreS1BP. RESULTS Our study revealed a marked decrease in PreS1BP expression in the presence of active HBV replication. Functional assays showed that PreS1BP overexpression significantly inhibited HBV replication and transcription, evidenced by the reduction in HBV DNA, cccDNA, HBsAg, HBcAg, and HBV RNA levels. At the molecular level, PreS1BP facilitated the degradation of HBx in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas siRNA-mediated knockdown of PreS1BP led to an increase in HBx levels. Subsequent investigations uncovered that PreS1BP accelerated HBx protein degradation via K63-linked ubiquitination in a ubiquitin-proteasome system-dependent manner. Co-immunoprecipitation assays further established that PreS1BP enhances the recruitment of the proteasome 20S subunit alpha 3 (PSMA3) for interaction with HBx, thereby fostering its degradation. CONCLUSIONS These findings unveil a previously unidentified mechanism wherein PreS1BP mediates HBx protein degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system, consequentially inhibiting HBV replication. This insight positions PreS1BP as a promising therapeutic target for future HBV interventions. Further studies are warranted to explore the clinical applicability of modulating PreS1BP in HBV therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Wang
- Peking University Ditan Teaching Hospital, Beijing 100015, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Xiaoxue Yuan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China; The Division of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Yun Wang
- The Division of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- The Division of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Ming Han
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China; The Division of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Hongping Lu
- Hebei Utu Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province 052165, China
| | - Shunai Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China; The Division of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100015, China
| | - Feilin Ge
- Department of Chinese Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100039, China.
| | - Jun Cheng
- Peking University Ditan Teaching Hospital, Beijing 100015, China; Hebei Utu Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province 052165, China.
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Piracha ZZ, Saeed U, Piracha IE, Noor S, Noor E. Decoding the multifaceted interventions between human sirtuin 2 and dynamic hepatitis B viral proteins to confirm their roles in HBV replication. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 13:1234903. [PMID: 38239506 PMCID: PMC10794644 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1234903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The human sirtuin 2 gene (SIRT2) encodes a full-length Sirt2 protein (i.e., the Sirt2 isoform 1), which primarily functions as a cytoplasmic α-tubulin deacetylase, and which promotes the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication itself, or HBV X (HBx) protein-mediated transcriptional transactivation, enhances Sirt2.1 expression; therefore, Sirt2.1 itself is capable of positively increasing HBV transcription and replication. Sirt2.1 is linked to liver fibrosis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and, consequently, augments the risk of HCC. The Sirt2.1 protein enhances the HBV replication cycle by activating the AKT/glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β)/β-catenin pathway. It also activates the transcription of the viral enhancer I/HBx promoter (EnI/Xp) and enhancer II/HBc promoter (EnII/Cp) by targeting the transcription factor p53. The Sirt2 isoform 2 (Sirt2.2) is mainly localized in the cytoplasm, and the N-terminus is shorter by 37 amino acids than that of Sirt2.1. Despite the truncation of the N-terminal region, Sirt2.2 is still capable of enhancing HBV replication and activating the AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway. The Sirt2 isoform 5 (Sirt2.5) is primarily localized to the nucleus, it lacks a nuclear export signal (NES), and the catalytic domain (CD) is truncated. Upon HBV replication, expression of the Sirt2 isoforms is also enhanced, which further upregulates the HBV replication, and, therefore, supports the vicious cycle of viral replication and progression of the disease. Sirt2 diversely affects HBV replication such that its isoform 1 intensely augments HBV replication and isoform 2 (despite of the truncated N-terminal region) moderately enhances HBV replication. Isoform 5, on the other hand, tends to protect the cell (for smooth long-term continued viral replication) from HBV-induced extreme damage or death via a discrete set of regulatory mechanisms impeding viral mRNAs, the hepatitis B core/capsid protein (HBc), core particles, replicative intermediate (RI) DNAs, and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) levels, and, consequently, limiting HBV replication. In contrast to Sirt2.1 and Sirt 2.2, the Sirt2.5-mediated HBV replication is independent of the AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling cascade. Sirt2.5 is recruited more at cccDNA than the recruitment of Sirt2.1 onto the cccDNA. This recruitment causes the deposition of more histone lysine methyltransferases (HKMTs), including SETDB1, SUV39H1, EZH2, and PR-Set7, along with the respective corresponding transcriptional repressive markers such as H3K9me3, H3K27me3, and H4K20me1 onto the HBV cccDNA. In HBV-replicating cells, Sirt2.5 can also make complexes with PR-Set7 and SETDB1. In addition, Sirt2.5 has the ability to turn off transcription from cccDNA through epigenetic modification via either direct or indirect interaction with HKMTs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Zahid Piracha
- Department of Medical Research, International Center of Medical Sciences Research (ICMSR), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Umar Saeed
- Clinical and Biomedical Research Centre (CBRC) and Multidisciplinary Lab (MDL), Foundation University School of Health Sciences (FUSH), Foundation University, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Irfan Ellahi Piracha
- Atta ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Seneen Noor
- Department of Medical Research, International Center of Medical Sciences Research (ICMSR), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Elyeen Noor
- Department of Medical Research, International Center of Medical Sciences Research (ICMSR), Islamabad, Pakistan
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Wen X, Li D, Chen P, Tan M, Zhang H, Liu Y, Ren J, Cheng S. Gambogic acid inhibits HBx-mediated hepatitis B virus replication by targeting the DTX1-Notch signaling pathway. Virus Res 2024; 339:199273. [PMID: 38029800 PMCID: PMC10714370 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Current antiviral drugs, including nucleoside analogs and interferon, fail to eliminate the HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which serves as a transcript template in infected hepatocytes. Silencing the HBV X protein, which plays a crucial role in cccDNA transcription, is a promising approach to inhibit HBV replication. Therefore, the identification of novel compounds that can inhibit HBx-mediated cccDNA transcription is critical. METHODS Initially, a compound library consisting of 715 monomers derived from traditional Chinese medicines known for their liver-protecting properties was established. Then, MTT assays were used to determine the cytotoxicity of each compound. The effect of candidates on Flag-HBx expression was examined by real-time PCR and western blotting in Flag-HBx transfected HepG2-NTCP cells. Ultimately, the antiviral effect of gambogic acid (GA) on HBV was observed in HBV-infected HepG2-NTCP cells. Mechanistically, the functional role of DTX1 in GA-induced HBV inhibition was examined using RNA-seq. Finally, the antiviral effect of GA was estimated in vivo. RESULTS Gambogic acid (GA), a natural bioactive compound with a myriad of biological activities, markedly reduced Flag-HBx expression. Potent and dose-dependent reductions in extracellular HBV RNAs, HBV DNA, HBsAg, HBeAg and HBc protein were discovered three days after GA treatment in HBV-infected cells, accompanied by the absence of significant cytotoxicity. Furthermore, our research revealed that GA exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of HBx expression, which is a pleiotropic protein required for HBV infection in vivo. We explored the mechanisms underlying GA-mediated inhibition of HBV and confirmed that this inhibition is accomplished by upregulating the expression of the DTX1 gene and boosting the Notch signaling pathway. Finally, the inhibitory effect of GA on HBV replication was tested in vivo using a mouse model of hepatitis B virus recombinant cccDNA. CONCLUSIONS Herein, we discovered GA, which is a natural bioactive compound that targets HBx to inhibit hepatitis B virus replication by activating the DTX1-Notch signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Wen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| | - Dian Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Peng Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ming Tan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuting Liu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jihua Ren
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Shengtao Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
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Ming T, Yuting L, Meiling D, Shengtao C, Jihua R, Hui Z, Wanjin C, Dian L, Tingting G, Juan C, Zhenzhen Z. Chromatin binding protein HMGN1 promotes HBV cccDNA transcription and replication by regulating the phosphorylation of histone 3. Antiviral Res 2024; 221:105796. [PMID: 38181856 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.105796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Direct elimination of cccDNA remains a formidable obstacle due to the persistent and stable presence of cccDNA in hepatocyte nuclei. The silencing of cccDNA transcription enduringly is one of alternative strategies in the treatment of hepatitis B. Protein binding to cccDNA plays an important role in its transcriptional regulation; thus, the identification of key factors involved in this process is of great importance. APPROACHES AND RESULTS In the present study, high mobility group nucleosome binding domain 1 (HMGN1) was screened out based on our biotin-avidin enrichment system. First, chromatin immunoprecipitation and fluorescent in situ hybridization assays confirmed the binding of HMGN1 with cccDNA in the nucleus. Second, functional experiments in HBV-infected cells showed that the promoting effect of HMGN1 on HBV transcription and replication depended on the functional region of the nucleosomal binding domain, while transfection of the HMGN1 mutant showed no influence on HBV compared with the vector. Third, further mechanistic exploration revealed that the silencing of HMGN1 increased the level of phosphorylase CLK2 and promoted H3 phosphorylation causing the reduced accessibility of cccDNA. Moreover, silenced HMGN1 was mimicked in HBV (r) cccDNA mouse model of HBV infection in vivo. The results showed that silencing HMGN1 inhibited HBV replication in vivo. CONCLUSIONS In summary, our study identified that a host protein can bind to cccDNA and promote its transcription, providing a candidate strategy for anti-HBV targeting to interfere with the transcriptional activity of cccDNA microchromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tan Ming
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Infection and Immunity, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Medical University Chongqing, China; The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Liu Yuting
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Dong Meiling
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Infectious Diseases Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Cheng Shengtao
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ren Jihua
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhang Hui
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chen Wanjin
- Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medical Diagnostics, Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Li Dian
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Gao Tingting
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chen Juan
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China; Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medical Diagnostics, Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Zhang Zhenzhen
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Infection and Immunity, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Medical University Chongqing, China.
