Effects of ethanol on hepatitis B virus Pre-S/S gene expression in the human hepatocellular carcinoma derived HEP G2 hepatitis B DNA positive cell line

Among the reported interactions between ethanol and hepatitis B virus (HBV), studies of transgenic mice have suggested an effect of ethanol on the secretion of viral envelope proteins.We further investigated these interactions in vitro by determining HBs antigen levels and performing northern blots of viral mRNA in human cell culture (HepG2 HBV positive cells) exposed for 3 to 12 days to various concentrations of ethanol.In cultures exposed to 200 mM ethanol, HBs antigen concentrations increased in the medium (p0.05) after 3 days as Pre-S1 and Pre-S2 protein concentrations. This increase was not specific, as albumin and ferritin increased in the same proportions. Ethanol also increased the HBs antigen concentration in the cells (p0.05), whereas levels of viral mRNA encoding surface proteins were unaffected.These findings show that short-term ethanol exposure in vitro can induce HBs antigen overexpression via a post-transcriptional mechanism.