Dr. Ming-Heng Wu of the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan, in collaboration with Prof. Chawnshang Chang's laboratory of University of Rochester (UR), United States, have discovered that androgen receptors (AR) can promote hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocarcinogenesis through modulation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNA transcription.
“Androgen Receptor Promotes Hepatitis B Virus-Induced Hepatocarcinogenesis Through Modulation of Hepatitis B Virus RNA Transcription”
The discovery has captured considerable attention of the field of hepatitis and liver research studies. It was published in the internationally renowned medical journal Science Translational Medicine on May 20th. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced this major discovery in a press conference held on May 20th in Washington, D.C., capital of the United States of America.
Dr. Ming-Heng Wu expressed, "According to the statistics of epidemiology, the chronic hepatitis B virus infection is an important factor in causing liver cancer. The higher the amount of hepatitis B virus in the serum, the higher the chance of getting liver cancer. Particularly, men are up to seven times more likely than women to develop liver cancer. Among hepatitis B virus carriers, men are also more likely to develop liver cancer than women. The evidences have suggested that serum androgen concentration androgen receptors may play a significant role in liver cancer induced by hepatitis B virus. However, there hasn't been any research done to validate the theory."
In view of this, advised by Associate Professor Yuh-Ling Chen of the NCKU Institute of Oral Medicine and the NCKU Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, then a PhD student, Dr. Ming-Heng Wu worked with Prof. Chawnshang Chang's laboratory at University of Rochester to engage in a research of androgen receptors and hepatitis B virus.