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8
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Xia Y, Cheng X, Nilsson T, Zhang M, Zhao G, Inuzuka T, Teng Y, Li Y, Anderson DE, Holdorf M, Liang TJ. Nucleolin binds to and regulates transcription of hepatitis B virus covalently closed circular DNA minichromosome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306390120. [PMID: 38015841 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306390120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major public health threat with nearly 300 million people chronically infected worldwide who are at a high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. Current therapies are effective in suppressing HBV replication but rarely lead to cure. Current therapies do not affect the HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which serves as the template for viral transcription and replication and is highly stable in infected cells to ensure viral persistence. In this study, we aim to identify and elucidate the functional role of cccDNA-associated host factors using affinity purification and protein mass spectrometry in HBV-infected cells. Nucleolin was identified as a key cccDNA-binding protein and shown to play an important role in HBV cccDNA transcription, likely via epigenetic regulation. Targeting nucleolin to silence cccDNA transcription in infected hepatocytes may be a promising therapeutic strategy for a functional cure of HBV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchen Xia
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Xiaoming Cheng
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Tobias Nilsson
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA 94608
| | - Min Zhang
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Gaihong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Tadashi Inuzuka
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Yan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Institute of Medical Virology, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Yao Li
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - D Eric Anderson
- Advanced Mass Spectrometry Core, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Meghan Holdorf
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Emeryville, CA 94608
| | - T Jake Liang
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892
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9
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Ghaemi Z, Nafiu O, Tajkhorshid E, Gruebele M, Hu J. A computational spatial whole-Cell model for hepatitis B viral infection and drug interactions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21392. [PMID: 38049515 PMCID: PMC10695947 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45998-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite a vaccine, hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a world-wide source of infections and deaths. We develop a whole-cell computational platform combining spatial and kinetic models describing the infection cycle of HBV in a hepatocyte host. We simulate key parts of the infection cycle with this whole-cell platform for 10 min of biological time, to predict infection progression, map out virus-host and virus-drug interactions. We find that starting from an established infection, decreasing the copy number of the viral envelope proteins shifts the dominant infection pathway from capsid secretion to re-importing the capsids into the nucleus, resulting in more nuclear-localized viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and boosting transcription. This scenario can mimic the consequence of drugs designed to manipulate viral gene expression. Mutating capsid proteins facilitates capsid destabilization and disassembly at nuclear pore complexes, resulting in an increase in cccDNA copy number. However, excessive destabilization leads to premature cytoplasmic disassembly and does not increase the cccDNA counts. Finally, our simulations can predict the best drug dosage and its administration timing to reduce the cccDNA counts. Our adaptable computational platform can be parameterized to study other viruses and identify the most central viral pathways that can be targeted by drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaleh Ghaemi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Quantitative Cell Biology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Oluwadara Nafiu
- Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Emad Tajkhorshid
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Quantitative Cell Biology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Martin Gruebele
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Quantitative Cell Biology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Jianming Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA
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10
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Zhu M, Tong X, Qiu Q, Pan J, Wei S, Ding Y, Feng Y, Hu X, Gong C. Identification and characterization of extrachromosomal circular DNA in the silk gland of Bombyx mori. Insect Sci 2023; 30:1565-1578. [PMID: 36826848 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The silk gland cells of silkworm are special cells which only replicate DNA in the nucleus without cell division throughout the larval stage. The extrachromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNAs) have not yet been reported in the silk gland of silkworms. Herein, we have explored the characterization of eccDNAs in the posterior silk gland of silkworms. A total of 35 346 eccDNAs were identified with sizes ranging from 30 to 13 569 549 bp. Motif analysis revealed that dual direct repeats are flanking the 5' and 3' breaking points of eccDNA. The sequences exceeding 1 kb length in eccDNAs present palindromic sequence characteristics flanking the 5' and 3' breaking points of the eccDNA. These motifs might support possible models for eccDNA generation. Genomic annotation of the eccDNA population revealed that most eccDNAs (58.6%) were derived from intergenic regions, whereas full or partial genes were carried by 41.4% of eccDNAs. It was found that silk protein genes fib-H, fib-L, and P25, as well as the transcription factors SGF and sage, which play an important regulatory role in silk protein synthesis, could be carried by eccDNAs. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses showed that the genes carried by eccDNAs were mainly associated with the development and metabolism-related signaling pathways. Moreover, it was found that eccDNAfib-L could promote the transcription of fib-L gene. Overall, the results of the present study not only provide a novel perspective on the mechanism of silk gland development and silk protein synthesis but also complement previously reported genome-scale eccDNA data supporting that eccDNAs are common in eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zhu
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Xinyu Tong
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Qunnan Qiu
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Jun Pan
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Shulin Wei
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Yuming Ding
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Yongjie Feng
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Xiaolong Hu
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology and Ecological Research, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Chengliang Gong
- School of Biology & Basic Medical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology and Ecological Research, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
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11
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Nayak S, Gowda J, Abbas SA, Kim H, Han SB. Recent Advances in the Development of Sulfamoyl-Based Hepatitis B Virus Nucleocapsid Assembly Modulators. Viruses 2023; 15:2367. [PMID: 38140607 PMCID: PMC10747759 DOI: 10.3390/v15122367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the primary contributor to severe liver ailments, encompassing conditions such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Globally, 257 million people are affected by HBV annually and 887,000 deaths are attributed to it, representing a substantial health burden. Regrettably, none of the existing therapies for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) have achieved satisfactory clinical cure rates. This issue stems from the existence of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which is difficult to eliminate from the nucleus of infected hepatocytes. HBV genetic material is composed of partially double-stranded DNA that forms complexes with viral polymerase inside an icosahedral capsid composed of a dimeric core protein. The HBV core protein, consisting of 183 to 185 amino acids, plays integral roles in multiple essential functions within the HBV replication process. In this review, we describe the effects of sulfamoyl-based carboxamide capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) on capsid assembly, which can suppress HBV replication and disrupt the production of new cccDNA. We present research on classical, first-generation sulfamoyl benzocarboxamide CAMs, elucidating their structural composition and antiviral efficacy. Additionally, we explore newly identified sulfamoyl-based CAMs, including sulfamoyl bicyclic carboxamides, sulfamoyl aromatic heterocyclic carboxamides, sulfamoyl aliphatic heterocyclic carboxamides, cyclic sulfonamides, and non-carboxamide sulfomoyl-based CAMs. We believe that certain molecules derived from sulfamoyl groups have the potential to be developed into essential components of a well-suited combination therapy, ultimately yielding superior clinical efficacy outcomes in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandesha Nayak
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Jayaraj Gowda
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Syed Azeem Abbas
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyejin Kim
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo Bong Han
- Therapeutics and Biotechnology Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
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12
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Zhang H, Tu T. Targeting Hepatitis B Virus DNA Using Designer Gene Editors. Clin Liver Dis 2023; 27:895-916. [PMID: 37778776 DOI: 10.1016/j.cld.2023.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious disease that currently has no cure. Key forms of HBV include covalently closed circular DNA, which mediates chronic persistence, and integrated DNA, which contributes to immune evasion and carcinogenesis. These forms are not targeted by current therapies; however, gene editing technologies have emerged as promising tools for disrupting HBV DNA. Gene editor-induced double-stranded breaks at precise locations within the HBV genome can induce effects ranging from inactivation of target genes to complete degradation of the target genome. Although promising, several challenges remain in efficacy and safety that require solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Zhang
- Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney School of Medicine and Health, 176 Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
| | - Thomas Tu
- Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney School of Medicine and Health, 176 Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
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13
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Liu W, Yao Q, Su X, Deng Y, Yang M, Peng B, Zhao F, Du C, Zhang X, Zhu J, Wang D, Li W, Li H. Molecular insights into Spindlin1-HBx interplay and its impact on HBV transcription from cccDNA minichromosome. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4663. [PMID: 37537164 PMCID: PMC10400593 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40225-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular interplay between host epigenetic factors and viral proteins constitutes an intriguing mechanism for sustaining hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle and its chronic infection. HBV encodes a regulatory protein, HBx, which activates transcription and replication of HBV genome organized as covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA minichromosome. Here we illustrate how HBx accomplishes its task by hijacking Spindlin1, an epigenetic reader comprising three consecutive Tudor domains. Our biochemical and structural studies have revealed that the highly conserved N-terminal 2-21 segment of HBx (HBx2-21) associates intimately with Tudor 3 of Spindlin1, enhancing histone H3 "K4me3-K9me3" readout by Tudors 2 and 1. Functionally, Spindlin1-HBx engagement promotes gene expression from the chromatinized cccDNA, accompanied by an epigenetic switch from an H3K9me3-enriched repressive state to an H3K4me3-marked active state, as well as a conformational switch of HBx that may occur in coordination with other HBx-binding factors, such as DDB1. Despite a proposed transrepression activity of HBx2-21, our study reveals a key role of Spindlin1 in derepressing this conserved motif, thereby promoting HBV transcription from its chromatinized genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Qiyan Yao
- National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206, China
- Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Xiaonan Su
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yafang Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Mo Yang
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, 1050 Boyles Str., Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Bo Peng
- National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Fan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Chao Du
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiulan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Jinsong Zhu
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
- Suzhou Puxin Life Science Technology, Ltd, Suzhou, 215124, China
| | - Daliang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Wenhui Li
- National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206, China.
- Tsinghua Institute of Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Haitao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, SXMU-Tsinghua Collaborative Innovation Center for Frontier Medicine, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China.
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14
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Yang F, Su W, Chung OW, Tracy L, Wang L, Ramsden DA, Zhang ZZZ. Retrotransposons hijack alt-EJ for DNA replication and eccDNA biogenesis. Nature 2023; 620:218-225. [PMID: 37438532 PMCID: PMC10691919 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06327-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Retrotransposons are highly enriched in the animal genome1-3. The activation of retrotransposons can rewrite host DNA information and fundamentally impact host biology1-3. Although developmental activation of retrotransposons can offer benefits for the host, such as against virus infection, uncontrolled activation promotes disease or potentially drives ageing1-5. After activation, retrotransposons use their mRNA as templates to synthesize double-stranded DNA for making new insertions in the host genome1-3,6. Although the reverse transcriptase that they encode can synthesize the first-strand DNA1-3,6, how the second-strand DNA is generated remains largely unclear. Here we report that retrotransposons hijack the alternative end-joining (alt-EJ) DNA repair process of the host for a circularization step to synthesize their second-strand DNA. We used Nanopore sequencing to examine the fates of replicated retrotransposon DNA, and found that 10% of them achieve new insertions, whereas 90% exist as extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA). Using eccDNA production as a readout, further genetic screens identified factors from alt-EJ as essential for retrotransposon replication. alt-EJ drives the second-strand synthesis of the long terminal repeat retrotransposon DNA through a circularization process and is therefore necessary for eccDNA production and new insertions. Together, our study reveals that alt-EJ is essential in driving the propagation of parasitic genomic retroelements. Our study uncovers a conserved function of this understudied DNA repair process, and provides a new perspective to understand-and potentially control-the retrotransposon life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu Yang
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Weijia Su
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Oliver W Chung
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lauren Tracy
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lu Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Dale A Ramsden
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Z Z Zhao Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
- Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
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15
