HBV Infection and DNA Stimulation Induce a Unique Innate Immune Response in Hepatocytes

Background and Aims: Recent identification of intracellular DNA sensing pathways and involvement in numerous diverse disease processes including viral pathogenesis and autoimmunity suggests a role for these processes in liver pathology. The presence of these pathways in the liver and their role in HBV infection is unknown. Methods: In order to characterize the role of DNA sensing pathways in the liver, we utilized in vitro models. Microarray was performed on DNA treated and HBV infected hepatoma primary human hepatocytes. Results: Here we show that HBV infection and foreign DNA results in a significant innate immune response characterized by the production of inflammatory chemokines. The goal of this study is to characterize the changes in gene expression triggered by HBV and foreign DNA in primary human hepatocytes. PHHs were infected with HBV (MO.I = 50) for 40 hours. PHHs were transfected with 1μg/mL of ISD/dsDNA90 for 12 or 24 hours. Three replicates were performed for each condition.