The pathogenesis of B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma associated with HBV (hepatitis B virus) infection is regulated by c-Myc/PD-L1 signaling pathway

Background: HBV is closely associated with the incidence of B-NHL (B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma). This project intends to establish HBV infection-induced B-NHL cells and animal models to clarify the mutual mechanism of HBV infection and B-NHL pathogenesis. Methods: The relationship between HBV and B-NHL was studied based on the HBV infection model, which included CTC cells and HBV transgenic mice. Moreover, differential expression analysis of transcriptome profiling was performed to confirm the mechanism. Results: The HBsAg expression and HBV-DNA could be found in tumor tissues of HBV group, but negative in the control group. Moreover, there were clearly differences between the two groups in the transcriptome of tumor tissues and CTC. HBsAg significantly promoted lymphocytes associated with c-Myc and PD-L1. Conclusion: The promoted effect induced by HBsAg in lymphocytes was associated with PD-L1 mediated by c-Myc.