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Hofmann S, Plank V, Groitl P, Skvorc N, Hofmann K, Luther J, Ko C, Zimmerman P, Bruss V, Stadler D, Carpentier A, Rezk S, Nassal M, Protzer U, Schreiner S. SUMO Modification of Hepatitis B Virus Core Mediates Nuclear Entry, Promyelocytic Leukemia Nuclear Body Association, and Efficient Formation of Covalently Closed Circular DNA. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0044623. [PMID: 37199632 PMCID: PMC10269885 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00446-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is due to a nuclear covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), generated from the virion-borne relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) genome in a process likely involving numerous cell factors from the host DNA damage response (DDR). The HBV core protein mediates rcDNA transport to the nucleus and likely affects stability and transcriptional activity of cccDNA. Our study aimed at investigating the role of HBV core protein and its posttranslational modification (PTM) with SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifiers) during the establishment of cccDNA. HBV core protein SUMO PTM was analyzed in His-SUMO-overexpressing cell lines. The impact of HBV core SUMOylation on association with cellular interaction partners and on the HBV life cycle was determined using SUMOylation-deficient mutants of the HBV core protein. Here, we show that the HBV core protein is posttranslationally modified by the addition of SUMO and that this modification impacts nuclear import of rcDNA. By using SUMOylation-deficient HBV core mutants, we show that SUMO modification is a prerequisite for the association with specific promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) and regulates the conversion of rcDNA to cccDNA. By in vitro SUMOylation of HBV core, we obtained evidence that SUMOylation triggers nucleocapsid disassembly, providing novel insights into the nuclear import process of rcDNA. HBV core protein SUMOylation and subsequent association with PML bodies in the nucleus constitute a key step in the conversion of HBV rcDNA to cccDNA and therefore a promising target for inhibiting formation of the HBV persistence reservoir. IMPORTANCE HBV cccDNA is formed from the incomplete rcDNA involving several host DDR proteins. The exact process and the site of cccDNA formation are poorly understood. Here, we show that HBV core protein SUMO modification is a novel PTM regulating the function of HBV core. A minor specific fraction of the HBV core protein resides with PML-NBs in the nuclear matrix. SUMO modification of HBV core protein mediates its recruitment to specific PML-NBs within the host cell. Within HBV nucleocapsids, SUMOylation of HBV core induces HBV capsid disassembly and is a prerequisite for nuclear entry of HBV core. SUMO HBV core protein association with PML-NBs is crucial for efficient conversion of rcDNA to cccDNA and for the establishment of the viral persistence reservoir. HBV core protein SUMO modification and the subsequent association with PML-NBs might constitute a potential novel target in the development of drugs targeting the cccDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Hofmann
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Verena Plank
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
| | - Peter Groitl
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
| | - Nathalie Skvorc
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
| | - Katharina Hofmann
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Julius Luther
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Chunkyu Ko
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Peter Zimmerman
- Department of Internal Medicine II/Molecular Biology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Volker Bruss
- Institute of Virology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Daniela Stadler
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Shahinda Rezk
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Medical Research Institute, Department of Molecular and Diagnostic Microbiology, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Michael Nassal
- Department of Internal Medicine II/Molecular Biology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ulrike Protzer
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Munich, Germany
| | - Sabrina Schreiner
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Munich, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (Resolving Infection Susceptibility; EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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16
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Zhao K, Guo F, Wang J, Zhong Y, Yi J, Teng Y, Xu Z, Zhao L, Li A, Wang Z, Chen X, Cheng X, Xia Y. Limited disassembly of cytoplasmic hepatitis B virus nucleocapsids restricts viral infection in murine hepatic cells. Hepatology 2023; 77:1366-1381. [PMID: 35718932 DOI: 10.1002/hep.32622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Murine hepatic cells cannot support hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection even with supplemental expression of viral receptor, human sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (hNTCP). However, the specific restricted step remains elusive. In this study, we aimed to dissect HBV infection process in murine hepatic cells. APPROACH AND RESULTS Cells expressing hNTCP were inoculated with HBV or hepatitis delta virus (HDV). HBV pregenomic RNA (pgRNA), covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), and different relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) intermediates were produced in vitro . The repair process from rcDNA to cccDNA was assayed by in vitro repair experiments and in mouse with hydrodynamic injection. Southern blotting and in situ hybridization were used to detect HBV DNA. HBV, but not its satellite virus HDV, was restricted from productive infection in murine hepatic cells expressing hNTCP. Transfection of HBV pgRNA could establish HBV replication in human, but not in murine, hepatic cells. HBV replication-competent plasmid, cccDNA, and recombinant cccDNA could support HBV transcription in murine hepatic cells. Different rcDNA intermediates could be repaired to form cccDNA both in vitro and in vivo . In addition, rcDNA could be detected in the nucleus of murine hepatic cells, but cccDNA could not be formed. Interestingly, nuclease sensitivity assay showed that the protein-linked rcDNA isolated from cytoplasm was completely nuclease resistant in murine, but not in human, hepatic cells. CONCLUSIONS Our results imply that the disassembly of cytoplasmic HBV nucleocapsids is restricted in murine hepatic cells. Overcoming this limitation may help to establish an HBV infection mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Fangteng Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Jingjing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Youquan Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Junzhu Yi
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Yan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Zaichao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Li Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Aixin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Zichen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
| | - Xinwen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology , Wuhan Institute of Virology , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Wuhan , China
- Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou , China
| | - Xiaoming Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
- Wuhan University Center for Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics , Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
- Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Diseases , Wuhan , China
| | - Yuchen Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology , Institute of Medical Virology , TaiKang Medical School , Wuhan University , Wuhan , China
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17
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Pan Y, Xia H, He Y, Zeng S, Shen Z, Huang W. The progress of molecules and strategies for the treatment of HBV infection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1128807. [PMID: 37009498 PMCID: PMC10053227 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1128807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus infections have always been associated with high levels of mortality. In 2019, hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related diseases resulted in approximately 555,000 deaths globally. In view of its high lethality, the treatment of HBV infections has always presented a huge challenge. The World Health Organization (WHO) came up with ambitious targets for the elimination of hepatitis B as a major public health threat by 2030. To accomplish this goal, one of the WHO’s strategies is to develop curative treatments for HBV infections. Current treatments in a clinical setting included 1 year of pegylated interferon alpha (PEG-IFNα) and long-term nucleoside analogues (NAs). Although both treatments have demonstrated outstanding antiviral effects, it has been difficult to develop a cure for HBV. The reason for this is that covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), integrated HBV DNA, the high viral burden, and the impaired host immune responses all hinder the development of a cure for HBV. To overcome these problems, there are clinical trials on a number of antiviral molecules being carried out, all -showing promising results so far. In this review, we summarize the functions and mechanisms of action of various synthetic molecules, natural products, traditional Chinese herbal medicines, as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and their associated proteins (CRISPR/Cas)-based systems, zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), all of which could destroy the stability of the HBV life cycle. In addition, we discuss the functions of immune modulators, which can enhance or activate the host immune system, as well some representative natural products with anti-HBV effects.
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18
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Yu X, Long Q, Shen S, Liu Z, Chandran J, Zhang J, Ding H, Zhang H, Cai D, Kim ES, Huang Y, Guo H. Screening of an epigenetic compound library identifies BRD4 as a potential antiviral target for hepatitis B virus covalently closed circular DNA transcription. Antiviral Res 2023; 211:105552. [PMID: 36737008 PMCID: PMC10036215 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2023.105552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
HBV cccDNA is the persistent form of viral genome, which exists in host cell nucleus as an episomal minichromosome decorated with histone and non-histone proteins. cccDNA is the authentic viral transcription template and resistant to current antivirals. Growing evidence shows that the transcriptional activity of cccDNA minichromosome undergoes epigenetic regulations, suggesting a new perspective for anti-cccDNA drug development through targeting histone modifications. In this study, we screened an epigenetic compound library in the cccDNA reporter cell line HepBHAe82, which produces the HA-tagged HBeAg in a cccDNA-dependent manner. Among the obtained hits, a bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) inhibitor MS436 exhibited marked inhibition of cccDNA transcription in both HBV stable cell line HepAD38 and HepG2-NTCP or primary human hepatocyte infection system under noncytotoxic concentrations. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay demonstrated that MS436 dramatically reduced the enrichment of H3K27ac, an activating histone modification pattern, on cccDNA minichromosome. RNAseq differential analysis showed that MS436 does not drastically change host transcriptome or induce any known anti-HBV factors/pathways, indicating a direct antiviral effect of MS436 on cccDNA minichromosome. Interestingly, the MS436-mediated inhibition of cccDNA transcription is accompanied by cccDNA destabilization in HBV infection and a recombinant cccDNA system, indicating that BRD4 activity may also play a role in cccDNA maintenance. Furthermore, depletion of BRD4 by siRNA knockdown or PROTAC degrader resulted in cccDNA inhibition in HBV-infected HepG2-NTCP cells, further validating BRD4 as an antiviral target. Taken together, our study has demonstrated the practicability of HepBHAe82-based anti-HBV drug screening system and provided a proof-of-concept for targeting HBV cccDNA with epigenetic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Yu
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Quanxin Long
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Sheng Shen
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Zhentao Liu
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jithin Chandran
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Junjie Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Hao Ding
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Hu Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Dawei Cai
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Elena S Kim
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Yufei Huang
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Haitao Guo
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
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19
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Cortés-Gutiérrez EI, Fernández JL, Dávila-Rodríguez MI, García de la Vega C, Gosálvez J. Chromatin Dispersion Test to Asses DNA Damage in Cervical Epithelial Cells. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2566:215-223. [PMID: 36152254 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2675-7_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The chromatin dispersion test (CDT) is based on the removal of nuclear proteins under the assumption that cells with fragmented DNA produce a typical halo of circular DNA loops, which is absent in cells with non-fragmented DNA. This method represents a simple, rapid, accurate, highly reproducible, and inexpensive technique to assess nuclear DNA damage in somatic cells. The visualization of DNA damage and the capacity of the test to provide a threshold value to discriminate between high and low levels of cervical lesions would aid in determining the malignant transformation. All of these advantages associated with the CDT protocol could promote this technique as a tool for the quick and reliable diagnosis of cervical epithelial disorders, even at primary-care centers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elva I Cortés-Gutiérrez
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México Faculty of Biological Sciences, Monterrey, Mexico.
| | - José L Fernández
- Genetics Unit, INIBIC, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña, As Xubias, La Coruña, Spain
- Laboratorio de Genética Molecular y Radiobiología Centro Oncológico de Galicia, La Coruña, Spain
| | | | | | - Jaime Gosálvez
- Unit of Genetics, Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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20
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Nakanishi A, Okumura H, Hashita T, Yamashita A, Nishimura Y, Watanabe C, Kamimura S, Hayashi S, Murakami S, Ito K, Iwao T, Ikeda A, Hirose T, Sunazuka T, Tanaka Y, Matsunaga T. Ivermectin Inhibits HBV Entry into the Nucleus by Suppressing KPNA2. Viruses 2022; 14:v14112468. [PMID: 36366568 PMCID: PMC9695645 DOI: 10.3390/v14112468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) specifically infects human hepatocytes and increases the risks of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, nucleic acid analogs are the main therapeutics for chronic hepatitis caused by HBV infection. Although nucleic acid analogs can eliminate HBV DNA by inhibiting HBV reverse transcriptase, they cannot lead to negative conversion of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). In this study, we revealed that the antifilarial drug ivermectin suppresses HBV production by a different mechanism from the nucleic acid analog entecavir or Na+ taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide-mediated entry inhibitor cyclosporin A. Ivermectin reduced the levels of several HBV markers, including HBsAg, in HBV-infected human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2-hNTCP-C4 cells) and humanized mouse hepatocytes (PXB hepatocytes). In addition, ivermectin significantly decreased the expression of HBV core protein and the nuclear transporter karyopherin α2 (KPNA2) in the nuclei of HepG2-hNTCP-C4 cells. Furthermore, depletion of KPNA1-6 suppressed the production of cccDNA. These results suggest that KPNA1-6 is involved in the nuclear import of HBV and that ivermectin suppresses the nuclear import of HBV by inhibiting KPNA2. This study demonstrates the potential of ivermectin as a novel treatment for hepatitis B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Nakanishi
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Hiroki Okumura
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Tadahiro Hashita
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Correspondence: (T.H.); (Y.T.)
| | - Aya Yamashita
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Yuka Nishimura
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Chihiro Watanabe
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Sakina Kamimura
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Sanae Hayashi
- Department of Virology and Liver Unit, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
| | - Shuko Murakami
- Department of Virology and Liver Unit, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
| | - Kyoko Ito
- Department of Virology and Liver Unit, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
| | - Takahiro Iwao
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Akari Ikeda
- Ōmura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, Kitasato University, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan
| | - Tomoyasu Hirose
- Ōmura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, Kitasato University, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Sunazuka
- Ōmura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, Kitasato University, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan
| | - Yasuhito Tanaka
- Department of Virology and Liver Unit, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
- Correspondence: (T.H.); (Y.T.)
