Study on the Function of Tumor Necrosis Factor α Before and After Mutation in Hepatitis B
Zhao, Z.; Chen, J.; Yin, X.; Song, H.; Wang, X.
Hepato-Gastroenterology 62(140): 997-1001
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 0172-6390 PMID: 26902044 Document Number: 682602
To explore the cause of functional changes of TNF-α in removing hepatitis B virus (HBV) through the structural changes of each site in TNF-α before and after mutation. Three typical mutant sites (TNF-α-308G/A, 857C/T and 863C/A of TNF-α) were chosen and methods like ab initio modeling was adopted for 3D modeling of TNF-α before and after mutation. The structural changes were also analyzed. Then structural changes and functional changes were brought together for comparison to infer the root cause of the changes. Mutation of TNF-α-308G/A led to the production of multiple helical structures and that of 863C/A caused the production of one helical structure in its adjacent region. Mutation of 857C/T, however, did not cause the change in the basic structure of TNF-α. The helical structure of TNF-α may have a positive effect on the removal of hepatitis B virus.