Hepatitis B Virus Can Be Sensed by STING-dependent DNA Sensors but Suppresses the DNA Sensing Pathway in Humans with Acute and Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Abstract

Background : With the discovery of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in 2008, many intracellular molecules have been identified as STING-dependent DNA sensors in recent years. Studies show the DNA sensor-STING-IFN-β pathway plays an important role in defense against viral infections. However, the recognition of hepatitis B virus (HBV) by DNA sensors is still largely unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of STING-dependent DNA sensors in HBV infection. Methods: The expression of these DNA sensors in PBMCs from patients with acute and chronic HBV infection was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The cellular source of the upregulated DNA sensor and the response of the corresponding sensing pathway in PBMCs from HBV-infected patients were also investigated. Results: The expression of interferon gamma inducible protein 16 (IFI16), DEAD-box polypeptide 41 (DDX41), meiotic recombination 11 homolog A (MRE11), and STING were upregulated in chronic HBV-infected patients, whereas only IFI16 expression increased in acute HBV-infected patients. However, no IFN-β induction was observed in PBMCs in either acute or chronic HBV-infected patients. We next found IFI16 was mainly expressed in monocytes from acute and chronic hepatitis B patients. By stimulation of monocytes with VACV ds 70mer, an agonist ligand for IFI16, we confirmed the suppressed response of the IFI16-STING pathway in chronic HBV infection. Conclusions: Our results suggest that HBV can be sensed by DNA sensors in PBMCs in both acute and chronic HBV-infected patients and meanwhile actively counteract the DNA sensing pathway in PBMCs, which may facilitate the persistence of HBV infection.

An Overview on SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and Other Human Coronaviruses and Their Detection Capability via Amplification Assay, Chemical Sensing, Biosensing, Immunosensing, and Clinical Assays

“…Up to now, various sensors have been advanced for the detection of diverse kinds of viruses such as human coronavirus [ 74 – 77 ], HIV [ 78 , 79 ], hepatitis B virus (HBV) [ 80 ], hepatitis C virus (HCV) [ 81 ], and Zika virus [ 82 , 83 ].…”