Transcriptome profiles of primary human hepatocytes treated with HBV preS1 peptide with or without bile acids

Chronic hepatitis B, C and D virus (HBV, HCV, HDV) infections are leading causes of liver disease and cancer worldwide. Although these viruses differ markedly in their life cycle and genomic organization, they exclusively infect hepatocytes. Recently, the sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) was identified as the first functional receptor for HBV and HDV. Here, we report that NTCP also facilitates HCV entry into human hepatocytes, by augmenting the bile acids-mediated repression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), including IFITM2 and IFITM3, to increase the susceptibility of cells to HCV entry. Furthermore, an HBV-derived preS1 peptide, known to bind NTCP and to inhibit bile acids uptake and HBV infection, inhibits HCV entry by enhancing the expression of ISGs. Our study highlights NTCP as a novel player linking bile acids metabolism to the interferon response in hepatocytes and establishes a role for NTCP in the entry process of multiple hepatotropic viruses, via distinct mechanisms. Collectively, these findings enhance our understanding of hepatitis virus-host interactions and suggest NTCP as an attractive antiviral target for HBV/HCV co-infection.

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Verrier ER, Colpitts CC, Bach C, Heydmann L, Zona L, Xiao F, Thumann C, Crouchet E, Gaudin R, Sureau C, Cosset FL, McKeating JA, Pessaux P, Hoshida Y, Schuster C, Zeisel MB, Baumert TF