| | - Tamihide Matsunaga
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
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21
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Brezgin SA, Kostyusheva AP, Ponomareva NI, Gegechkori VI, Kirdyashkina NP, Ayvasyan SR, Dmitrieva LN, Kokoreva LN, Chulanov VP, Kostyushev DS. [HBx Protein Potentiates Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation]. Mol Biol (Mosk) 2022; 56:783-794. [PMID: 36165017 DOI: 10.31857/s0026898422050044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can cause chronic hepatitis B, one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world. Global estimates suggest that over 2 billion people are affected by HBV, with over 250 million people developing chronic infection. Upon treatment of comorbidities, patients with chronic infection may develop an abrupt increase of viral replication-HBV reactivation-leading to liver decompensation and, in some cases, death. HBV reactivation occurs mostly due to suppression of antiviral immune response and activation of intracellular pro-viral signaling. Defining the mechanisms of HBV reactivation is necessary for the rational use of drugs and reduction of mortality rates in patients with chronic infection. In this study, for the first time we analyzed the effects of HBx protein on HBV reactivation, described reactivation of HBV from the transcriptionally inactivated state at the methylated recombinant HBV genome model, and investigated HBV reactivation upon treatment with genotoxic agents (doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide) and targeted drug therapies (sunitinib and bortezomib). We report that both wild-type HBx protein and, to a greater extent, the mutant form of HBx protein lacking the nuclear exportation signal, potentiate viral replication and promote HBV reactivation. For the first time, we demonstrate that HBV can reactivate from the transcriptionally inactive state. Doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide induce HBV reactivation at models of both transcriptionally active and transcriptionally silenced viral genome. Sunitinib weakly reactivates HBV, while bortezomib does not affect HBV replication in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Brezgin
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
| | - A P Kostyusheva
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - N I Ponomareva
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
| | - V I Gegechkori
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119991 Russia
| | - N P Kirdyashkina
- Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health, Moscow, 105275 Russia
| | - S R Ayvasyan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - L N Dmitrieva
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - L N Kokoreva
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
| | - V P Chulanov
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- National Medical Research Center for Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases, Moscow, 127994 Russia
| | - D S Kostyushev
- Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), Moscow, 119048 Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340 Russia
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22
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Hong X, Kawasawa YI, Menne S, Hu J. Host cell-dependent late entry step as determinant of hepatitis B virus infection. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010633. [PMID: 35714170 PMCID: PMC9246237 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has a highly restricted host range and cell tropism. Other than the human sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (huNTCP), the HBV entry receptor, host determinants of HBV susceptibility are poorly understood. Woodchucks are naturally infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV), closely related to HBV, but not with HBV. Here, we investigated the capabilities of woodchuck hepatic and human non-hepatic cell lines to support HBV infection. DNA transfection assays indicated that all cells tested supported both HBV and WHV replication steps post entry, including the viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) formation, which is essential for establishing and sustaining infection. Ectopic expression of huNTCP rendered one, but not the other, woodchuck hepatic cell line and the non-hepatic human cell line competent to support productive HBV entry, defined here by cccDNA formation during de novo infection. All huNTCP-expressing cell lines tested became susceptible to infection with hepatitis D virus (HDV) that shares the same entry receptor and initial steps of entry with HBV, suggesting that a late entry/trafficking step(s) of HBV infection was defective in one of the two woodchuck cell lines. In addition, the non-susceptible woodchuck hepatic cell line became susceptible to HBV after fusion with human hepatic cells, suggesting the lack of a host cell-dependent factor(s) in these cells. Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the two woodchuck cell lines revealed widespread differences in gene expression in multiple biological processes that may contribute to HBV infection. In conclusion, other than huNTCP, neither human- nor hepatocyte-specific factors are essential for productive HBV entry. Furthermore, a late trafficking step(s) during HBV infection, following the shared entry steps with HDV and before cccDNA formation, is subject to host cell regulation and thus, a host determinant of HBV infection. Fundamental studies on, and development of therapies against, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which inflicts hundreds of millions worldwide, are impeded by deficiencies in HBV-susceptible animal models. HBV displays a strict species and cell tropism that are not clearly understood. Here, by studying replication of HBV, and the related woodchuck hepatitis virus, in human and woodchuck hepatic or non-hepatic cells, we found that non-hepatic human cells and some woodchuck hepatic cells could support productive HBV entry after expression of the human cell receptor for HBV. Moreover, by studying the infection of hepatitis D virus, which shares the same entry receptor and initial steps of entry with HBV, we could narrow down a host determinant of HBV infection operating at a late entry/trafficking step(s). Our study thus provides new insights into determinants of HBV host tropism and facilitates the development of HBV-susceptible animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xupeng Hong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Yuka Imamura Kawasawa
- Department of Pharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute for Personalized Medicine, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Stephan Menne
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
| | - Jianming Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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23
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Sun Y, Teng Y, Wang L, Zhang Z, Chen C, Wang Y, Zhang X, Xiang P, Song X, Lu J, Li N, Gao L, Liang X, Xia Y, Wu Z, Ma C. LINC01431 Promotes Histone H4R3 Methylation to Impede HBV Covalently Closed Circular DNA Transcription by Stabilizing PRMT1. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2022; 9:e2103135. [PMID: 35398991 PMCID: PMC9165498 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is the transcriptional template of hepatitis B virus (HBV), which interacts with both host and viral proteins to form minichromosome in the nucleus and is resistant to antiviral agents. Identification of host factors involved in cccDNA transcriptional regulation is expected to prove a new venue for HBV therapy. Recent evidence suggests the involvement of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in mediating the interaction of host factors with various viruses, however, lncRNAs that HBV targets and represses cccDNA transcription have not been fully elucidated. Here, the authors identified LINC01431 as a novel host restriction factor for HBV transcription. Mechanically, LINC01431 competitively bound with type I protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT1) to block the HBx-mediated PRMT1 ubiquitination and degradation. Consequently, LINC01431 increased the occupancy of PRMT1 on cccDNA, leading to enhanced H4R3me2a modification and reduced acetylation of cccDNA-bound histones, thereby repressing cccDNA transcription. In turn, to facilitate viral replication, HBV transcriptionally repressed LINC01431 expression by HBx-mediated repression of transcription factor Zinc fingers and homeoboxes 2 (ZHX2). Collectively, the study demonstrates LINC01431 as a novel epigenetic regulator of cccDNA minichromosome and highlights a feedback loop of HBx-LINC01431-PRMT1 in HBV replication, which provides potential therapeutic targets for HBV treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Sun
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Yan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and ImmunologyInstitute of Medical VirologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesWuhan UniversityWuhanHubei430072China
| | - Liyuan Wang
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Zhaoying Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - ChaoJia Chen
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Yingchun Wang
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Peng Xiang
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Xiaojia Song
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Jinghui Lu
- Department of Hepatobiliary SurgeryQilu Hospital of Shandong University, JinanShandong250012China
| | - Nailin Li
- Karolinska InstituteDepartment of Medicine‐SolnaClinical Pharmacology GroupStockholm17176Sweden
| | - Lifen Gao
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Xiaohong Liang
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Yuchen Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Virology and Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and ImmunologyInstitute of Medical VirologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesWuhan UniversityWuhanHubei430072China
| | - Zhuanchang Wu
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
| | - Chunhong Ma
- Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education and Department of ImmunologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo Medical CollegeShandong UniversityJinanShandong250012China
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24
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Ma SP, Gao XX, Zhou GQ, Zhang HK, Yang JM, Wang WJ, Song XM, Chen HY, Lu DR. Reactivation of γ-globin expression using a minicircle DNA system to treat β-thalassemia. Gene 2022; 820:146289. [PMID: 35143940 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Reactivation of fetal hemoglobin by editing the B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 11A (BCL11A) erythroid enhancer is an effective gene therapy for β-thalassemia. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, fetal γ-globin expression can be robustly reactivated to mitigate the clinical course of β-thalassemia. In our study, we found that the transfection efficiencies of CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) were significantly and negatively correlated with the length of plasmids and greatly affected by the linearization of plasmids. Furthermore, the transgene expression of minicircles (MC) without plasmid backbone sequences was better both in vitro and in vivo compared with conventional plasmids. Thus, MC DNA was used to deliver the cassette of Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (SaCas9) into HSPCs, and a single-guide RNA targeting the erythroid enhancer region of BCL11A was selected. After electroporation with MC DNA, an evident efficiency of gene editing and reactivation of γ-globin expression in erythroblasts derived from unsorted HSPCs was acquired. No significant off-target effects were found by deep sequencing. Furthermore, fragments derived from lentiviral vectors, but not MC DNA, were highly enriched in promoter, exon, intron, distal-intergenic, and cancer-associated genes, indicating that MC DNA provided a relatively safe and efficient vector for delivering transgenes. The developed MC DNA vector provided a potential approach for the delivery of SaCas9 cassette and the reactivation of γ-globin expression for ameliorating syndromes of β-thalassemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang-Ping Ma
- Institutes of Health Central Plains, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Xu-Xia Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guo-Qiang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hao-Kun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing-Min Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wen-Juan Wang
- Department of Hematology, the first affiliated hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Xian-Min Song
- Department of Hematology, Shanghai General Hospital (affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Shanghai, China.
| | - Hong-Yan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Da-Ru Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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25
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Xi J, Cui X, Liu K, Liu H, Wang J, Hu J. Region-Specific Hepatitis B Virus Genome Exposure from Nucleocapsid Modulated by Capsid Linker Sequence and Inhibitor: Implications for Uncoating. J Virol 2022; 96:e0039922. [PMID: 35389266 PMCID: PMC9044944 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00399-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) contains a partially double-stranded, relaxed circular (RC) DNA genome synthesized within a nucleocapsid (NC) in the host cell cytoplasm. The release of RC DNA from the NC, in an ill-defined process called uncoating, to the nucleus is required for its conversion to the covalently closed circular (CCC) DNA, the viral episome serving as the transcriptional template for all viral RNAs necessary for replication and, thus, essential for establishing and sustaining viral infection. In efforts to better understand uncoating, we analyzed HBV core (HBc) mutants that show various levels of nuclear CCC DNA but little to no cytoplasmic RC DNA. We found that RC DNA could be synthesized by these mutants outside the cell, but in contrast to the wild type (wt), the mutant NCs were unable to protect RC DNA from digestion by the endogenous nuclease(s) in cellular lysates or exogenous DNase. Subcellular fractionation suggested that the major RC DNA-degrading activity was membrane associated. Digestion with sequence-specific and nonspecific DNases revealed the exposure of specific regions of RC DNA from the mutant NC. Similarly, treatment of wt NCs with a core inhibitor known to increase CCC DNA by affecting uncoating also led to region-specific exposure of RC DNA. Furthermore, a subpopulation of untreated wild type (wt) mature NCs showed site-specific exposure of RC DNA as well. Competition between RC DNA degradation and its conversion to CCC DNA during NC uncoating thus likely plays an important role in the establishment and persistence of HBV infection and has implications for the development of capsid-targeted antivirals. IMPORTANCE Disassembly of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) nucleocapsid (NC) to release its genomic DNA, in an ill-understood process called uncoating, is required to form the viral nuclear episome in the host cell nucleus, a viral DNA essential for establishing and sustaining HBV infection. The elimination of the HBV nuclear episome remains the holy grail for the development of an HBV cure. We report here that the HBV genomic DNA is exposed in a region-specific manner during uncoating, which is enhanced by mutations of the capsid protein and a capsid-targeted antiviral compound. The exposure of the viral genome can result in its rapid degradation or, alternatively, can enhance the formation of the nuclear episome, thus having a major impact on HBV infection and persistence. These results are thus important for understanding fundamental mechanisms of HBV replication and persistence and for the ongoing pursuit of an HBV cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Xi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Xiuji Cui
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kuancheng Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Haitao Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Joseph Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jianming Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
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26
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Kitamura K, Fukano K, Que L, Li Y, Wakae K, Muramatsu M. Activities of endogenous APOBEC3s and uracil-DNA-glycosylase affect the hypermutation frequency of hepatitis B virus cccDNA. J Gen Virol 2022; 103. [PMID: 35438620 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) plays a key role in the persistence of viral infection. We have previously shown that overexpression of an antiviral factor APOBEC3G (A3G) induces hypermutation in duck HBV (DHBV) cccDNA, whereas uracil-DNA-glycosylase (UNG) reduces these mutations. In this study, using cell-culture systems, we examined whether endogenous A3s and UNG affect HBV cccDNA mutation frequency. IFNγ stimulation induced a significant increase in endogenous A3G expression and cccDNA hypermutation. UNG inhibition enhanced the IFNγ-mediated hypermutation frequency. Transfection of reconstructed cccDNA revealed that this enhanced hypermutation caused a reduction in viral replication. These results suggest that the balance of endogenous A3s and UNG activities affects HBV cccDNA mutation and replication competency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kouichi Kitamura
