"PROTAC" modified dihydroquinolizinones (DHQs) that cause degradation of PAPD-5 and inhibition of hepatitis A virus and hepatitis B virus, in vitro.

Dihydroquinolizinones (DHQs) that inhibit cellular polyadenylating polymerases 5 and 7 (PAPD5 & 7), such as RG7834, have been shown to inhibit both hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in vitro and in vivo. In this report, we describe RG7834-based proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs), such as compound 12b, (6S)-9-((1-((2-(2,6-dioxopiperidin-3-yl)-1,3-dioxoisoindolin-4-yl)amino)-21-oxo-3,6,9,12,15,18-hexaoxa-22-azapentacosan-25-yl)oxy)-6-isopropyl-10-methoxy-2-oxo-6,7-dihydro-2H-pyrido[2,1-a]isoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid. The PROTAC DHQs described here inhibited an HAV reporter virus in vitro with an IC50 of 277 nM. Although the PROTAC DHQs were also inhibitory to HBV, their activities were substantially less potent against HBV in vitro, being in the 10 to 20 µM range, based on the reduction of HBsAg and HBV mRNA levels. Importantly, unlike RG7834, the incubation of cells in vitro with PROTAC DHQ 12b resulted in the degradation of PAPD5, as expected for a PROTAC compound, but curiously not PAPD7. PAPD5 polypeptide degradation was prevented when a proteasome inhibitor, epoxomicin, was used, indicating that proteasome mediated proteolysis was associated with the observed activities of 12b. Taken together, these data show that 12b is the first example of a PROTAC that suppresses both HAV and HBV that is based on a small molecule warhead. The possibility that it has mechanisms that differ from its parent compound, RG7834, and has clinical value, is discussed.

Common concerns, barriers to care, and the lived experience of individuals with hepatitis B: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: An estimated between 257 and 292 million people live with chronic HBV globally. While much is known about the causes, and epidemiology of HBV, little is understood about the quality of life and impact of HBV on those living with the infection. METHODS: A random sample of HBV-related email queries sent to the Hepatitis B Foundation, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, over a 12-month period in 2018-2019 were retrieved, tabulated, and analyzed qualitatively to highlight information needs and explore the experiences of people living with HBV and their families and loved ones. Codebook development was informed by the literature and through line-by-line reading of a sub-sample of queries. Data analysis was facilitated by NVivo12 software. Data were coded independently by two members of the research team and intercoder reliability was assessed to assure coding accuracy throughout the coding phase. RESULTS: A total of 338 queries from people around the globe were identified and analyzed. The analysis revealed three thematic groups: 1) health-specific challenges associated with diagnosis and treatment, 2) emotional needs related to experiences with HBV stigma, discrimination, fear, social isolation, and distress and 3) informational needs related to HBV prevention and transmission, and interpretation of laboratory tests. CONCLUSIONS: People living with HBV are in need of information to manage their disease and prevent its spread. Analysis of queries uncovered significant misconceptions about HBV transmission and treatment. Additionally, the emotional and psychological impact of an HBV diagnosis on those living with the infection is significant. There is a clear need for patient and community education to expand knowledge and awareness of HBV globally to achieve 2030 WHO HBV elimination goals.

The Dihydroquinolizinone Compound RG7834 Inhibits the Polyadenylase Function of PAPD5 and PAPD7 and Accelerates the Degradation of Matured Hepatitis B Virus Surface Protein mRNA.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) mRNA metabolism is dependent upon host proteins PAPD5 and PAPD7 (PAPD5/7). PAPD5/7 are cellular, noncanonical, poly(A) polymerases (PAPs) whose main function is to oligoadenylate the 3' end of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) for exosome degradation. HBV seems to exploit these two ncRNA quality-control factors for viral mRNA stabilization, rather than degradation. RG7834 is a small-molecule compound that binds PAPD5/7 and inhibits HBV gene production in both tissue culture and animal study. We reported that RG7834 was able to destabilize multiple HBV mRNA species, ranging from the 3.5-kb pregenomic/precore mRNAs to the 2.4/2.1-kb hepatitis B virus surface protein (HBs) mRNAs, except for the smallest 0.7-kb X protein (HBx) mRNA. Compound-induced HBV mRNA destabilization was initiated by a shortening of the poly(A) tail, followed by an accelerated degradation process in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. In cells expressing HBV mRNA, both PAPD5/7 were found to be physically associated with the viral RNA, and the polyadenylating activities of PAPD5/7 were susceptible to RG7834 repression in a biochemical assay. Moreover, in PAPD5/7 double-knockout cells, viral transcripts with a regular length of the poly(A) sequence could be initially synthesized but became shortened in hours, suggesting that participation of PAPD5/7 in RNA 3' end processing, either during adenosine oligomerization or afterward, is crucial for RNA stabilization.

