title: Hepatitis B virus X protein in the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and deadly malignant neoplasms worldwide. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is closely associated with the occurrence of HCC. The HBV genome encodes a ubiquitous transactivator, termed the HBV X protein (HBx), that is essential for HBV replication in vivo. HBx is involved in multiple steps of carcinoma development. Even in the preneoplastic stage, HBx acts as a tumor promoter. HBx participates in several mechanisms that have been linked to cell proliferation, including gene transcription, cell cycle regulation, and several signaling pathways. Moreover, HBx mutants, especially those with mutations in the COOH-terminal end, have been implicated in hepatocarcinogenesis. Therefore, therapeutic strategies targeting HBx could be effective at multiple stages of HCC development, even as early as the preneoplastic stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China. doctorgongpeng@yeah.net
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Xianbin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Zhongyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000502:physiology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
chemical_list: D015534:Trans-Activators; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C057628:hepatitis B virus X protein