Open AccessAMPK and Akt/mTOR signalling pathways participate in glucose‐mediated regulation of hepatitis B virus replication and cellular autophagy
Author(s) -
Wang Xueyu,
Lin Yong,
Kemper Thekla,
Chen Jieliang,
Yuan Zhenghong,
Liu Shi,
Zhu Ying,
Broering Ruth,
Lu Mengji
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
cellular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.542
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1462-5822
pISSN - 1462-5814
DOI - 10.1111/cmi.13131
Subject(s) - ampk , autophagy , pi3k/akt/mtor pathway , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , mechanistic target of rapamycin , viral replication , glucose transporter , protein kinase b , phosphorylation , signal transduction , virology , protein kinase a , virus , biochemistry , endocrinology , apoptosis , insulin
A growing consensus indicates that host metabolism plays a vital role in viral infections. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection occurs in hepatocytes with active glucose metabolism and may be regulated by cellular metabolism. We addressed the question whether and how glucose regulates HBV replication in hepatocytes. The low glucose concentration at 5 mM significantly promoted HBV replication via enhanced transcription and autophagy when compared with higher glucose concentrations (10 and 25 mM). At low glucose concentration, AMPK activity was increased and led to ULK1 phosphorylation at Ser 555 and LC3‐II accumulation. By contrast, the mTOR pathway was activated by high glucose concentrations, resulting in reduced HBV replication. mTOR inhibition by rapamycin reversed negative effects of high glucose concentrations on HBV replication, suggesting that low glucose concentration promotes HBV replication by stimulating the AMPK/mTOR‐ULK1‐autophagy axis. Consistently, we found that glucose transporters inhibition using phloretin also enhanced HBV replication via increased AMPK/mTOR‐ULK1‐induced autophagy. Surprisingly, the glucose analogue 2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose reduced HBV replication through activating the Akt/mTOR signalling pathway also at the low glucose concentrations. Our study reveals that glucose is an important factor for the HBV life cycle by regulating HBV transcription and posttranscriptional steps of HBV replication via cellular autophagy.