Interferon-inducible ribonuclease ISG20 inhibits hepatitis B virus replication through directly binding to the epsilon stem-loop structure of viral RNA.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) replicates its DNA genome through reverse transcription of a viral RNA pregenome. We report herein that the interferon (IFN) stimulated exoribonuclease gene of 20 KD (ISG20) inhibits HBV replication through degradation of HBV RNA. ISG20 expression was observed at basal level and was highly upregulated upon IFN treatment in hepatocytes, and knock down of ISG20 resulted in elevation of HBV replication and attenuation of IFN-mediated antiviral effect. The sequence element conferring the susceptibility of HBV RNA to ISG20-mediated RNA degradation was mapped at the HBV RNA terminal redundant region containing epsilon (ε) stem-loop. Furthermore, ISG20-induced HBV RNA degradation relies on its ribonuclease activity, as the enzymatic inactive form ISG20D94G was unable to promote HBV RNA decay. Interestingly, ISG20D94G retained antiviral activity against HBV DNA replication by preventing pgRNA encapsidation, resulting from a consequence of ISG20-ε interaction. This interaction was further characterized by in vitro electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and ISG20 was able to bind HBV ε directly in absence of any other cellular proteins, indicating a direct ε RNA binding capability of ISG20; however, cofactor(s) may be required for ISG20 to efficiently degrade ε. In addition, the lower stem portion of ε is the major ISG20 binding site, and the removal of 4 base pairs from the bottom portion of ε abrogated the sensitivity of HBV RNA to ISG20, suggesting that the specificity of ISG20-ε interaction relies on both RNA structure and sequence. Furthermore, the C-terminal Exonuclease III (ExoIII) domain of ISG20 was determined to be responsible for interacting with ε, as the deletion of ExoIII abolished in vitro ISG20-ε binding and intracellular HBV RNA degradation. Taken together, our study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of IFN-mediated HBV inhibition and the antiviral mechanism of ISG20 in general.

Laboratory Focus on Improving the Culture of Biosafety: Statewide Risk Assessment of Clinical Laboratories That Process Specimens for Microbiologic Analysis.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene challenged Wisconsin laboratories to examine their biosafety practices and improve their culture of biosafety. One hundred three clinical and public health laboratories completed a questionnaire-based, microbiology-focused biosafety risk assessment. Greater than 96% of the respondents performed activities related to specimen processing, direct microscopic examination, and rapid nonmolecular testing, while approximately 60% performed culture interpretation. Although they are important to the assessment of risk, data specific to patient occupation, symptoms, and travel history were often unavailable to the laboratory and, therefore, less contributory to a microbiology-focused biosafety risk assessment than information on the specimen source and test requisition. Over 88% of the respondents complied with more than three-quarters of the mitigation control measures listed in the survey. Facility assessment revealed that subsets of laboratories that claim biosafety level 1, 2, or 3 status did not possess all of the biosafety elements considered minimally standard for their respective classifications. Many laboratories reported being able to quickly correct the minor deficiencies identified. Task assessment identified deficiencies that trended higher within the general (not microbiology-specific) laboratory for core activities, such as packaging and shipping, direct microscopic examination, and culture modalities solely involving screens for organism growth. For traditional microbiology departments, opportunities for improvement in the cultivation and management of highly infectious agents, such as acid-fast bacilli and systemic fungi, were revealed. These results derived from a survey of a large cohort of small- and large-scale laboratories suggest the necessity for continued microbiology-based understanding of biosafety practices, vigilance toward biosafety, and enforcement of biosafety practices throughout the laboratory setting.