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Murayama branch, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
| | - Kento Fukano
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Murayama branch, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
| | - Lusheng Que
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Murayama branch, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
| | - Yingfang Li
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Murayama branch, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
| | - Kousho Wakae
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Murayama branch, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
| | - Masamichi Muramatsu
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Murayama branch, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan
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27
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Henriksen RA, Jenjaroenpun P, Sjøstrøm IB, Jensen KR, Prada-Luengo I, Wongsurawat T, Nookaew I, Regenberg B. Circular DNA in the human germline and its association with recombination. Mol Cell 2022; 82:209-217.e7. [PMID: 34951964 PMCID: PMC10707452 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) is common in somatic tissue, but its existence and effects in the human germline are unexplored. We used microscopy, long-read DNA sequencing, and new analytic methods to document thousands of eccDNAs from human sperm. EccDNAs derived from all genomic regions and mostly contained a single DNA fragment, although some consisted of multiple fragments. The generation of eccDNA inversely correlates with the meiotic recombination rate, and chromosomes with high coding-gene density and Alu element abundance form the least eccDNA. Analysis of insertions in human genomes further indicates that eccDNA can persist in the human germline when the circular molecules reinsert themselves into the chromosomes. Our results suggest that eccDNA has transient and permanent effects on the germline. They explain how differences in the physical and genetic map might arise and offer an explanation of how Alu elements coevolved with genes to protect genome integrity against deleterious mutations producing eccDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasmus Amund Henriksen
- Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Piroon Jenjaroenpun
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Ida Borup Sjøstrøm
- Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Iñigo Prada-Luengo
- Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thidathip Wongsurawat
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Intawat Nookaew
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Birgitte Regenberg
- Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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28
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Shen Z, Wu J, Gao Z, Zhang S, Chen J, He J, Guo Y, Deng Q, Xie Y, Liu J, Zhang J. OUP accepted manuscript. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:2157-2171. [PMID: 35137191 PMCID: PMC8887475 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is associated with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Upon infection of hepatocytes, HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) exists as histone-bound mini-chromosome, subjected to transcriptional regulation similar to chromosomal DNA. Here we identify high mobility group AT-hook 1 (HMGA1) protein as a positive regulator of HBV transcription that binds to a conserved ATTGG site within enhancer II/core promoter (EII/Cp) and recruits transcription factors FOXO3α and PGC1α. HMGA1-mediated upregulation of EII/Cp results in enhanced viral gene expression and genome replication. Notably, expression of endogenous HMGA1 was also demonstrated to be upregulated by HBV, which involves HBV X protein (HBx) interacting with SP1 transcription factor to activate HMGA1 promoter. Consistent with these in vitro results, chronic hepatitis B patients in immune tolerant phase display both higher intrahepatic HMGA1 protein levels and higher serum HBV markers compared to patients in inactive carrier phase. Finally, using a mouse model of HBV persistence, we show that targeting endogenous HMGA1 through RNA interference facilitated HBV clearance. These data establish HMGA1 as an important positive regulator of HBV that is reciprocally upregulated by HBV via HBx and also suggest the HMGA1-HBV positive feedback loop as a potential therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongliang Shen
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +86 021 5288 8125; Fax: +86 021 6248 9191;
| | | | | | - Shenyan Zhang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity,National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Jingwen Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity,National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Jingjing He
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity,National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Yifei Guo
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biosafety Emergency Response, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity,National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Qiang Deng
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (Ministry of Education/National Health Commission/Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences), Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Youhua Xie
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Youhua Xie. Tel: +86 021 5423 7972; Fax: +86 021 5423 7973;
| | - Jing Liu
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Jing Liu. Tel: +86 021 5423 7972; Fax: +86 021 5423 7973;
| | - Jiming Zhang
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Jiming Zhang. Tel: +86 021 5288 8125; Fax: +86 021 6248 9191;
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29
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Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major medical problem affecting at least 257 million chronically infected patients who are at risk of developing serious, frequently fatal liver diseases. HBV is a small, partially double-stranded DNA virus that goes through an intricate replication cycle in its native cellular environment: human hepatocytes. A critical step in the viral life-cycle is the conversion of relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) into covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), the latter being the major template for HBV gene transcription. For this conversion, HBV relies on multiple host factors, as enzymes capable of catalyzing the relevant reactions are not encoded in the viral genome. Combinations of genetic and biochemical approaches have produced findings that provide a more holistic picture of the complex mechanism of HBV cccDNA formation. Here, we review some of these studies that have helped to provide a comprehensive picture of rcDNA to cccDNA conversion. Mechanistic insights into this critical step for HBV persistence hold the key for devising new therapies that will lead not only to viral suppression but to a cure.
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30
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Abstract
Approximately 240 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), despite four decades of effective HBV vaccination. During chronic infection, HBV forms two distinct templates responsible for viral transcription: (1) episomal covalently closed circular (ccc)DNA and (2) host genome-integrated viral templates. Multiple ubiquitous and liver-specific transcription factors are recruited onto these templates and modulate viral gene transcription. This review details the latest developments in antivirals that inhibit HBV gene transcription or destabilize viral transcripts. Notably, nuclear receptor agonists exhibit potent inhibition of viral gene transcription from cccDNA. Small molecule inhibitors repress HBV X protein-mediated transcription from cccDNA, while small interfering RNAs and single-stranded oligonucleotides result in transcript degradation from both cccDNA and integrated templates. These antivirals mediate their effects by reducing viral transcripts abundance, some leading to a loss of surface antigen expression, and they can potentially be added to the arsenal of drugs with demonstrable anti-HBV activity. Thus, these candidates deserve special attention for future repurposing or further development as anti-HBV therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingqian Qu
- Division of Veterinary Medicine, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225 Langen, Germany
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Correspondence: (B.Q.); (R.J.P.B.)
| | - Richard J. P. Brown
- Division of Veterinary Medicine, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225 Langen, Germany
- Correspondence: (B.Q.); (R.J.P.B.)
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31
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Abstract
We propose a model for the replication of primordial protocell genomes that builds upon recent advances in the nonenzymatic copying of RNA. We suggest that the original genomes consisted of collections of oligonucleotides beginning and ending at all possible positions on both strands of one or more virtual circular sequences. Replication is driven by feeding with activated monomers and by the activation of monomers and oligonucleotides in situ. A fraction of the annealed configurations of the protocellular oligonucleotides would allow for template-directed oligonucleotide growth by primer extension or ligation. Rearrangements of these annealed configurations, driven either by environmental fluctuations or occurring spontaneously, would allow for continued oligonucleotide elongation. Assuming that shorter oligonucleotides were more abundant than longer ones, replication of the entire genome could occur by the growth of all oligonucleotides by as little as one nucleotide on average. We consider possible scenarios that could have given rise to such protocell genomes, as well as potential routes to the emergence of catalytically active ribozymes and thus the more complex cells of the RNA World.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijun Zhou
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Dian Ding
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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32
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Han B, Zhang Y, Bi X, Zhou Y, Krueger CJ, Hu X, Zhu Z, Tong X, Zhang B. Bi-FoRe: an efficient bidirectional knockin strategy to generate pairwise conditional alleles with fluorescent indicators. Protein Cell 2021; 12:39-56. [PMID: 32681448 PMCID: PMC7815861 DOI: 10.1007/s13238-020-00747-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene expression labeling and conditional manipulation of gene function are important for elaborate dissection of gene function. However, contemporary generation of pairwise dual-function knockin alleles to achieve both conditional and geno-tagging effects with a single donor has not been reported. Here we first developed a strategy based on a flipping donor named FoRe to generate conditional knockout alleles coupled with fluorescent allele-labeling through NHEJ-mediated unidirectional targeted insertion in zebrafish facilitated by the CRISPR/Cas system. We demonstrated the feasibility of this strategy at sox10 and isl1 loci, and successfully achieved Cre-induced conditional knockout of target gene function and simultaneous switch of the fluorescent reporter, allowing generation of genetic mosaics for lineage tracing. We then improved the donor design enabling efficient one-step bidirectional knockin to generate paired positive and negative conditional alleles, both tagged with two different fluorescent reporters. By introducing Cre recombinase, these alleles could be used to achieve both conditional knockout and conditional gene restoration in parallel; furthermore, differential fluorescent labeling of the positive and negative alleles enables simple, early and efficient real-time discrimination of individual live embryos bearing different genotypes prior to the emergence of morphologically visible phenotypes. We named our improved donor as Bi-FoRe and demonstrated its feasibility at the sox10 locus. Furthermore, we eliminated the undesirable bacterial backbone in the donor using minicircle DNA technology. Our system could easily be expanded for other applications or to other organisms, and coupling fluorescent labeling of gene expression and conditional manipulation of gene function will provide unique opportunities to fully reveal the power of emerging single-cell sequencing technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingzhou Han
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, Peking University Genome Editing Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yage Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, Peking University Genome Editing Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Xuetong Bi
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, Peking University Genome Editing Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yang Zhou
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Christopher J Krueger
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory, Atlanta, GA, 33032, USA
| | - Xinli Hu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zuoyan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, Peking University Genome Editing Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Xiangjun Tong
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, Peking University Genome Editing Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation of the Ministry of Education, Peking University Genome Editing Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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33
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Ailioaie LM, Litscher G. Curcumin and Photobiomodulation in Chronic Viral Hepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21197150. [PMID: 32998270 PMCID: PMC7582680 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21197150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune modulation is a very modern medical field for targeting viral infections. In the race to develop the best immune modulator against viruses, curcumin, as a natural product, is inexpensive, without side effects, and can stimulate very well certain areas of the human immune system. As a bright yellow component of turmeric spice, curcumin has been the subject of thousands of scientific and clinical studies in recent decades to prove its powerful antioxidant properties and anticancer effects. Curcumin has been shown to influence inter- and intracellular signaling pathways, with direct effects on gene expression of the antioxidant proteins and those that regulate the immunity. Experimental studies have shown that curcumin modulates several enzyme systems, reduces nitrosative stress, increases the antioxidant capacity, and decreases the lipid peroxidation, protecting against fatty liver pathogenesis and fibrotic changes. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects millions of people worldwide, having sometimes a dramatic evolution to chronic aggressive infection, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. All up-to-date treatments are limited, there is still a gap in the scientific knowledge, and a sterilization cure may not yet be possible with the removal of both covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and the embedded HBV DNA. With a maximum light absorption at 420 nm, the cytotoxicity of curcumin as photosensitizer could be expanded by the intravenous blue laser blood irradiation (IVBLBI) or photobiomodulation in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, Hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive, noncirrhotic, but nonresponsive to classical therapy. Photobiomodulation increases DNA repair by the biosynthesis of complex molecules with antioxidant properties, the outset of repairing enzyme systems and new phospholipids for regenerating the cell membranes. UltraBioavailable Curcumin and blue laser photobiomodulation could suppress the virus and control better the disease by reducing inflammation/fibrosis and stopping the progression of chronic hepatitis, reversing fibrosis, and diminishing the progression of cirrhosis, and decreasing the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. Photodynamic therapy with blue light and curcumin opens new avenues for the effective prevention and cure of chronic liver infections and hepatocellular carcinoma. Blue laser light and UltraBioavailable Curcumin could be a new valuable alternative for medical applications in chronic B viral hepatitis and hepatocarcinoma, saving millions of lives.
