To investigate the differences between the levels of apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide 3G (APOBEC3G) in different stages of HBV infection and during the different periods treated with different antiviral drugs, and to speculate on the role of innate immunity in antiviral therapy.

Total of 30 cases of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who were treated with polyethylene glycol interferon alpha-2a and 30 patients treated with entecavir were selected, 20 patients with CHB and 20 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis were selected; while 20 healthy adults collected as controls. The HBV DNA load and ALT levels were detected, and the level of APOBEC3G mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was analyzed by fluorescence quantitative PCR.

Compared with healthy cases, during the period of using entecavir and interferon of patients with CHB and liver cirrhosis and antiviral. The levels of APOBEC3G mRNA in patients’ PBMCs were increased by 1.4 times (t =-3.166, P = 0.003), 1.37 times (t =-2.206, P = 0.0335), 1.44 times (t =-3.381, P = 0.0014) and 3.95 times (t = -4.790, P = 0.0002) . There was no significant difference in the levels of APOBEC3G mRNA between the patients treated with entecavir and the patients without any treatment (t =-0.242, P = 0.8097). The levels of APOBEC3G mRNA in patients treated with interferon was 2.36 times (t = 4.085, P = 0.0002), 2.40 times (t = 4.9, P < 0.0001) as that in patients without any treatment and patients treated with entecavir, respectively. The levels of APOBEC3G mRNA in patients with high levels of ALT was 1.35 times higher than that of patients with normal level of ALT (t = 2.667, P = 0.0112). The levels of HBV DNA was not related to the content of APOBEC3G mRNA (F = 0.2124, P = 0.8871).

APOBEC3G plays an important role in the antiviral therapy of interferon.