Discovery and Mechanistic Study of Benzamide Derivatives That Modulate Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Assembly.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global public health problem. Although the currently approved medications can reliably reduce the viral load and prevent the progression of liver diseases, they fail to cure the viral infection. In an effort toward discovery of novel antiviral agents against HBV, a group of benzamide (BA) derivatives that significantly reduced the amount of cytoplasmic HBV DNA were discovered. The initial lead optimization efforts identified two BA derivatives with improved antiviral activity for further mechanistic studies. Interestingly, similar to our previously reported sulfamoylbenzamides (SBAs), the BAs promote the formation of empty capsids through specific interaction with HBV core protein but not other viral and host cellular components. Genetic evidence suggested that both SBAs and BAs inhibited HBV nucleocapsid assembly by binding to the heteroaryldihydropyrimidine (HAP) pocket between core protein dimer-dimer interfaces. However, unlike SBAs, BA compounds uniquely induced the formation of empty capsids that migrated more slowly in native agarose gel electrophoresis from A36V mutant than from the wild-type core protein. Moreover, we showed that the assembly of chimeric capsids from wild-type and drug-resistant core proteins was susceptible to multiple capsid assembly modulators. Hence, HBV core protein is a dominant antiviral target that may suppress the selection of drug-resistant viruses during core protein-targeting antiviral therapy. Our studies thus indicate that BAs are a chemically and mechanistically unique type of HBV capsid assembly modulators and warranted for further development as antiviral agents against HBV.IMPORTANCE HBV core protein plays essential roles in many steps of the viral replication cycle. In addition to packaging viral pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) and DNA polymerase complex into nucleocapsids for reverse transcriptional DNA replication to take place, the core protein dimers, existing in several different quaternary structures in infected hepatocytes, participate in and regulate HBV virion assembly, capsid uncoating, and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) formation. It is anticipated that small molecular core protein assembly modulators may disrupt one or multiple steps of HBV replication, depending on their interaction with the distinct quaternary structures of core protein. The discovery of novel core protein-targeting antivirals, such as benzamide derivatives reported here, and investigation of their antiviral mechanism may lead to the identification of antiviral therapeutics for the cure of chronic hepatitis B.

Calcium Phosphate Particles as Pulmonary Delivery System for Interferon-α in Mice.

Systemically administered interferons are rapidly cleared from the circulation thus requiring frequent dosing to maintain the therapeutic levels of circulating interferon. This is particularly problematic for their use in the treatment of chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of proprietary calcium phosphate (CaP) particles to deliver biologically active interferon alpha (IFNα) via the lungs into systemic circulation. Recombinant human IFNα-2a was formulated with proprietary CaP particles. In vitro biological activity of IFNα was assessed for its potential to activate IFN-induced cellular pathways in HEK-Blu-IFN α/ß cell cultures. Antiviral activity was evaluated against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection of HeLa cells. Male BALB/c mice were used to evaluate the absorption of IFNα from CaP-IFNα across the lungs following intratracheal (IT) instillation. Serum IFNα concentrations up to 9 h post-treatment were determined. Data were analyzed to obtain pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters. Data from these studies indicated that IFNα formulated with CaP retains its biological activity, and it is transported into circulation in a dose-dependent manner. PK analysis showed larger than two-fold area under the serum concentration-time curve (AUC) for CaP-IFNα compared to non-formulated IFNα administered IT. The IFNα formulated with CaP had two-fold longer half-life (t1/2) and mean residence time (MRT) relative to IFNα alone administered by injection. Clearance of CaP-IFNα was slower than IFNα administered IM or IT. Relative bioavailability of CaP-IFNα was 1.3-fold of IFNα injection and twofold of IFNα administered IT. Furthermore, inhalation of aerosolized CaP did not indicate any lung toxicity in animals.

Use of Current and New Endpoints in the Evaluation of Experimental Hepatitis B Therapeutics.

New hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapies are expected to have breakthrough benefit for patients. HBV functional cure is sustained hepatitis B surface antigen loss and anti-HBs gain, with normalization of serum aminotransferases off therapy. Virologic or complete cure additionally includes loss of HBV covalently closed circular DNA. Currently available endpoints of therapy are inadequate to evaluate the efficacy of many of the new therapeutics. Therefore, either new ways of using the existing virologic endpoints and laboratory values or entirely new biomarkers are needed. In this review, we discuss the currently used endpoints, potential new endpoints, as well as what new markers are needed to assess the ability of HBV therapeutics to achieve functional and virologic cure in various phases of HBV infection. In addition, we discuss how patient selection from differing phases of HBV impacts the choice of HBV drug(s) needed to achieve cure.