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MESH Headings
- Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/therapeutic use
- Antioxidants/therapeutic use
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/radiotherapy
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/virology
- Curcumin/therapeutic use
- DNA Repair/radiation effects
- DNA, Circular/antagonists & inhibitors
- DNA, Circular/genetics
- DNA, Circular/metabolism
- DNA, Viral/antagonists & inhibitors
- DNA, Viral/genetics
- DNA, Viral/metabolism
- Hepatitis B e Antigens/genetics
- Hepatitis B e Antigens/immunology
- Hepatitis B virus/drug effects
- Hepatitis B virus/growth & development
- Hepatitis B virus/pathogenicity
- Hepatitis B virus/radiation effects
- Hepatitis B, Chronic/complications
- Hepatitis B, Chronic/drug therapy
- Hepatitis B, Chronic/radiotherapy
- Hepatitis B, Chronic/virology
- Humans
- Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use
- Liver/drug effects
- Liver/immunology
- Liver/pathology
- Liver/radiation effects
- Liver Cirrhosis/drug therapy
- Liver Cirrhosis/etiology
- Liver Cirrhosis/radiotherapy
- Liver Cirrhosis/virology
- Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy
- Liver Neoplasms/etiology
- Liver Neoplasms/radiotherapy
- Liver Neoplasms/virology
- Low-Level Light Therapy/methods
- Photosensitizing Agents/therapeutic use
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Marinela Ailioaie
- Department of Medical Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 11 Carol I Boulevard, 700506 Iasi, Romania;
- Ultramedical & Laser Clinic, 83 Arcu Street, 700135 Iasi, Romania
| | - Gerhard Litscher
- Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 39, 8036 Graz, Austria
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +43-316-385-83907
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Krupovic M, Varsani A, Kazlauskas D, Breitbart M, Delwart E, Rosario K, Yutin N, Wolf YI, Harrach B, Zerbini FM, Dolja VV, Kuhn JH, Koonin EV. Cressdnaviricota: a Virus Phylum Unifying Seven Families of Rep-Encoding Viruses with Single-Stranded, Circular DNA Genomes. J Virol 2020; 94:e00582-20. [PMID: 32269128 PMCID: PMC7307096 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00582-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
MESH Headings
- Animals
- DNA Viruses/classification
- DNA Viruses/genetics
- DNA, Circular/chemistry
- DNA, Circular/genetics
- DNA, Circular/metabolism
- DNA, Single-Stranded/chemistry
- DNA, Single-Stranded/genetics
- DNA, Single-Stranded/metabolism
- DNA, Viral/chemistry
- DNA, Viral/genetics
- DNA, Viral/metabolism
- Diatoms/virology
- Genome Size
- Genome, Viral
- Insecta/virology
- Phylogeny
- Plants/virology
- Terminology as Topic
- Viral Proteins/genetics
- Viral Proteins/metabolism
- Virus Replication
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Affiliation(s)
- Mart Krupovic
- Archaeal Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Darius Kazlauskas
- Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Mya Breitbart
- University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
| | - Eric Delwart
- Vitalant Research Institute, San Francisco, California, USA
- UCSF Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Karyna Rosario
- University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
| | - Natalya Yutin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Balázs Harrach
- Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Budapest, Hungary
| | - F Murilo Zerbini
- Departamento de Fitopatologia/Bioagro, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Valerian V Dolja
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Jens H Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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35
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Luo J, Xi J, Gao L, Hu J. Role of Hepatitis B virus capsid phosphorylation in nucleocapsid disassembly and covalently closed circular DNA formation. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008459. [PMID: 32226051 PMCID: PMC7145273 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) delivers a partially double-stranded, relaxed circular (RC) DNA genome in complete virions to the host cell nucleus for conversion to the covalently closed circular (CCC) DNA, which establishes and sustains viral infection. An overlength pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) is then transcribed from CCC DNA and packaged into immature nucleocapsids (NCs) by the viral core (HBc) protein. pgRNA is reverse transcribed to produce RC DNA in mature NCs, which are then enveloped and secreted as complete virions, or delivered to the nucleus to replenish the nuclear CCC DNA pool. RC DNA, whether originating from extracellular virions or intracellular mature NCs, must be released upon NC disassembly (uncoating) for CCC DNA formation. HBc is known to undergo dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation at its C-terminal domain (CTD) to facilitate pgRNA packaging and reverse transcription. Here, two putative phosphorylation sites in the HBc N-terminal domain (NTD), S44 and S49, were targeted for genetic and biochemical analysis to assess their potential roles in viral replication. The NTD mutant that mimics the non-phosphorylated state (N2A) was competent in all steps of viral replication tested from capsid assembly, pgRNA packaging, reverse transcription, to virion secretion, except for a decrease in CCC DNA formation. On the other hand, the phosphor-mimetic mutant N2E showed a defect in the early step of pgRNA packaging but enhanced the late step of mature NC uncoating and consequently, increased CCC DNA formation. N2E also enhanced phosphorylation in CTD and possibly elsewhere in HBc. Furthermore, inhibition of the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), which is packaged into viral capsids, could block CCC DNA formation. These results prompted us to propose a model whereby rephosphorylation of HBc at both NTD and CTD by the packaged CDK2, following CTD dephosphorylation during NC maturation, facilitates uncoating and CCC DNA formation by destabilizing mature NCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Luo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ji Xi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Lu Gao
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianming Hu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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36
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Yu J, Xiang X, Huang J, Liang X, Pan X, Dong Z, Petersen TS, Qu K, Yang L, Zhao X, Li S, Zheng T, Xu Z, Liu C, Han P, Xu F, Yang H, Liu X, Zhang X, Bolund L, Luo Y, Lin L. Haplotyping by CRISPR-mediated DNA circularization (CRISPR-hapC) broadens allele-specific gene editing. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:e25. [PMID: 31943080 PMCID: PMC7049710 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Allele-specific protospacer adjacent motif (asPAM)-positioning SNPs and CRISPRs are valuable resources for gene therapy of dominant disorders. However, one technical hurdle is to identify the haplotype comprising the disease-causing allele and the distal asPAM SNPs. Here, we describe a novel CRISPR-based method (CRISPR-hapC) for haplotyping. Based on the generation (with a pair of CRISPRs) of extrachromosomal circular DNA in cells, the CRISPR-hapC can map haplotypes from a few hundred bases to over 200 Mb. To streamline and demonstrate the applicability of the CRISPR-hapC and asPAM CRISPR for allele-specific gene editing, we reanalyzed the 1000 human pan-genome and generated a high frequency asPAM SNP and CRISPR database (www.crispratlas.com/knockout) for four CRISPR systems (SaCas9, SpCas9, xCas9 and Cas12a). Using the huntingtin (HTT) CAG expansion and transthyretin (TTR) exon 2 mutation as examples, we showed that the asPAM CRISPRs can specifically discriminate active and dead PAMs for all 23 loci tested. Combination of the CRISPR-hapC and asPAM CRISPRs further demonstrated the capability for achieving highly accurate and haplotype-specific deletion of the HTT CAG expansion allele and TTR exon 2 mutation in human cells. Taken together, our study provides a new approach and an important resource for genome research and allele-specific (haplotype-specific) gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Yu
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Xi Xiang
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Jinrong Huang
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
| | - Xue Liang
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Xiaoguang Pan
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Zhanying Dong
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | | | - Kunli Qu
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Ling Yang
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Xiaoying Zhao
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Siyuan Li
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Tianyu Zheng
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Zhe Xu
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Chengxun Liu
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Peng Han
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Fengping Xu
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Xin Liu
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | | | - Lars Bolund
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Yonglun Luo
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
| | - Lin Lin
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
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37
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Ohtsuki S, Shiba Y, Maezawa T, Hidaka K, Sugiyama H, Endo M, Takahashi Y, Takakura Y, Nishikawa M. Folding of single-stranded circular DNA into rigid rectangular DNA accelerates its cellular uptake. Nanoscale 2019; 11:23416-23422. [PMID: 31799532 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr08695a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Despite the importance of the interaction between DNA and cells for its biological activity, little is known about exactly how DNA interacts with cells. To elucidate the relationship between the structural properties of DNA and its cellular uptake, a single-stranded circular DNA of 1801 bases was designed and folded into a series of rectangular DNA (RecDNA) nanostructures with different rigidities using DNA origami technology. Interactions between these structures and cells were evaluated using mouse macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. RecDNA with 50 staple DNAs, including four that were Alexa Fluor 488-labeled, was designed. RecDNA with fewer staples, down to four staples (all Alexa Fluor 488-labeled), was also prepared. Electrophoresis and atomic force microscopy showed that all DNA nanostructures were successfully obtained with a sufficiently high yield. Flow cytometry analysis showed that folding of the single-stranded circular DNA into RecDNA significantly increased its cellular uptake. In addition, there was a positive correlation between uptake and the number of staples. These results indicate that highly folded DNA nanostructures interact more efficiently with RAW264.7 cells than loosely folded structures do. Based on these results, it was concluded that the interaction of DNA with cells can be controlled by folding using DNA origami technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shozo Ohtsuki
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Drug Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Yukako Shiba
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Drug Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Tatsuoki Maezawa
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Drug Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Kumi Hidaka
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sugiyama
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan and Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Masayuki Endo
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan and Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Yuki Takahashi
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Drug Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Yoshinobu Takakura
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Drug Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Makiya Nishikawa
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Drug Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. and Laboratory of Biopharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
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38
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Hull RM, King M, Pizza G, Krueger F, Vergara X, Houseley J. Transcription-induced formation of extrachromosomal DNA during yeast ageing. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000471. [PMID: 31794573 PMCID: PMC6890164 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) facilitates adaptive evolution by allowing rapid and extensive gene copy number variation and is implicated in the pathology of cancer and ageing. Here, we demonstrate that yeast aged under environmental copper accumulate high levels of eccDNA containing the copper-resistance gene CUP1. Transcription of the tandemly repeated CUP1 gene causes CUP1 eccDNA accumulation, which occurs in the absence of phenotypic selection. We have developed a sensitive and quantitative eccDNA sequencing pipeline that reveals CUP1 eccDNA accumulation on copper exposure to be exquisitely site specific, with no other detectable changes across the eccDNA complement. eccDNA forms de novo from the CUP1 locus through processing of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by Sae2, Mre11 and Mus81, and genome-wide analyses show that other protein coding eccDNA species in aged yeast share a similar biogenesis pathway. Although abundant, we find that CUP1 eccDNA does not replicate efficiently, and high-copy numbers in aged cells arise through frequent formation events combined with asymmetric DNA segregation. The transcriptional stimulation of CUP1 eccDNA formation shows that age-linked genetic change varies with transcription pattern, resulting in gene copy number profiles tailored by environment. Transcription can cause the de novo formation of protein-coding extrachromosomal DNA that accumulates in ageing yeast cells; these extrachromosomal circular DNA molecules form frequently by a DNA double strand break repair mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M. Hull
- Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle King
- Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Grazia Pizza
- Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Felix Krueger
- Babraham Bioinformatics, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Xabier Vergara
- Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Houseley
- Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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39
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Wu S, Turner KM, Nguyen N, Raviram R, Erb M, Santini J, Luebeck J, Rajkumar U, Diao Y, Li B, Zhang W, Jameson N, Corces MR, Granja JM, Chen X, Coruh C, Abnousi A, Houston J, Ye Z, Hu R, Yu M, Kim H, Law JA, Verhaak RGW, Hu M, Furnari FB, Chang HY, Ren B, Bafna V, Mischel PS. Circular ecDNA promotes accessible chromatin and high oncogene expression. Nature 2019; 575:699-703. [PMID: 31748743 PMCID: PMC7094777 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1763-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 264] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Oncogenes are commonly amplified on particles of extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in cancer1,2, but our understanding of the structure of ecDNA and its effect on gene regulation is limited. Here, by integrating ultrastructural imaging, long-range optical mapping and computational analysis of whole-genome sequencing, we demonstrate the structure of circular ecDNA. Pan-cancer analyses reveal that oncogenes encoded on ecDNA are among the most highly expressed genes in the transcriptome of the tumours, linking increased copy number with high transcription levels. Quantitative assessment of the chromatin state reveals that although ecDNA is packaged into chromatin with intact domain structure, it lacks higher-order compaction that is typical of chromosomes and displays significantly enhanced chromatin accessibility. Furthermore, ecDNA is shown to have a significantly greater number of ultra-long-range interactions with active chromatin, which provides insight into how the structure of circular ecDNA affects oncogene function, and connects ecDNA biology with modern cancer genomics and epigenetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihan Wu
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kristen M Turner
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Boundless Bio, Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nam Nguyen
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Boundless Bio, Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ramya Raviram
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Marcella Erb
- UCSD Light Microscopy Core Facility, Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Santini
- UCSD Light Microscopy Core Facility, Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Jens Luebeck
- Bioinformatics & Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Utkrisht Rajkumar
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Yarui Diao
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, Regeneration Next Initiative, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Regeneration Next Initiative, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Bin Li
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Wenjing Zhang
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nathan Jameson
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - M Ryan Corces
- Center for Personal Dynamic Regulomes, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Granja
- Center for Personal Dynamic Regulomes, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xingqi Chen
- Center for Personal Dynamic Regulomes, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ceyda Coruh
- Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Armen Abnousi
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jack Houston
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Zhen Ye
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rong Hu
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Miao Yu
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Hoon Kim
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Julie A Law
- Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Roel G W Verhaak
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Ming Hu
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Frank B Furnari
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Howard Y Chang
- Center for Personal Dynamic Regulomes, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Bing Ren
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Center for Epigenomics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Vineet Bafna
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Paul S Mischel
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Department of Pathology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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40
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Mohd-Ismail NK, Lim Z, Gunaratne J, Tan YJ. Mapping the Interactions of HBV cccDNA with Host Factors. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20174276. [PMID: 31480501 PMCID: PMC6747236 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20174276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem affecting about 300 million people globally. Although successful administration of a prophylactic vaccine has reduced new infections, a cure for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is still unavailable. Current anti-HBV therapies slow down disease progression but are not curative as they cannot eliminate or permanently silence HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). The cccDNA minichromosome persists in the nuclei of infected hepatocytes where it forms the template for all viral transcription. Interactions between host factors and cccDNA are crucial for its formation, stability, and transcriptional activity. Here, we summarize the reported interactions between HBV cccDNA and various host factors and their implications on HBV replication. While the virus hijacks certain cellular processes to complete its life cycle, there are also host factors that restrict HBV infection. Therefore, we review both positive and negative regulation of HBV cccDNA by host factors and the use of small molecule drugs or sequence-specific nucleases to target these interactions or cccDNA directly. We also discuss several reporter-based surrogate systems that mimic cccDNA biology which can be used for drug library screening of cccDNA-targeting compounds as well as identification of cccDNA-related targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nur K Mohd-Ismail
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Health System (NUHS), National University of Singapore, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Zijie Lim
- Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Health System (NUHS), National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
| | - Jayantha Gunaratne
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore 138673, Singapore
| | - Yee-Joo Tan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Health System (NUHS), National University of Singapore, Singapore 117545, Singapore.
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore 138673, Singapore.
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41
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Wu F, Japaridze A, Zheng X, Wiktor J, Kerssemakers JWJ, Dekker C. Direct imaging of the circular chromosome in a live bacterium. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2194. [PMID: 31097704 PMCID: PMC6522522 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10221-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the physical properties of chromosomes, including their morphology, mechanics, and dynamics are crucial for their biological function, many basic questions remain unresolved. Here we directly image the circular chromosome in live E. coli with a broadened cell shape. We find that it exhibits a torus topology with, on average, a lower-density origin of replication and an ultrathin flexible string of DNA at the terminus of replication. At the single-cell level, the torus is strikingly heterogeneous, with blob-like Mbp-size domains that undergo major dynamic rearrangements, splitting and merging at a minute timescale. Our data show a domain organization underlying the chromosome structure of E. coli, where MatP proteins induce site-specific persistent domain boundaries at Ori/Ter, while transcription regulators HU and Fis induce weaker transient domain boundaries throughout the genome. These findings provide an architectural basis for the understanding of the dynamic spatial organization of bacterial genomes in live cells.
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MESH Headings
- Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism
- Chromosomes, Bacterial/chemistry
- Chromosomes, Bacterial/metabolism
- DNA Replication
- DNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- DNA, Bacterial/metabolism
- DNA, Circular/chemistry
- DNA, Circular/metabolism
- Escherichia coli/genetics
- Escherichia coli/metabolism
- Escherichia coli Proteins/metabolism
- Genome, Bacterial
- Intravital Microscopy/instrumentation
- Intravital Microscopy/methods
- Microscopy, Fluorescence/instrumentation
- Microscopy, Fluorescence/methods
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Single-Cell Analysis/instrumentation
- Single-Cell Analysis/methods
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabai Wu
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Aleksandre Japaridze
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Xuan Zheng
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Jakub Wiktor
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Jacob W J Kerssemakers
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Cees Dekker
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands.
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42
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Kostyushev D, Brezgin S, Kostyusheva A, Zarifyan D, Goptar I, Chulanov V. Orthologous CRISPR/Cas9 systems for specific and efficient degradation of covalently closed circular DNA of hepatitis B virus. Cell Mol Life Sci 2019; 76:1779-1794. [PMID: 30673820 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03021-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the major cause of viral persistence and chronic hepatitis B. CRISPR/Cas9 nucleases can specifically target HBV cccDNA for decay, but off-target effects of nucleases in the human genome limit their clinical utility. CRISPR/Cas9 systems from four different species were co-expressed in cell lines with guide RNAs targeting conserved regions of the HBV genome. CRISPR/Cas9 systems from Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp) and Streptococcus thermophilus (St) targeting conserved regions of the HBV genome blocked HBV replication and, most importantly, resulted in degradation of over 90% of HBV cccDNA by 6 days post-transfection. Degradation of HBV cccDNA was impaired by inhibition of non-homologous end-joining pathway and resulted in an erroneous repair of HBV cccDNA. HBV cccDNA methylation also affected antiviral activity of CRISPR/Cas9. Single-nucleotide HBV genetic variants did not impact anti-HBV activity of St CRISPR/Cas9, suggesting its utility in targeting many HBV variants. However, two or more mismatches impaired or blocked CRISPR/Cas9 activity, indicating that host DNA will not likely be targeted. Deep sequencing revealed that Sp CRISPR/Cas9 induced off-target mutagenesis, whereas St CRISPR/Cas9 had no effect on the host genome. St CRISPR/Cas9 system represents the safest system with high anti-HBV activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Kostyushev
- Viral Hepatitis Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 3A Novogireevskaya Street, Moscow, 111123, Russian Federation.
| | - Sergey Brezgin
- Viral Hepatitis Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 3A Novogireevskaya Street, Moscow, 111123, Russian Federation
- Institute of Immunology, Federal Medical Biological Agency, Moscow, 115478, Russian Federation
| | - Anastasiya Kostyusheva
- Viral Hepatitis Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 3A Novogireevskaya Street, Moscow, 111123, Russian Federation
| | - Dmitry Zarifyan
- Viral Hepatitis Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 3A Novogireevskaya Street, Moscow, 111123, Russian Federation
| | - Irina Goptar
- Viral Hepatitis Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 3A Novogireevskaya Street, Moscow, 111123, Russian Federation
- Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health, Moscow, 105275, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir Chulanov
- Viral Hepatitis Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 3A Novogireevskaya Street, Moscow, 111123, Russian Federation
- Sechenov University, Moscow, 119146, Russian Federation
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43
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Tang L, Sheraz M, McGrane M, Chang J, Guo JT. DNA Polymerase alpha is essential for intracellular amplification of hepatitis B virus covalently closed circular DNA. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1007742. [PMID: 31026293 PMCID: PMC6505960 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection relies on the establishment and maintenance of covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA, a 3.2 kb episome that serves as a viral transcription template, in the nucleus of an infected hepatocyte. Although evidence suggests that cccDNA is the repair product of nucleocapsid associated relaxed circular (rc) DNA, the cellular DNA polymerases involving in repairing the discontinuity in both strands of rcDNA as well as the underlying mechanism remain to be fully understood. Taking a chemical genetics approach, we found that DNA polymerase alpha (Pol α) is essential for cccDNA intracellular amplification, a genome recycling pathway that maintains a stable cccDNA pool in infected hepatocytes. Specifically, inhibition of Pol α by small molecule inhibitors aphidicolin or CD437 as well as silencing of Pol α expression by siRNA led to suppression of cccDNA amplification in human hepatoma cells. CRISPR-Cas9 knock-in of a CD437-resistant mutation into Pol α genes completely abolished the effect of CD437 on cccDNA formation, indicating that CD437 directly targets Pol α to disrupt cccDNA biosynthesis. Mechanistically, Pol α is recruited to HBV rcDNA and required for the generation of minus strand covalently closed circular rcDNA, suggesting that Pol α is involved in the repair of the minus strand DNA nick in cccDNA synthesis. Our study thus reveals that the distinct host DNA polymerases are hijacked by HBV to support the biosynthesis of cccDNA from intracellular amplification pathway compared to that from de novo viral infection, which requires Pol κ and Pol λ. CCC DNA is the most refractory HBV replication intermediate under long-term antiviral therapies and is responsible for the viral rebound after treatment cessation. Therefore, understanding the biosynthesis and maintenance of cccDNA minichromosome is crucial for the development of novel antiviral therapeutics to cure chronic HBV infection. Although it has been clearly demonstrated that cccDNA biosynthesis relies on host cellular DNA repair machinery, the molecular pathways that convert rcDNA into cccDNA remain to be identified. Here we report that DNA polymerase alpha (Pol α) as well as Pol δ and ɛ are required for converting rcDNA into cccDNA through intracellular cccDNA amplification. This finding adds novel molecular insights on cccDNA biosynthesis. Further understanding the mechanism of cccDNA synthesis should reveal molecular targets for developing therapeutic agents to eradicate cccDNA and cure chronic hepatitis B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liudi Tang
- Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
| | - Muhammad Sheraz
- Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
| | - Michael McGrane
- FlowMetric Diagnostics, Doylestown, PA, United States of America
| | - Jinhong Chang
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Doylestown, PA, United States of America
| | - Ju-Tao Guo
- Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Doylestown, PA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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44
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Lee H, Jeong H, Lee SY, Kim SS, Jang KL. Hepatitis B Virus X Protein Stimulates Virus Replication Via DNA Methylation of the C-1619 in Covalently Closed Circular DNA. Mol Cells 2019; 42:67-78. [PMID: 30518174 PMCID: PMC6354056 DOI: 10.14348/molcells.2018.0255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Revised: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Methylation of HBV cccDNA has been detected in vivo and in vitro; however, the mechanism and its effects on HBV replication remain unclear. HBx derived from a 1.2-mer HBV replicon upregulated protein levels and enzyme activities of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), 3a, and 3b, resulting in methylation of the negative regulatory region (NRE) in cccDNA, while none of these effects were observed with an HBx-null mutant. The HBx-positive HBV cccDNA expressed higher levels of HBc and produced about 4-fold higher levels of HBV particles than those from the HBx-null counterpart. For these effects, HBx interrupted the action of NRE binding protein via methylation of the C-1619 within NRE, resulting in activation of the core promoter. Treatment with 5-Aza-2'dC or DNMT1 knock-down drastically impaired the ability of HBx to activate the core promoter and stimulate HBV replication in 1.2-mer HBV replicon and in vitro infection systems, indicating the positive role of HBx-mediated cccDNA methylation in HBV replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyehyeon Lee
- Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241,
Korea
| | - Hyerin Jeong
- Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241,
Korea
| | - Sun Young Lee
- Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241,
Korea
| | - Soo Shin Kim
- Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241,
Korea
| | - Kyung Lib Jang
- Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241,
Korea
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45
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Dezhbord M, Lee S, Kim W, Seong BL, Ryu WS. Characterization of the molecular events of covalently closed circular DNA synthesis in de novo Hepatitis B virus infection of human hepatoma cells. Antiviral Res 2019; 163:11-18. [PMID: 30639437 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Despite the utmost importance of cccDNA in HBV biology, the mechanism by which cccDNA synthesis is regulated is not completely understood. Here we explored HepG2-NTCP cell line and performed a time-course HBV infection experiment (up to 30 days) to follow the conversion of the input viral DNA into cccDNA. We found that a protein-free RC DNA (PF-RC DNA) become detectable as early as 12 h post infection (hpi) prior to the detection of cccDNA, which become evident only at 2-3 dpi. Intriguingly, the PF-RC DNA detected at 12 hpi was abundantly located in the cytoplasm, implicating that the protein-removal from the input viral DNA takes place in the cytoplasm, perhaps inside the nucleocapsid. Notably, during the early time points of HBV infection, the PF-RC DNA accumulated at significantly higher levels and appeared in a peak followed by a plateau at late time points with dramatically lower levels, implicating the presence of two distinct populations of the PF-RC DNA. Importantly, the PF-RC DNA at earlier peak is entecavir (ETV)-resistant, whereas the PF-RC DNA at posterior days is ETV-sensitive. An interpretation is that the PF-RC DNA at earlier peak represents "input viral DNA" derived from HBV inoculum, whereas the PF-RC DNA at late time points represents the de novo product of the viral reverse transcription. The existence of two populations of the PF-RC DNA having a distinct kinetic profile and ETV-sensitivity implicated that intracellular amplification via the viral reverse transcription greatly contributes to the maintenance of cccDNA pool during HBV infection. As such, we concluded that the cccDNA level is stably maintained by continuing replenishment of cccDNA primarily through intracellular amplification in the HepG2-NTCP cell line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehrangiz Dezhbord
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sooyoung Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Woohyun Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Baik Lin Seong
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
| | - Wang-Shick Ryu
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
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46
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Møller HD, Lin L, Xiang X, Petersen TS, Huang J, Yang L, Kjeldsen E, Jensen UB, Zhang X, Liu X, Xu X, Wang J, Yang H, Church GM, Bolund L, Regenberg B, Luo Y. CRISPR-C: circularization of genes and chromosome by CRISPR in human cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2018; 46:e131. [PMID: 30551175 PMCID: PMC6294522 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Revised: 07/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) and ring chromosomes are genetic alterations found in humans with genetic disorders. However, there is a lack of genetic engineering tools to recapitulate and study the biogenesis of eccDNAs. Here, we created a dual-fluorescence biosensor cassette, which upon the delivery of pairs of CRISPR/Cas9 guide RNAs, CRISPR-C, allows us to study the biogenesis of a specific fluorophore expressing eccDNA in human cells. We show that CRISPR-C can generate functional eccDNA, using the novel eccDNA biosensor system. We further reveal that CRISPR-C also can generate eccDNAs from intergenic and genic loci in human embryonic kidney 293T cells and human mammary fibroblasts. EccDNAs mainly forms by end-joining mediated DNA-repair and we show that CRISPR-C is able to generate endogenous eccDNAs in sizes from a few hundred base pairs and ranging up to 207 kb. Even a 47.4 megabase-sized ring chromosome 18 can be created by CRISPR-C. Our study creates a new territory for CRISPR gene editing and highlights CRISPR-C as a useful tool for studying the cellular impact, persistence and function of eccDNAs.
