Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global health challenge, causing 600,000 deaths each year. Infectious factors, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV), have long been considered the major risk factors for the development and progression of HCC. These pathogens induce hepatocyte transformation through a variety of mechanisms, including insertional mutations caused by viral gene integration, epigenetic changes, and the induction of long-term immune dysfunction. The discovery of these mechanisms, while advancing our understanding of the disease, also provides targets for new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. In addition, the discovery and research of chronic HEV infection over the past decade indicate that this common hepatitis virus also seems to have the potential to induce HCC. In this review, we provide an overview of recent studies on the link between hepatitis virus and HCC, as well as new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to HCC based on these findings. Finally, we also discuss the potential relationship between HEV and HCC. In conclusion, these associations will further optimize the diagnosis and treatment of infection-associated HCC and call for better management policies.

Natural enzymes are crucial in biological systems and widely used in biomedicine, but their disadvantages, such as insufficient stability and high cost, have limited their widespread application. Since discovering the enzyme-like activity of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, extensive research progress in diverse nanozymes has been made with their in-depth investigation, resulting in rapid development of related nanotechnologies. Nanozymes can compensate for the defects of natural enzymes and show higher stability with lower costs. Among them, peroxidase (POD)-like nanozymes have attracted extensive attention in biomedical applications owing to their efficient catalytic performance and diverse structures. This review explores different types of nanozymes with POD-like activity and discusses their activity regulation, particularly emphasizing their latest development trends and advances in biosensing and disease treatment. Finally, the challenges and prospects for the development of POD-like nanozymes and their potential future applications in the biomedical field are also provided.

Reporter systems are routinely used in plant genetic engineering and functional genomics research. Most such plant reporter systems cause accumulation of foreign proteins. Here, we demonstrate a protein-independent reporter system, 3WJ-4 × Bro, based on a fluorescent RNA aptamer. Via transient expression assays in both Escherichia coli and Nicotiana benthamiana, we show that 3WJ-4 × Bro is suitable for transgene identification and as an mRNA reporter for expression pattern analysis. Following stable transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana, 3WJ-4 × Bro co-segregates and co-expresses with target transcripts and is stably inherited through multiple generations. Further, 3WJ-4 × Bro can be used to visualize virus-mediated RNA delivery in plants. This study demonstrates a protein-independent reporter system that can be used for transgene identification and in vivo dynamic analysis of mRNA.