A Novel Benzodiazepine Compound Inhibits Yellow Fever Virus Infection by Specifically Targeting NS4B Protein.

Although a highly effective vaccine is available, the number of yellow fever cases has increased over the past 2 decades, which highlights the pressing need for antiviral therapeutics. In a high-throughput screening campaign, we identified an acetic acid benzodiazepine (BDAA) compound which potently inhibits yellow fever virus (YFV). Interestingly, while treatment of YFV-infected cultures with 2 µM BDAA reduced the virion production by greater than 2 logs, the compound was not active against 21 other viruses from 14 different viral families. Selection and genetic analysis of drug-resistant viruses revealed that replacement of the proline at amino acid 219 (P219) of the nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B) with serine, threonine, or alanine conferred YFV with resistance to BDAA without apparent loss of replication fitness in cultured mammalian cells. However, replacement of P219 with glycine conferred BDAA resistance with significant loss of replication ability. Bioinformatics analysis predicts that the P219 amino acid is localized at the endoplasmic reticulum lumen side of the fifth putative transmembrane domain of NS4B, and the mutation may render the viral protein incapable of interacting with BDAA. Our studies thus revealed an important role and the structural basis for the NS4B protein in supporting YFV replication. Moreover, in YFV-infected hamsters, oral administration of BDAA protected 90% of the animals from death, significantly reduced viral load by greater than 2 logs, and attenuated virus infection-induced liver injury and body weight loss. The encouraging preclinical results thus warrant further development of BDAA or its derivatives as antiviral agents to treat yellow fever. IMPORTANCE Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease which threatens approximately 1 billion people living in tropical areas of Africa and Latin America. Although a highly effective yellow fever vaccine has been available for more than 7 decades, the low vaccination rate fails to prevent outbreaks in at-risk regions. It has been estimated that up to 1.7 million YFV infections occur in Africa each year, resulting in 29,000 to 60,000 deaths. Thus far, there is no specific antiviral treatment for yellow fever. To cope with this medical challenge, we identified a benzodiazepine compound that selectively inhibits YFV by targeting the viral NS4B protein. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating in vivo safety and antiviral efficacy of a YFV NS4B inhibitor in an animal model. We have thus reached a critical milestone toward the development of specific antiviral therapeutics for clinical management of yellow fever.

Interferon induction of IFITM proteins promotes infection by human coronavirus OC43.

IFNs are a family of cytokines that are essential for the antiviral response in vertebrates. Not surprisingly, viruses have adapted to encode virulence factors to cope with the IFN response. Intriguingly, we show here that all three types of interferons, IFN-α, IFN-γ, and IFN-λ, efficiently promote infection by a human coronavirus, HCoV-OC43, one of the major etiological agents of common cold, through the induction of IFN-inducible transmembrane (IFITM) proteins. IFITMs typically exert their antiviral function by inhibiting the entry of a broad spectrum of viruses into their host cells, presumably by trapping and degrading invading virions within the endocytic compartments. In contrast, HCoV-OC43 uses IFN-induced human IFITM2 or IFITM3 as an entry factor to facilitate its infection of host cells. Reverse genetics analyses suggest that the structural motifs critical for the IFITM proteins' enhancement of HCoV-OC43 infection are distinct from those required for inhibiting infection by other viruses. We also present evidence showing that IFITM family members work as homo- and hetero-oligomers to modulate virus entry. The observed enhancement of HCoV-OC43 infection by IFNs may underlie the propensity of the virus to invade the lower respiratory tract under inflammatory conditions.

Geneticin Stabilizes the Open Conformation of the 5' Region of Hepatitis C Virus RNA and Inhibits Viral Replication.

