Hepatocyte transformation and tumor development induced by hepatitis C virus NS3 c-terminal deleted protein

AIM: To study the effect of hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3 c-terminal deleted protein (HCV NS3-5') on hepatocyte transformation and tumor development.METHODS: QSG7701 cells were transfected with plasmid pRcHCNS3-5' (expressing HCV NS3 c-terminal deleted protein) by lipofectamine and selected in G418. The expression of HCV NS3 gene and protein was determined by PCR and immunohistochemistry respectively. Biological behavior of transfected cells was observed through cell proliferation assay, anchorage-independent growth and tumor development in nude mice. The expression of HCV NS3 and c-mycproteins in the induced tumor was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS: HCV NS3 was strongly expressed in QSG7701 cells transfected with plasmid pRcHCNS3-5' and the positive signal was located in cytoplasm. Cell proliferation assay showed that the population doubling time in pRcHCNS3-5' transfected cells was much shorter than that in pRcCMV and nontransfected cells (24 h, 26 h, 28 h respectively). The cloning ratio of cells transfected with pRcHCNS3-5; pRcCMV and nontransfected cells was 33 %, 1.46 %, 1.11%, respectively,the former one was higher than that in the rest two groups (P＜0.01). Tumor development was seen in nude mice inoculated with pRcHCNS3-5' transfected cells after 15 days.HE staining showed its feature of hepatocarcinoma, and immunohistochemistry confirmed the expressions of HCV NS3and c-mycproteins in tumor tissue. The positive control group inoculated with HepG2 also showed tumor development, while no tumor developed in the nude mice injected with pRcCMV and non-transfected cells after 40 days.CONCLUSION: 1.HCV NS3 c-terminal deleted protein has transforming and oncogenic potential. 2. Human liver cell line QSG7701 may be used as a good model to study HCV NS3 pathogenesis.

Identification of a novel mutation in POU3F4 for prenatal diagnosis in a Chinese family with X-linked nonsyndromic hearing loss

We present the clinical and genetic findings for a Chinese family with X-linked non-syndromic hearing loss in which the affected males showed congenital profound sensorineural hearing impairment. In two affected brothers, the computer tomography of temporal bone showed bilateral dilation of the internal auditory canal with fistulous communication between the lateral canal and the basal cochlear turn, which is consistent with the typical DFNX2 phenotype. A missense mutation （c.647G→A） in the POU3F4 gene caused a substitu- tion from glycine to glutamic acid at position 216 （p.G216E）, and this mutation was found to consistently cosegregate with the deafness phenotype in the family. The mutation resulted in the loss of function of the POU3F4 by decreasing the affinity between the protein and DNA, as shown in silico by the structural analysis. Prenatal diagnosis of pregnant proband of this family revealed the c.647G→A mutation in DNA extracted from the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus. The appropriate use of genetic testing and prenatal diagnosis plays a key role in reducing the recurrence of genetic defects in high-risk families.