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. 1994 Mar 15;91(6):2230–2234. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.6.2230

Hepatitis B virus X protein inhibits p53 sequence-specific DNA binding, transcriptional activity, and association with transcription factor ERCC3.

X W Wang 1, K Forrester 1, H Yeh 1, M A Feitelson 1, J R Gu 1, C C Harris 1
PMCID: PMC43344  PMID: 8134379

Abstract

Chronic active hepatitis caused by infection with hepatitis B virus, a DNA virus, is a major risk factor for human hepatocellular carcinoma. Since the oncogenicity of several DNA viruses is dependent on the interaction of their viral oncoproteins with cellular tumor-suppressor gene products, we investigated the interaction between hepatitis B virus X protein (HBX) and human wild-type p53 protein. HBX complexes with the wild-type p53 protein and inhibits its sequence-specific DNA binding in vitro. HBX expression also inhibits p53-mediated transcriptional activation in vivo and the in vitro association of p53 and ERCC3, a general transcription factor involved in nucleotide excision repair. Therefore, HBX may affect a wide range of p53 functions and contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma.

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