The aminoglycoside Geneticin (G418) is known to inhibit cell culture proliferation, via virus-specific mechanisms, of two different virus genera from the family Flaviviridae. Here, we tried to determine whether Geneticin can selectively alter the switching of the nucleotide 1 to 570 RNA region of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and, if so, whether this inhibits viral growth. Two structure-dependent RNases known to specifically cleave HCV RNA were tested in the presence or absence of the drug. One was the Synechocystis sp. RNase P ribozyme, which cleaves the tRNA-like domain around the AUG start codon under high-salt buffer conditions; the second was Escherichia coli RNase III, which recognizes a double-helical RNA switch element that changes the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) from a closed (C) conformation to an open (O) one. While the drug did not affect RNase P activity, it did inhibit RNase III in the micromolar range. Kinetic studies indicated that the drug favors the switch from the C to the O conformation of the IRES by stabilizing the distal double-stranded element and inhibiting further processing of the O form. We demonstrate that, because the RNA in this region is highly conserved and essential for virus survival, Geneticin inhibits HCV Jc1 NS3 expression, the release of the viral genomic RNA, and the propagation of HCV in Huh 7.5 cells. Our study highlights the crucial role of riboswitches in HCV replication and suggests the therapeutic potential of viral-RNA-targeted antivirals.

The Interferon-Inducible Protein Tetherin Inhibits Hepatitis B Virus Virion Secretion.

UNLABELLED: Interferon alpha (IFN-α) is an approved medication for chronic hepatitis B therapy. Besides acting as an immunomodulator, IFN-α elicits a pleiotropic antiviral state in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected hepatocytes, but whether or not IFN-α impedes the late steps of the HBV life cycle, such as HBV secretion, remains elusive. Here we report that IFN-α treatment of HepAD38 cells with established HBV replication selectively reduced HBV virion release without altering intracellular viral replication or the secretion of HBV subviral particles and nonenveloped capsids. In search of the interferon-stimulated gene(s) that is responsible for the reduction of HBV virion release, we found that tetherin, a broad-spectrum antiviral transmembrane protein that inhibits the egress of a variety of enveloped viruses, was highly induced by IFN-α in HepAD38 cells and in primary human hepatocytes. We further demonstrated that the expression of full-length tetherin, but not the C-terminal glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor-truncated form, inhibited HBV virion egress from HepAD38 cells. In addition, GPI anchor-truncated tetherin exhibited a dominant-negative effect and was incorporated into the liberated virions. We also found colocalization of tetherin and HBV L protein at the intracellular multivesicular body, where the budding of HBV virions takes place. In line with this, electron microscopy demonstrated that HBV virions were tethered in the lumen of the cisterna membrane under tetherin expression. Finally, knockdown of tetherin or overexpression of dominant negative tetherin attenuated the IFN-α-mediated reduction of HBV virion release. Taken together, our study suggests that IFN-α inhibits HBV virion egress from hepatocytes through the induction of tetherin. IMPORTANCE: Tetherin is a host restriction factor that blocks the egress of a variety of enveloped viruses through tethering the budding virions on the cell surface with its membrane anchor domains. Here we report that interferon directly and selectively inhibits the secretion of HBV virions, but not subviral particles or nonenveloped capsids, through the induction of tetherin in hepatocyte-derived cells. The antiviral function of tetherin requires the carboxyl-terminal GPI anchor, while the GPI anchor deletion mutant exhibits dominant negative activity and attaches to liberated HBV virions. Consistent with the fact that HBV is an intracellular budding virus, microscopy analyses demonstrated that the tethering of HBV virions occurs in the intracellular cisterna and that tetherin colocalizes with HBV virions on the multivesicular body, which is the HBV virion budding site. Our study not only expands the antiviral spectrum of tetherin but also sheds light on the mechanisms of interferon-elicited anti-HBV responses.

Present and future therapies of hepatitis B: From discovery to cure.

UNLABELLED: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a significant global pathogen, infecting more than 240 million people worldwide. While treatment for HBV has improved, HBV patients often require lifelong therapies and cure is still a challenging goal. Recent advances in technologies and pharmaceutical sciences have heralded a new horizon of innovative therapeutic approaches that are bringing us closer to the possibility of a functional cure of chronic HBV infection. In this article, we review the current state of science in HBV therapy and highlight new and exciting therapeutic strategies spurred by recent scientific advances. Some of these therapies have already entered into clinical phase, and we will likely see more of them moving along the development pipeline. CONCLUSION: With growing interest in developing and efforts to develop more effective therapies for HBV, the challenging goal of a cure may be well within reach in the near future.

Novel substituted aminothiazoles as potent and selective anti-hepatocellular carcinoma agents.

