Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Shandong Provincial Engineering and Technological Research Center for Liver Diseases Prevention and Control, Jinan, China.
Front Immunol. 2021 Aug 12;12:691766. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.691766. eCollection 2021.
About 250 million people worldwide are chronically infected with Hepatitis B virus (HBV), contributing to a large burden on public health. Despite the existence of vaccines and antiviral drugs to prevent infection and suppress viral replication respectively, chronic hepatitis B (CHB) cure remains a remote treatment goal. The viral persistence caused by HBV is account for the chronic infection which increases the risk for developing liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV virion utilizes various strategies to escape surveillance of host immune system therefore enhancing its replication, while the precise mechanisms involved remain elusive. Accumulating evidence suggests that the proteins encoded by HBV (hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis B core antigen, hepatitis B envelope antigen, HBx and polymerase) play an important role in viral persistence and liver pathogenesis. This review summarizes the major findings in functions of HBV encoding proteins, illustrating how these proteins affect hepatocytes and the immune system, which may open new venues for CHB therapies.
全球约有 2.5 亿人慢性感染乙型肝炎病毒（HBV），给公共卫生带来了巨大负担。尽管有疫苗和抗病毒药物分别用于预防感染和抑制病毒复制，但慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）的治愈仍然是一个遥远的治疗目标。HBV 引起的病毒持续存在导致慢性感染，增加了发展为肝硬化和肝细胞癌（HCC）的风险。HBV 病毒利用各种策略逃避宿主免疫系统的监测，从而增强其复制，而涉及的具体机制仍不清楚。越来越多的证据表明，HBV 编码的蛋白质（乙型肝炎表面抗原、乙型肝炎核心抗原、乙型肝炎包膜抗原、HBx 和聚合酶）在病毒持续存在和肝脏发病机制中发挥重要作用。本综述总结了 HBV 编码蛋白功能的主要发现，说明了这些蛋白如何影响肝细胞和免疫系统，这可能为 CHB 治疗开辟新途径。
