Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of lncRNA pvt1 on HBV replication in HepG2.2.15 cells, and its possible mechanism of action

Xijie Lai¹, Guosheng Gao², Xiunong Jiang¹, Jing Xie³

¹Department of Liver Disease, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Ningbo, China; ²Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Ningbo, China; ³Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huangyan Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Taizhou First People's Hospital, Taizhou, China.

For correspondence:- Jing Xie Email: xijielai2022@163.com

Accepted: 26 March 2023 Published: 29 April 2023

Citation: Lai X, Gao G, Jiang X, Xie J. Effect of lncRNA pvt1 on HBV replication in HepG2.2.15 cells, and its possible mechanism of action. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(4):783-788 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i4.10

© 2023 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the influence of lncRNA pvt1 on hepatitis B virus replication in HepG2.2.15 cells and the underlying mechanism of action.

Methods: Concentrations of lncRNA pvt1 in HBV-positive liver cancer cell lines (HepAD38+, HepG2.2.15+, HepG2+, and HepaRG+), and 3 HBV-negative liver cancer cell lines were determined and compared. Differences in HBV DNA content, levels of HBsAg and HBeAg, and STAT3 axis signal pathway among groups were evaluated.

Results: LncRNA pvt1 levels in HBV-positive hepatoma cells were significantly higher than the corresponding expression levels in HBV-negative hepatoma cells. after si-pvt1 treatment in HepG2.2.15 cells, the 3.2K HBV DNA content increased significantly (p < 0.05), and the expression levels of HBsAg and HBeAg in HepG2.2.15 cells also significantly increased. In all groups, STAT3 protein level was comparable, but p-STAT3 protein expression in si-pvt1 group was significantly reduced, relative to those in Si NC and control groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Levels of lncRNA pvt1 expression in HBV-positive and HBV-negative hepatoma cells differ significantly. Treatment with si-pvt1 decrease HBV DNA content in HepG2.2.15 cells through a mechanism that relates to the STAT3 axis signal pathway. This finding may be beneficial for follow-up treatment of HBV.

Keywords: Lnc-RNA pvt1, Hepatitis B virus, STAT3, mechanism