Based on our previous identification of a disubstituted aminothiazole termed HBF-0079 with promising selective toxicity for HCC-derived cell lines versus non-HCC liver lines, a series of tri-substituted aminothiazole derivatives were prepared and evaluated. This work resulted in the discovery of isopropyl 4-(pyrazin-2-yl)-2-(pyrimidin-2-ylamino)thiazole-5-carboxylate, 14, which displayed EC50 value of 0.11µM and more than 450times of selectivity, and its methyl carbonate prodrug 24 with improved solubility in organic solvents. Furthermore, 14, was shown to reduce the proliferation of several liver cancer cells derived directly from patients.

Surveillance of Wisconsin Antibacterial Susceptibility Patterns.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance presents a threat to quality patient care. Knowledge of localantibacterial susceptibility patterns can guide clinicians in empiric antibacterial administration andassist pharmacists and infectious disease physicians in development of appropriate therapeutic pathways. METHODS: To characterize Wisconsin antibacterial susceptibility patterns and elucidate geographicor temporal variation in antibacterial resistance, a retrospective, observational analysis of antibiogram data was performed. Seventy-two members of the Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network(WCLN) submitted antibiograms describing clinically significant isolates tested in calendar year 2013 to the WCLN Laboratory Technical Advisory Group. RESULTS: In the context of commonly reported antibacterial agents, data were compiled for approximately 75,800 isolates of Escherichia coi; 13,300 Klebsiella pneumoniae; 6300 Proteus mirobilis;2800 Enterobacter cloacae; 8400 Pseudomonas aeruginosa; 30,000 S aureus; 11,200 coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp; and 13,800 Enterococcus spp. P mirobilis isolates from northern Wisconsin were more likely to demonstrate resistance than those in the southern region. In contrast, P aeruginosa isolates from southern Wisconsin had decreased susceptibility to a number ofagents when compared to other regions. Temporal trending in decreased E coli and P mirabilis susceptibility to fluoroquinolones and trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole was observed. Increased methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus oureus (MRSA) rates were observed in northwest and southeastWisconsin. In general, northeast Wisconsin exhibited less frequency of antibacterial resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Geographic variation exists with respect to antibacterial resistance, particularly inareas of Wisconsin adjacent to large population centers of neighboring states. Antibacterial surveillance in Wisconsin is indicated on a regular basis to assess emerging trends in antibacterial resistance. Existing WCLN infrastructure allows for such investigations.

Inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum-resident glucosidases impairs severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and human coronavirus NL63 spike protein-mediated entry by altering the glycan processing of angiotensin I-converting enzyme 2.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident glucosidases I and II sequentially trim the three terminal glucose moieties on the N-linked glycans attached to nascent glycoproteins. These reactions are the first steps of N-linked glycan processing and are essential for proper folding and function of many glycoproteins. Because most of the viral envelope glycoproteins contain N-linked glycans, inhibition of ER glucosidases with derivatives of 1-deoxynojirimycin, i.e., iminosugars, efficiently disrupts the morphogenesis of a broad spectrum of enveloped viruses. However, like viral envelope proteins, the cellular receptors of many viruses are also glycoproteins. It is therefore possible that inhibition of ER glucosidases not only compromises virion production but also disrupts expression and function of viral receptors and thus inhibits virus entry into host cells. Indeed, we demonstrate here that iminosugar treatment altered the N-linked glycan structure of angiotensin I-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which did not affect its expression on the cell surface or its binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike glycoprotein. However, alteration of N-linked glycans of ACE2 impaired its ability to support the transduction of SARS-CoV and human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) spike glycoprotein-pseudotyped lentiviral particles by disruption of the viral envelope protein-triggered membrane fusion. Hence, in addition to reducing the production of infectious virions, inhibition of ER glucosidases also impairs the entry of selected viruses via a post-receptor-binding mechanism.

STING agonists induce an innate antiviral immune response against hepatitis B virus.

