Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
Published on: February 1, 2017
A mutual regulatory loop between transcription factor Yin Yang 1 and hepatitis B virus replication influences chronic
Jie Zhou1, Yunhao Hua2, Yuwei Liu1
1Department of Hepatology, Centre of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130021, China.
Abstract:
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections pose a major threat to human health. HBV can upregulate the expression of the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) in in vitro cytological experiments, suggesting an association between YY1 and HBV infection. However, data on YY1 expression in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients are lacking. In this study, we aimed to assess the correlation between YY1 expression and HBV infection. We detected serum YY1 levels in 420 patients with chronic HBV infection, 30 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and 32 healthy controls using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation between YY1 levels and clinical parameters was analyzed. Meanwhile, the changes of YY1 before and after interferon or entecavir treatment were analyzed. YY1 levels in the liver tissues were detected using immunofluorescence staining. The expression of YY1 in HBV-expressing cells was detected through western blotting. Meanwhile, we explored the effects of YY1 on HBV replication and gene expression. We found that YY1 was highly expressed in the serum and liver tissues of CHB patients. Serum YY1 levels positively correlated with HBV DNA and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Additionally, HBV DNA levels increased but HBsAg levels decreased after HBV-expressing cells overexpress YY1. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that YY1 plays an important role in HBV replication and gene expression, providing a potential target for the treatment of CHB.
Related Concept Videos
Master Transcription Regulators
General Transcription Factors
Co-activators and Co-repressors
Cell Specific Gene Expression
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The...
Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators

