Hepatitis E virus infection upregulates ING5 expression in vitro and vivo

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the major pathogen of viral hepatitis. Immunocompromised individual infected by HEV is prone to chronic hepatitis and increases the risk of hepato-cellular carcinoma (HCC). Inhibitor of growth family member 5 (ING5) is a tumor suppressor gene, is low expressed in cancer tumor or cells. However, the underlying relationship between ING5 and HEV infection is unclear. In the present study acute and chronic HEV animal models were employed to explore the interaction between ING5 and HEV. Notably, the expression of ING5 was significantly increased both in the liver of acute HEV infected BALB/c mice and chronic HEV infected rhesus macaques. In addition, the relationship between HEV infection and ING5 expression was further identified in human hepatoma (HepG-2) cells. In conclusion, HEV infection strongly upregulated ING5 expression in vivo and in vitro, bearing significant implications in further understanding the pathogenic mechanism of HEV infection.