Liu Lihua, Dai Wenxiu, Wang Qinghui, Qian Huizhong, Liu Xiao, Hao Qingqin
Department of clinical laboratory, Wuxi Second People's Hospital, the Affiliated Central Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, China.
Department of clinical laboratory, Wuxi Blood Center, Wuxi 214000, China.
Virus Res. 2025 Aug 14;360:199616. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2025.199616.
Emerging evidence has revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. However, the roles of most lncRNAs in HBV replication remain unclear. In the present study, we determined that HNF4A-AS1 was downregulated by HBV during infection. Interestingly, HNF4A-AS1 inhibited HBV transcription and replication in human hepatoma cells. Mechanistically, HNF4A-AS1 inhibited HBV replication by promoting TLE4 expression at the transcriptional level. The TLE4 WD-repeat domain is required for TLE4-mediated anti-HBV activity. Collectively, our findings have uncovered a negative feedback mechanism underlying HBV replication and HNF4A-AS1 expression and identify HNF4A-AS1 as a novel host restriction factor in HBV replication, providing a potential therapeutic target for HBV treatment.
新出现的证据表明,长链非编码RNA(lncRNA)参与乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)复制。然而,大多数lncRNA在HBV复制中的作用仍不清楚。在本研究中,我们确定HNF4A-AS1在感染期间被HBV下调。有趣的是,HNF4A-AS1在人肝癌细胞中抑制HBV转录和复制。机制上,HNF4A-AS1通过在转录水平促进TLE4表达来抑制HBV复制。TLE4 WD重复结构域是TLE4介导的抗HBV活性所必需的。总的来说,我们的研究结果揭示了HBV复制和HNF4A-AS1表达背后的负反馈机制,并将HNF4A-AS1鉴定为HBV复制中的一种新型宿主限制因子,为HBV治疗提供了潜在的治疗靶点。