Objective:To study the role and possible molecular mechanism of neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated gene 4-like ( NEDD4 L) in the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Methods:Small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting NEDD4 L, plasmid expressing NEDD4 L with hemagglutinin(HA) C-terminal tag (pcDNA3.1- NEDD4 L-HA), plasmid expressing 1.3×HBV genome (pGEM-HBV1.3) and poly (dAT: dAT) were respectively transfected into HepG2 cells using Lipofectamine2000. HepG2.2.15 cells, a cell line that can stably express HBV, were used as control. The mRNA levels of NEDD4 L, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-β, interferon-stimulated gene 56 ( ISG56), myxovirus resistance protein A ( MxA), oligoadenylate synthetase ( OAS), and the levels of HBV DNA or 3.5 kb HBV RNA were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Western blot was used to detect the silence and over-expression of NEDD4 L, and the protein levels of the related signaling molecules. The amount of IFN-β in the cellular supernatant was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Student t test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups. Results:The levels of NEDD4L mRNA and protein in HepG2.2.15 cells were 10.53±0.47 and 4.17±0.43, respectively, which were both statistically higher than those in HepG2 cells (1.00±0.05, t=3.27, P=0.008 and 1.26±0.25, t=1.68, P=0.030, respectively). In HepG2 cells with knockdown of NEDD4 L, the expression level of HBV DNA in cellular supernatant was 0.32±0.09, which was statistically lower than that in the control (1.00±0.05, t=-0.93, P=0.020), and the expression level of 3.5 kb HBV RNA was 0.49±0.11, which was statistically lower than that in the control (1.00±0.05, t=-0.68, P=0.040), while the mRNA levels of IFN-β and downstream effector molecules ( ISG56, MxA and OAS) were all significantly increased compared with the control ( t=4.66, 9.38, 7.29 and 7.01, respectively, all P<0.01). With poly (dAT: dAT) treatment and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) stimulation, the levels of IFN-β in HepG2 cells with knockdown of NEDD4 L were (776.41±115.49) ng/L and (961.21±130.19) ng/L, respectively, which were both statistically higher than those of the control group ((320.15± 56.05) ng/L, t=2.43, P=0.020; (440.17±67.82) ng/L, t=2.85, P=0.030, respectively). With poly (dAT: dAT) treatment and VSV stimulation, the levels of IFN-β in HepG2 cells with overexpression of NEDD4 L were (156.18±26.47) ng/L and (176.67±34.51) ng/L, respectively, which were both statistically lower than those of the control group ((320.38±49.39) ng/L, t=-2.03, P=0.040; (440.59±68.83) ng/L, t=-1.93, P=0.030, respectively). Western blot showed that the replication of HBV reduced the protein level of melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), a key molecule in upstream of IFN-β, but the down-regulation was not obvious in cells with the knockdown of NEDD4 L. Conclusion:The replication of HBV could promote the up-regulation of NEDD4L protein and subsequently reduce the protein level of MDA5, thereby inhibiting the production of IFN-β, which facilitates HBV to escape the innate immune response.