%0 Journal Article
%T Involvement of the 3กฏ Untranslated Region in Encapsidation of the Hepatitis C Virus
%A Guoli Shi&nbsp
%A Tomomi Ando&nbsp
%A Ryosuke Suzuki&nbsp
%A Mami Matsuda&nbsp
%A Kenji Nakashima&nbsp
%A Masahiko Ito&nbsp
%A Tsutomu Omatsu&nbsp
%A Mami Oba&nbsp
%A Hideharu Ochiai&nbsp
%A Takanobu Kato
%J PLOS Pathogens
%D 2016
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005441
%X Although information regarding morphogenesis of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is accumulating, the mechanism(s) by which the HCV genome encapsidated remains unknown. In the present study, in cell cultures producing HCV, the molecular ratios of 3กฏ end- to 5กฏ end-regions of the viral RNA population in the culture medium were markedly higher than those in the cells, and the ratio was highest in the virion-rich fraction. The interaction of the 3กฏ untranslated region (UTR) with Core in vitro was stronger than that of the interaction of other stable RNA structure elements across the HCV genome. A foreign gene flanked by the 3กฏ UTR was encapsidated by supplying both viral NS3-NS5B proteins and Core-NS2 in trans. Mutations within the conserved stem-loops of the 3กฏ UTR were observed to dramatically diminish packaging efficiency, suggesting that the conserved apical motifs of the 3กไ X region are important for HCV genome packaging. This study provides evidence of selective packaging of the HCV genome into viral particles and identified that the 3กฏ UTR acts as a cis-acting element for encapsidation.
%U http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1005441