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MESH Headings
- Base Sequence
- Biosensing Techniques
- CRISPR-Associated Protein 9/genetics
- CRISPR-Associated Protein 9/metabolism
- CRISPR-Cas Systems
- Cell Line
- Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18/chemistry
- Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18/metabolism
- Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
- DNA End-Joining Repair
- DNA, Circular/genetics
- DNA, Circular/metabolism
- Fibroblasts
- Fluorescent Dyes/chemistry
- Fluorescent Dyes/metabolism
- Gene Editing/methods
- Genes, Reporter
- Genetic Loci
- Genetic Vectors/chemistry
- Genetic Vectors/metabolism
- Genome, Human
- Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics
- Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism
- HEK293 Cells
- Humans
- Luminescent Proteins/genetics
- Luminescent Proteins/metabolism
- RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics
- RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lin Lin
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Xi Xiang
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | | | - Jinrong Huang
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Luhan Yang
- eGenesis, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eigil Kjeldsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Uffe Birk Jensen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Xiuqing Zhang
- BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Xin Liu
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Xun Xu
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Jian Wang
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
- James D. Watson Institute of Genome Science, 310008 Hangzhou, China
| | - Huanming Yang
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
- James D. Watson Institute of Genome Science, 310008 Hangzhou, China
| | - George M Church
- eGenesis, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lars Bolund
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Birgitte Regenberg
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yonglun Luo
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
- BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
- BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
- Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, BGI-Qingdao, Qingdao 266555, China
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47
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Abstract
Circularization for in vitro reporting of cleavage effects by sequencing (CIRCLE-seq) is a sensitive and unbiased method for defining the genome-wide activity (on-target and off-target) of CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases by selective sequencing of nuclease-cleaved genomic DNA (gDNA). Here, we describe a detailed experimental and analytical protocol for CIRCLE-seq. The principle of our method is to generate a library of circularized gDNA with minimized numbers of free ends. Highly purified gDNA circles are treated with CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes, and nuclease-linearized DNA fragments are then ligated to adapters for high-throughput sequencing. The primary advantages of CIRCLE-seq as compared with other in vitro methods for defining genome-wide genome editing activity are (i) high enrichment for sequencing nuclease-cleaved gDNA/low background, enabling sensitive detection with low sequencing depth requirements; and (ii) the fact that paired-end reads can contain complete information on individual nuclease cleavage sites, enabling use of CIRCLE-seq in species without high-quality reference genomes. The entire protocol can be completed in 2 weeks, including time for gRNA cloning, sequence verification, in vitro transcription, library preparation, and sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cicera R Lazzarotto
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Nhu T Nguyen
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Center for Cancer Research, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xing Tang
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Jose Malagon-Lopez
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Center for Cancer Research, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jimmy A Guo
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Center for Cancer Research, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Martin J Aryee
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Center for Cancer Research, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J Keith Joung
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Center for Cancer Research, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shengdar Q Tsai
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
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48
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Caballero A, Tabernero D, Buti M, Rodriguez-Frias F. Hepatitis B virus: The challenge of an ancient virus with multiple faces and a remarkable replication strategy. Antiviral Res 2018; 158:34-44. [PMID: 30059722 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2018.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the prototype member of the Hepadnaviridae, an ancient family of hepatotropic DNA viruses, which may have originated from 360 to 430 million years ago and with evidence of endogenization in reptilian genomes >200 million years ago. The virus is currently estimated to infect more than 250 million humans. The extremely successful spread of this pathogen among the human population is explained by its multiple particulate forms, effective transmission strategies (particularly perinatal transmission), long induction period and low associated mortality. These characteristics confer selective advantages, enabling the virus to persist in small, disperse populations and spread worldwide, with high prevalence rates in many countries. The HBV replication strategy is remarkably complex and includes a multiplicity of particulate structures. In addition to the common virions containing DNA in a relaxed circular (rcDNA) or double-stranded linear (dslDNA) forms, the viral population includes virion-like particles containing RNA or "empty" (viral envelopes and capsids without genomes), subviral particles (only an envelope) and even naked capsids. Consequently, several forms of the genome coexist in a single infection: (i) the "traveler" forms found in serum, including rcDNA and dslDNA, which originate from retrotranscription of a messenger RNA (the pregenomic RNA, another form of the viral genome itself) and (ii) forms confined to the host cell nucleus, including covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which leads to a minichromosome form associated with histones and viral proteins, and double-stranded DNA integrated into the host genome. This complex composition lends HBV a kind of "multiple personality". Are these additional particles and genomic forms simple intermediaries/artifacts or do they play a role in the viral life cycle?
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Caballero
- Liver Pathology Unit, Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 119-129 Passeig Vall d'Hebron, Clinical Laboratories, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - David Tabernero
- Liver Pathology Unit, Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 119-129 Passeig Vall d'Hebron, Clinical Laboratories, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 3-5 Avenida Monforte de Lemos, pavilion 11, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Maria Buti
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 3-5 Avenida Monforte de Lemos, pavilion 11, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Liver Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 119-129 Passeig Vall d'Hebron, General Hospital, Internal Medicine 2, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Francisco Rodriguez-Frias
- Liver Pathology Unit, Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 119-129 Passeig Vall d'Hebron, Clinical Laboratories, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 3-5 Avenida Monforte de Lemos, pavilion 11, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
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49
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Abstract
Recent work indicates that twist-bend coupling plays an important role in DNA micromechanics. Here we investigate its effect on bent DNA. We provide an analytical solution of the minimum-energy shape of circular DNA, showing that twist-bend coupling induces sinusoidal twist waves. This solution is in excellent agreement with both coarse-grained simulations of minicircles and nucleosomal DNA data, which is bent and wrapped around histone proteins in a superhelical conformation. Our analysis shows that the observed twist oscillation in nucleosomal DNA, so far attributed to the interaction with the histone proteins, is an intrinsic feature of free bent DNA, and should be observable in other protein-DNA complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Skoruppa
- KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stefanos K Nomidis
- KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - John F Marko
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
| | - Enrico Carlon
- KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
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50
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Kitamura K, Que L, Shimadu M, Koura M, Ishihara Y, Wakae K, Nakamura T, Watashi K, Wakita T, Muramatsu M. Flap endonuclease 1 is involved in cccDNA formation in the hepatitis B virus. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007124. [PMID: 29928064 PMCID: PMC6013022 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major etiological pathogens for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Chronic HBV infection is a key factor in these severe liver diseases. During infection, HBV forms a nuclear viral episome in the form of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). Current therapies are not able to efficiently eliminate cccDNA from infected hepatocytes. cccDNA is a master template for viral replication that is formed by the conversion of its precursor, relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA). However, the host factors critical for cccDNA formation remain to be determined. Here, we assessed whether one potential host factor, flap structure-specific endonuclease 1 (FEN1), is involved in cleavage of the flap-like structure in rcDNA. In a cell culture HBV model (Hep38.7-Tet), expression and activity of FEN1 were reduced by siRNA, shRNA, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, and a FEN1 inhibitor. These reductions in FEN1 expression and activity did not affect nucleocapsid DNA (NC-DNA) production, but did reduce cccDNA levels in Hep38.7-Tet cells. Exogenous overexpression of wild-type FEN1 rescued the reduced cccDNA production in FEN1-depleted Hep38.7-Tet cells. Anti-FEN1 immunoprecipitation revealed the binding of FEN1 to HBV DNA. An in vitro FEN activity assay demonstrated cleavage of 5′-flap from a synthesized HBV DNA substrate. Furthermore, cccDNA was generated in vitro when purified rcDNA was incubated with recombinant FEN1, DNA polymerase, and DNA ligase. Importantly, FEN1 was required for the in vitro cccDNA formation assay. These results demonstrate that FEN1 is involved in HBV cccDNA formation in cell culture system, and that FEN1, DNA polymerase, and ligase activities are sufficient to convert rcDNA into cccDNA in vitro. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a worldwide health problem that affects more than 350 million people. HBV is one of the major etiological pathogens for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is a key viral intermediate for persistent infection. However, the molecular mechanism of cccDNA formation has not been clarified. Here, we found that the host factor flap-endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is pivotal in cccDNA formation. We developed a novel cccDNA formation assay by the incubation of purified viral DNA with recombinant FEN1, DNA polymerase, and DNA ligase. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cccDNA formation and proposes FEN1 as a potential anti-HBV drug target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kouichi Kitamura
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Lusheng Que
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Miyuki Shimadu
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Miki Koura
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Yuuki Ishihara
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Kousho Wakae
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Takashi Nakamura
- Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Koichi Watashi
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takaji Wakita
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masamichi Muramatsu
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Japan
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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