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Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann logoLink to Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann
. 1989 Apr;80(4):295–298. doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1989.tb02308.x

Demethylation by 5‐Azacytidine Results in the Expression of Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen in Transgenic Mice

Kimi Araki 1, Jun‐ichi Miyazaki 1, Toshiki Tsurimoto 2,†, Takeaki Inomoto 1,‡, Tomohisa Iwanaga 1, Kenichi Matsubara 2, Ken‐ichi Yamamura 1
PMCID: PMC5917734  PMID: 2473052

Abstract

In 14p3HB transgenic mice, which carry three tandem copies of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, the HBV DNA was significantly methylated and no viral proteins were produced. To analyze the causal relationship between hypermethylation and gene inactivity, 5‐azacytidine was injected into the mice to demethylate HBV DNA. When postnatal 14p3HB mice were treated with the drug, hepatitis virus surface antigen was produced in these mice by 3 weeks of age, and the integrated HBV DNA of the liver was less heavily methylated. Our results suggest that injection of 5‐azacytidine can be used to efficiently activate a silent transgene such as HBV DNA in transgenic mice.

Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, Transgenic mice, 5‐Azacytidine, Methylation

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