Objective      To determine the effect of autophagy induced by rapamycin on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication.        Methods      Human liver cancer HepG2 2.15 cells were treated with rapamycin to induce autophagy. Fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to observe the autophagosomes. Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression level of autophagy marker protein LC3-II/LC3-I. Fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect HBV mRNA level. After adding the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyl adenine (3-MA)

Western blotting was employed to detect the expression

level of LC3-II/LC3-I after autophagy inhibition. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the expression of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). The level of HBV DNA was evaluated by Southern blotting.        Results      In the HepG2 2.15 cells treated by rapamycin

autophagosomes were observed with fluorescence microscopy and TEM

while the expression level of LC3-II/LC3-I was significantly increased (

P

0.05). The expression of HBsAg and HBV mRNA was increased significantly (

P

0.05) after induction of autophagy. The expression of HBsAg and HBV DNA was significantly reduced (

P

0.05) after adding autophagy inhibitor 3-MA.        Conclusion      Rapamycin may promote HBV replication by inducing cell autophagy.