Interaction between hepatitis B virus X protein and mitochondrial elongation factor G1 / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To study the interaction between hepatitis B virus X protein(HBx) and mitochondrial elongation factor G1 (EFG1) in yeast cells or hepatoma cells.@*Methods@#After verification the interaction between HBx and EFG1 by CytoTrap yeast two-hybrid system, EFG1 genome was amplified by means of polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and cloned into the pcDNA3.1/myc-His(-)A vector, following verification by sequencing. Expression of HBx and EFG1 protein was verified in Huh7 cells. Then the recombinant vector pcDNA3.1/myc-His(-)A-EFG1 and pFLAG-CMV-2-HBx were transfected into Huh7 cells; 48 h later, the cells were lysed. The direct interaction between HBx and EFG1 was further confirmed by the Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay.@*Results@#The interaction between HBx and EFG1 was successfully verified by CytoTrap yeast two-hybrid system. The recombined plasmid pcDNA3.1/myc-His(-)A-EFG1 was obtained. Furthermore, Co-IP assay was used to confirm the interaction between HBx and EFG1 in Huh7 cells.@*Conclusions@#The direct interaction between HBx and EFG1 was confirmed. Therefore our findings provide experimental basis for the influence of HBx protein on the expression of mitochondrial protein and provide new insights into the pathogenesis of HBx in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.