Chronicity of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is due to the failure of a host to mount a sufficient immune response to clear the virus. The aim of this study was to identify small-molecular agonists of the pattern recognition receptor (PRR)-mediated innate immune response to control HBV infection. To achieve this goal, a coupled mouse macrophage and hepatocyte culture system mimicking the intrahepatic environment was established and used to screen small-molecular compounds that activate macrophages to produce cytokines, which in turn suppress HBV replication in a hepatocyte-derived stable cell line supporting HBV replication in a tetracycline-inducible manner. An agonist of the mouse stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING), 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA), was found to induce a robust cytokine response in macrophages that efficiently suppressed HBV replication in mouse hepatocytes by reducing the amount of cytoplasmic viral nucleocapsids. Profiling of cytokines induced by DMXAA and agonists of representative Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in mouse macrophages revealed that, unlike TLR agonists that induced a predominant inflammatory cytokine/chemokine response, the STING agonist induced a cytokine response dominated by type I IFNs. Moreover, as demonstrated in an HBV hydrodynamic mouse model, intraperitoneal administration of DMXAA significantly induced the expression of IFN-stimulated genes and reduced HBV DNA replication intermediates in the livers of mice. This study thus proves the concept that activation of the STING pathway induces an antiviral cytokine response against HBV and that the development of small-molecular human STING agonists as immunotherapeutic agents for treatment of chronic hepatitis B is warranted.

Inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication by the host zinc finger antiviral protein.

The zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a mammalian host restriction factor that inhibits the replication of a variety of RNA viruses, including retroviruses, alphaviruses and filoviruses, through interaction with the ZAP-responsive elements (ZRE) in viral RNA, and recruiting the exosome to degrade RNA substrate. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a pararetrovirus that replicates its genomic DNA via reverse transcription of a viral pregenomic (pg) RNA precursor. Here, we demonstrate that the two isoforms of human ZAP (hZAP-L and -S) inhibit HBV replication in human hepatocyte-derived cells through posttranscriptional down-regulation of viral pgRNA. Mechanistically, the zinc finger motif-containing N-terminus of hZAP is responsible for the reduction of HBV RNA, and the integrity of the four zinc finger motifs is essential for ZAP to bind to HBV RNA and fulfill its antiviral function. The ZRE sequences conferring the susceptibility of viral RNA to ZAP-mediated RNA decay were mapped to the terminal redundant region (nt 1820-1918) of HBV pgRNA. In agreement with its role as a host restriction factor and as an innate immune mediator for HBV infection, ZAP was upregulated in cultured primary human hepatocytes and hepatocyte-derived cells upon IFN-α treatment or IPS-1 activation, and in the livers of hepatitis B patients during immune active phase. Knock down of ZAP expression increased the level of HBV RNA and partially attenuated the antiviral effect elicited by IPS-1 in cell cultures. In summary, we demonstrated that ZAP is an intrinsic host antiviral factor with activity against HBV through down-regulation of viral RNA, and that ZAP plays a role in the innate control of HBV replication. Our findings thus shed light on virus-host interaction, viral pathogenesis, and antiviral approaches.

Alpha-interferon suppresses hepadnavirus transcription by altering epigenetic modification of cccDNA minichromosomes.

Covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) of hepadnaviruses exists as an episomal minichromosome in the nucleus of infected hepatocyte and serves as the transcriptional template for viral mRNA synthesis. Elimination of cccDNA is the prerequisite for either a therapeutic cure or immunological resolution of HBV infection. Although accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory cytokines-mediated cure of virally infected hepatocytes does occur and plays an essential role in the resolution of an acute HBV infection, the molecular mechanism by which the cytokines eliminate cccDNA and/or suppress its transcription remains elusive. This is largely due to the lack of convenient cell culture systems supporting efficient HBV infection and cccDNA formation to allow detailed molecular analyses. In this study, we took the advantage of a chicken hepatoma cell line that supports tetracycline-inducible duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) replication and established an experimental condition mimicking the virally infected hepatocytes in which DHBV pregenomic (pg) RNA transcription and DNA replication are solely dependent on cccDNA. This cell culture system allowed us to demonstrate that cccDNA transcription required histone deacetylase activity and IFN-α induced a profound and long-lasting suppression of cccDNA transcription, which required protein synthesis and was associated with the reduction of acetylated histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) and 27 (H3K27) in cccDNA minichromosomes. Moreover, IFN-α treatment also induced a delayed response that appeared to accelerate the decay of cccDNA. Our studies have thus shed light on the molecular mechanism by which IFN-α noncytolytically controls hepadnavirus infection.