Insulin reduces HBsAg production by PLC/PRF/5 human hepatoma cell line. Brief report.

Although its action at the molecular level is not completely understood, insulin, as well as its antagonist glucagon, certainly plays an important role in the modulation of protein synthesis. In order to observe whether insulin is involved in virus gene expression, we studied its effect on PLC/PRF/5 human hepatoma cell line, which posses HBV DNA sequences integrated at several sites. While human insulin had no effect on cell growth and increased the production of two plasma proteins, a selective inhibitory effect on HBsAg production could be detected. This observation might be useful for further studies both on virus gene expression and insulin action at the molecular level.