TY - JOUR AB - Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide problem and HBV reactivation following anticancer chemotherapy has become an emerging clinical challenge. However, the mechanisms of HBV reactivation following chemotherapy remain unclear. Epirubicin is an anthracycline drug used in chemotherapy to treat numerous types of malignancy, including breast cancer, acute leukemia, malignant lymphoma, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and stomach cancer. Epirubicin acts by intercalating DNA strands and inhibiting DNA and RNA synthesis. In this study, it was demonstrated that epirubicin directly upregulated the levels of in vitro HBV replication in a concentration‑dependent manner. Exposure to epirubicin for 24 h induced >11- and 6-fold increases in the levels of intracellular and secreted HBV DNA, respectively. In concordance with the elevated levels of HBV DNA, the expression levels of HBV pregenomic RNA, intracellular HBV surface and HBV core antigens, and secreted HBV e antigen were significantly increased by treatment with 0.5 µM epirubicin. Notably, epirubicin promoted cellular excretion of HBV nucleocapsids, which are closely associated with the pathological effects of HBV, including acute liver failure. In conclusion, epirubicin exhibited a direct stimulatory effect on HBV replication and this may be a novel mechanism of HBV reactivation following cytotoxic anticancer chemotherapy. AD - Laboratory of Molecular Biology on Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China Laboratory of Molecular Biology on Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China Department of Microbiology and Immunology, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan 637000, P.R. China Department of Pediatrics, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China AU - Xu,Lei AU - Tu,Zeng AU - Xu,Ge AU - Wang,Yuwei AU - Pan,WanLong AU - Zhan,XingXing  AU - Luo,Qiang AU - Huang,Yuan AU - Chen,Juan AU - Huang,AiLong DA - 2014/04/01 DO - 10.3892/mmr.2014.1973 EP - 1350 IS - 4 JO - Mol Med Rep KW - hepatitis B virus reactivation chemotherapy epirubicin mechanism PY - 2014 SN - 1791-2997 1791-3004 SP - 1345 ST - Epirubicin directly promotes hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in stable HBV-expressing cell lines: A novel mechanism of HBV reactivation following anticancer chemotherapy T2 - Molecular Medicine Reports TI - Epirubicin directly promotes hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in stable HBV-expressing cell lines: A novel mechanism of HBV reactivation following anticancer chemotherapy UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2014.1973 VL - 9 ER -