PSMB5 and viral hepatitis: The term viral hepatitis means liver inflammation induced by hepatic viral infections of mainly hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV).221 Viral hepatitis is a global public health problem that leads to thousands of patients dying of acute and chronic infections, liver cirrhosis, and cancer.222 In 2000, Lee et al. demonstrated that the expression of HBV X protein (HBx) was elevated when HBV-infected hepatoma cells were cultured under hypoxic conditions.