Skip to main content

Some NLM-NCBI services and products are experiencing heavy traffic, which may affect performance and availability. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For assistance, please contact our Help Desk at info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Journal of Virology logoLink to Journal of Virology
. 1995 Sep;69(9):5912–5916. doi: 10.1128/jvi.69.9.5912-5916.1995

In vivo activity of the hepatitis B virus core promoter: tissue specificity and temporal regulation.

O Billet 1, G Grimber 1, M Levrero 1, K A Seye 1, P Briand 1, V Joulin 1
PMCID: PMC189474  PMID: 7637040

Abstract

The contribution of the hepatitis B virus enhancers I and II in the regulation of the activity of the core and the X promoters was assessed in transgenic mice. Surprisingly, despite the presence of heterologous promoters linked 5' of the X gene, the transgene expression is mostly due to core promoter (Cp) activity present in the X coding sequence. Moreover, the restriction of Cp activity to hepatic tissue required the combined action of both enhancers I and II, whereas the proximity of these two enhancers was insufficient to confer tissue specificity on Xp activity. Furthermore, the liver-specific activity of the Cp was developmentally regulated in an enhancer I-independent manner.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (458.5 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Antonucci T. K., Rutter W. J. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) promoters are regulated by the HBV enhancer in a tissue-specific manner. J Virol. 1989 Feb;63(2):579–583. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.2.579-583.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Balsano C., Billet O., Bennoun M., Cavard C., Zider A., Grimber G., Natoli G., Briand P., Levrero M. Hepatitis B virus X gene product acts as a transactivator in vivo. J Hepatol. 1994 Jul;21(1):103–109. doi: 10.1016/s0168-8278(94)80144-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ben-Levy R., Faktor O., Berger I., Shaul Y. Cellular factors that interact with the hepatitis B virus enhancer. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Apr;9(4):1804–1809. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.4.1804. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cherrington J., Russnak R., Ganem D. Upstream sequences and cap proximity in the regulation of polyadenylation in ground squirrel hepatitis virus. J Virol. 1992 Dec;66(12):7589–7596. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.12.7589-7596.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dikstein R., Faktor O., Ben-Levy R., Shaul Y. Functional organization of the hepatitis B virus enhancer. Mol Cell Biol. 1990 Jul;10(7):3683–3689. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.7.3683. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Faktor O., Budlovsky S., Ben-Levy R., Shaul Y. A single element within the hepatitis B virus enhancer binds multiple proteins and responds to multiple stimuli. J Virol. 1990 Apr;64(4):1861–1863. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.4.1861-1863.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Garcia A. D., Ostapchuk P., Hearing P. Functional interaction of nuclear factors EF-C, HNF-4, and RXR alpha with hepatitis B virus enhancer I. J Virol. 1993 Jul;67(7):3940–3950. doi: 10.1128/jvi.67.7.3940-3950.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Guo W. T., Bell K. D., Ou J. H. Characterization of the hepatitis B virus EnhI enhancer and X promoter complex. J Virol. 1991 Dec;65(12):6686–6692. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.12.6686-6692.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Guo W., Chen M., Yen T. S., Ou J. H. Hepatocyte-specific expression of the hepatitis B virus core promoter depends on both positive and negative regulation. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Jan;13(1):443–448. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.1.443. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Honigwachs J., Faktor O., Dikstein R., Shaul Y., Laub O. Liver-specific expression of hepatitis B virus is determined by the combined action of the core gene promoter and the enhancer. J Virol. 1989 Feb;63(2):919–924. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.2.919-924.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Huan B., Siddiqui A. Retinoid X receptor RXR alpha binds to and trans-activates the hepatitis B virus enhancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Oct 1;89(19):9059–9063. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.19.9059. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Jameel S., Siddiqui A. The human hepatitis B virus enhancer requires trans-acting cellular factor(s) for activity. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Feb;6(2):710–715. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.2.710. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. López-Cabrera M., Letovsky J., Hu K. Q., Siddiqui A. Transcriptional factor C/EBP binds to and transactivates the enhancer element II of the hepatitis B virus. Virology. 1991 Aug;183(2):825–829. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(91)91019-d. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Patel N. U., Jameel S., Isom H., Siddiqui A. Interactions between nuclear factors and the hepatitis B virus enhancer. J Virol. 1989 Dec;63(12):5293–5301. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.12.5293-5301.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Perfumo S., Amicone L., Colloca S., Giorgio M., Pozzi L., Tripodi M. Recognition efficiency of the hepatitis B virus polyadenylation signals is tissue specific in transgenic mice. J Virol. 1992 Nov;66(11):6819–6823. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.11.6819-6823.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Prochownik E. V. Relationship between an enhancer element in the human antithrombin III gene and an immunoglobulin light-chain gene enhancer. 1985 Aug 29-Sep 4Nature. 316(6031):845–848. doi: 10.1038/316845a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shaul Y., Ben-Levy R. Multiple nuclear proteins in liver cells are bound to hepatitis B virus enhancer element and its upstream sequences. EMBO J. 1987 Jul;6(7):1913–1920. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02451.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Shaul Y., Rutter W. J., Laub O. A human hepatitis B viral enhancer element. EMBO J. 1985 Feb;4(2):427–430. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03646.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Su H., Yee J. K. Regulation of hepatitis B virus gene expression by its two enhancers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Apr 1;89(7):2708–2712. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.7.2708. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Trujillo M. A., Letovsky J., Maguire H. F., Lopez-Cabrera M., Siddiqui A. Functional analysis of a liver-specific enhancer of the hepatitis B virus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 May 1;88(9):3797–3801. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.9.3797. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Vannice J. L., Levinson A. D. Properties of the human hepatitis B virus enhancer: position effects and cell-type nonspecificity. J Virol. 1988 Apr;62(4):1305–1313. doi: 10.1128/jvi.62.4.1305-1313.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wang Y., Chen P., Wu X., Sun A. L., Wang H., Zhu Y. A., Li Z. P. A new enhancer element, ENII, identified in the X gene of hepatitis B virus. J Virol. 1990 Aug;64(8):3977–3981. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.8.3977-3981.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Yaginuma K., Shirakata Y., Kobayashi M., Koike K. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) particles are produced in a cell culture system by transient expression of transfected HBV DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 May;84(9):2678–2682. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.9.2678. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Yee J. K. A liver-specific enhancer in the core promoter region of human hepatitis B virus. Science. 1989 Nov 3;246(4930):658–661. doi: 10.1126/science.2554495. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Yuh C. H., Ting L. P. Differentiated liver cell specificity of the second enhancer of hepatitis B virus. J Virol. 1993 Jan;67(1):142–149. doi: 10.1128/jvi.67.1.142-149.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Zhang P., McLachlan A. Differentiation-specific transcriptional regulation of the hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid gene in human hepatoma cell lines. Virology. 1994 Jul;202(1):430–440. doi: 10.1006/viro.1994.1359. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Zhang P., Raney A. K., McLachlan A. Characterization of functional Sp1 transcription factor binding sites in the hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid promoter. J Virol. 1993 Mar;67(3):1472–1481. doi: 10.1128/jvi.67.3.1472-1481.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Zhang P., Raney A. K., McLachlan A. Characterization of the hepatitis B virus X- and nucleocapsid gene transcriptional regulatory elements. Virology. 1992 Nov;191(1):31–41. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(92)90163-j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Virology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES