title: [Pro-apoptotic function of hepatitis B virus X protein].
abstract: Infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a main cause of liver diseases including hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Among the HBV-encoded proteins, the HBV X protein (HBx) has been suspected to be strongly involved in HBV-associated liver pathogenesis. HBx, a virally encoded multifunctional regulator, has been shown to induce apoptosis, anti-apoptosis, proliferation, and transformation of cells depending on the cell lines, model systems used, assay protocols, and research groups. Among the several activities of HBx, the pro-apoptotic function of HBx will be discussed in this review. Given that the disruption of apoptosis pathway by HBx contributes to the liver pathogenesis, a better understanding of the molecular interference in the cellular pro-apoptotic networks by HBx will provide useful clues for the intervention in HBV-mediated liver diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine and Center for Cancer Research and Diagnostic Medicine, IBST, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea. khkim10@kku.ac.kr
authors.forename: Kyun-Hwan
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000209:etiology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism*; D048069:Tumor Necrosis Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
chemical_list: D015534:Trans-Activators; D048069:Tumor Necrosis Factors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C057628:hepatitis B virus X protein