| First Author | Keasler VV | Year | 2006 |
| Journal | Virology | Volume | 347 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 466-75 |
| PubMed ID | 16427673 | Mgi Jnum | J:108557 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3624235 | Doi | 10.1016/j.virol.2005.11.050 |
| Citation | Keasler VV, et al. (2006) Increased liver pathology in hepatitis C virus transgenic mice expressing the hepatitis B virus X protein. Virology 347(2):466-75 |
| abstractText | Transgenic mice expressing the full-length HCV coding sequence were crossed with mice that express the HBV X gene-encoded regulatory protein HBx (ATX mice) to test the hypothesis that HBx expression accelerates HCV-induced liver pathogenesis. At 16 months (mo) of age, hepatocellular carcinoma was identified in 21% of HCV/ATX mice, but in none of the single transgenic animals. Analysis of 8-mo animals revealed that, relative to HCV/WT mice, HCV/ATX mice had more severe steatosis, greater liver-to-body weight ratios, and a significant increase in the percentage of hepatocytes staining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Furthermore, primary hepatocytes from HCV, ATX, and HCV/ATX transgenic mice were more resistant to fas-mediated apoptosis than hepatocytes from nontransgenic littermates. These results indicate that HBx expression contributes to increased liver pathogenesis in HCV transgenic mice by a mechanism that involves an imbalance in hepatocyte death and regeneration within the context of severe steatosis. |
