Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
Published on: February 1, 2017
Hepatitis C virus core protein upregulates transforming growth factor-beta 1 transcription
Hiroyoshi Taniguchi1, Naoya Kato, Motoyuki Otsuka
1Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
The majority of persons with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection develop liver fibrosis. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of post-inflammatory liver scarring. To clarify the influence of HCV infection on liver fibrosis, a reporter assay was used to investigate the effect of viral proteins on TGF-beta 1 expression in human hepatoma cells. Of all HCV proteins investigated (core, E1/E2/p7, NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B), only the core protein activated the TGF-beta 1 promoter and upregulated TGF-beta 1 expression measured by an RNase protection assay. Bases -376 to -331 bp in the promoter region of TGF-beta 1 are responsible for upregulation by HCV core protein, and the nuclear protein that binds to this region increased with the stimulation of HCV core protein. Blocking the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway prevented upregulation of TGF-beta 1 by HCV core protein. The immunological response is supposed to be a major factor to cause the secretion of TGF-beta 1 from non-parenchymal cells, but the results suggest that the HCV core protein expression may upregulate directly TGF-beta 1 transcription in parenchymal cells and suggest a new paradigm for exacerbation of liver fibrosis by HCV infection.
More Related Videos
10:25"Liver-on-a-Chip" Cultures of Primary Hepatocytes and Kupffer Cells for Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Published on: February 19, 2019
11:34A Competent Hepatocyte Model Examining Hepatitis B Virus Entry through Sodium Taurocholate Cotransporting Polypeptide as a Therapeutic Target
Published on: May 10, 2022
Related Concept Videos
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
Hepatitis
Liver Regeneration
Cells of Liver
The liver comprises four major types of cells— hepatocytes, stellate, Kupffer, and sinusoidal endothelial cells. The hepatocytes are large...
Viral Hepatitis I: Introduction
General Transcription Factors
Cytomegalovirus Disease