Yu Su, Fan Bu, Yuanfei Zhu, Le Yang, Qiong Wu, Yuan Zheng, Jianjin Zhao, Lin Yu, Nan Jiang, Yongxiang Wang, Jian Wu, Youhua Xie, Xinxin Zhang, Yueqiu Gao, Ke Lan, Qiang Deng
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to advanced liver pathology. Here, we establish a transgenic murine model expressing a basic core promoter (BCP)-mutated HBV genome. Unlike previous studies on the wild-type virus, the BCP-mutated HBV transgenic mice manifest chronic liver injury that culminates in cirrhosis and tumor development with age. Notably, agonistic anti-Fas treatment induces fulminant hepatitis in these mice even at a negligible dose. As the BCP mutant exhibits a striking increase in HBV core protein (HBc) expression, we posit that HBc is actively involved in hepatocellular injury...
April 8, 2024: Science Bulletin