Proteomic analysis of cellular protein alterations using a hepatitis B virus-producing cellular model

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major etiological factors responsible for acute and chronic liver disease and for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To determine the effects of HBV replication on host cell-protein expression, we utilized 2-DE and MS/MS analysis to compare and identify differentially expressed proteins between an HBV-producing cell line HepG2.2.15 and its parental cell line HepG2. Of the 66 spots identified as differentially expressed (+/- over twofold, p <0.05) between the two cell lines, 62 spots (corresponding to 61 unique proteins) were positively identified by MS/MS analysis. These proteins could be clearly divided into three major groups by cluster and metabolic/signaling pathway analysis: proteins involved in retinol metabolism pathway, calcium ion-binding proteins, and proteins associated with protein degradation pathways. Other proteins identified include those that function in diverse biological processes such as signal transduction, immune regulation, molecular chaperone, electron transport/redox regulation, cell proliferation/differentiation, and mRNA splicing. In summary, we profiled proteome alterations between HepG2.2.15 and HepG2 cells. The proteins identified in this study would be useful in revealing the mechanisms underlying HBV-host cell interactions and the development of HCC. This study can also provide some useful clues for antiviral research.