scholarly journals Hepatitis C virus core protein impairs metabolic disorder of liver cell via HOTAIR-Sirt1 signalling

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-qin Li ◽  
Xin-yu Gu ◽  
Jin-xing Hu ◽  
Yu Ping ◽  
Hua Li ◽  
...  

It has been suggested that Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is associated with metabolic disorders of liver cell. However, the precise mechanism is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of HCV core protein on hepatocyte metabolism by HepG2 and the possible involvement of long non-coding (lnc) RNAs in this process. The effect of HCV core protein on lncRNAs expression was examined with quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Manipulation of HVC core protein and lncRNA HOTAIR was to evaluate the role of interaction between them on cell metabolism-related gene expression and cellular metabolism. The potential downstream Sirt1 signal was examined by western blotting and qRT-PCR. Our data suggested that suppression of HOTAIR abrogates HCV core protein-induced reduction in Sirt1 and differential expression of glucose- and lipid-metabolism-related genes. Also it benefits for metabolic homoeostasis of hepatocyte indicated by restoration of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and NAD/NADH ratio. By manipulation of HOTAIR, we concluded that HOTAIR negatively regulates Sirt1 expression through affecting its promotor methylation. Moreover, overexpression of Sirt1 reverses pcDNA-HOTAIR-induced glucose- and lipid-metabolism-related gene expression. Our study suggests that HCV core protein causes dysfunction of glucose and lipid metabolism in liver cells through HOTAIR-Sirt1 signalling pathway.

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 2841-2853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Ru You ◽  
Chun-Ming Chen ◽  
Tien-Shun Yeh ◽  
Tzung-Yuan Tsai ◽  
Ru-Tsun Mai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The nucleocapsid core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown to trans-act on several viral or cellular promoters. To get insight into the trans-action mechanism of HCV core protein, a yeast two-hybrid cloning system was used for identification of core protein-interacting cellular protein. One such cDNA clone encoding the DEAD box family of putative RNA helicase was obtained. This cellular putative RNA helicase, designated CAP-Rf, exhibits more than 95% amino acid sequence identity to other known RNA helicases including human DBX and DBY, mouse mDEAD3, and PL10, a family of proteins generally involved in translation, splicing, development, or cell growth. In vitro binding or in vivo coimmunoprecipitation studies demonstrated the direct interaction of the full-length/matured form and C-terminally truncated variants of HCV core protein with this targeted protein. Additionally, the protein’s interaction domains were delineated at the N-terminal 40-amino-acid segment of the HCV core protein and the C-terminal tail of CAP-Rf, which encompassed its RNA-binding and ATP hydrolysis domains. Immunoblotting or indirect immunofluorescence analysis revealed that the endogenous CAP-Rf was mainly localized in the nucleus and to a lesser extent in the cytoplasm, and when fused with FLAG tag, it colocalized with the HCV core protein either in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus. Similar to other RNA helicases, this cellular RNA helicase has nucleoside triphosphatase-deoxynucleoside triphosphatase activity, but this activity is inhibited by various forms of homopolynucleotides and enhanced by the HCV core protein. Moreover, transient expression of HCV core protein in human hepatoma HuH-7 cells significantly potentiated the trans-activation effect of FLAG-tagged CAP-Rf or untagged CAP-Rf on the luciferase reporter plasmid activity. All together, our results indicate that CAP-Rf is involved in regulation of gene expression and that HCV core protein promotes thetrans-activation ability of CAP-Rf, likely via the complex formation and the modulation of the ATPase-dATPase activity of CAP-Rf. These findings provide evidence that HCV may have evolved a distinct mechanism in alteration of host cellular gene expression regulation via the interaction of its nucleocapsid core protein and cellular putative RNA helicase known to participate in all aspects of cellular processes involving RNA metabolism. This feature of core protein may impart pleiotropic effects on host cells, which may partially account for its role in HCV pathogenesis.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (21) ◽  
pp. 12075-12081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Li ◽  
William B. Lott ◽  
John Martyn ◽  
Gholamreza Haqshenas ◽  
Eric J. Gowans

ABSTRACT To investigate the role of the hepatitis C virus internal ribosome entry site (HCV IRES) domain IV in translation initiation and regulation, two chimeric IRES elements were constructed to contain the reciprocal domain IV in the otherwise HCV and classical swine fever virus IRES elements. This permitted an examination of the role of domain IV in the control of HCV translation. A specific inhibitor of the HCV IRES, vitamin B12, was shown to inhibit translation directed by all IRES elements which contained domain IV from the HCV and the GB virus B IRES elements, whereas the HCV core protein could only suppress translation from the wild-type HCV IRES. Thus, the mechanisms of translation inhibition by vitamin B12 and the core protein differ, and they target different regions of the IRES.


2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleny González ◽  
Liz Alvarez-Lajonchere ◽  
Julio César Alvarez-Obregón ◽  
Ivis Guerra ◽  
Ariel Viña ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujeong Lee ◽  
Hyunyoung Yoon ◽  
Jiwoo Han ◽  
Kyung Lib Jang

Most clinical and experimental studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) is dominant over hepatitis B virus (HBV) during coinfection, although the mechanism remains unclear. Here, we found that HCV core protein inhibits HBV replication by downregulating HBx levels during coinfection in human hepatoma cells. For this effect, HCV core protein increased reactive oxygen species levels in the mitochondria and activated the ataxia telangiectasia mutated-checkpoint kinase two pathway in the nucleus, resulting in an upregulation of p53 levels. Accordingly, HCV core protein induced p53-dependent activation of seven in absentia homolog one expression, an E3 ligase of HBx, resulting in the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of HBx. The effect of the HCV core protein on HBx levels was accurately reproduced in both a 1.2-mer HBV replicon and in vitro HBV infection systems, providing evidence for the inhibition of HBV replication by HCV core protein. The present study may provide insights into the mechanism of HCV dominance in HBV- and HCV-coinfected patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo Cho ◽  
Hwan Lee ◽  
Hyojeung Kang ◽  
Hyosun Cho

HCV genotype 2a strain JFH-1 replicates and produces viral particles efficiently in human hepatocellular carcinoma (huh) 7.5 cells, which provide a stable in vitro cell infection system for the hepatitis C virus (HCVcc system). Natural killer (NK) cells are large lymphoid cells that recognize and kill virus-infected cells. In this study, we investigated the interaction between NK cells and the HCVcc system. IL-10 is a typical immune regulatory cytokine that is produced mostly by NK cells and macrophages. IL-21 is one of the main cytokines that stimulate the activation of NK cells. First, we used anti-IL-10 to neutralize IL-10 in a coculture of NK cells and HCVcc. Anti-IL-10 treatment increased the maturation of NK cells by enhancing the frequency of the CD56+dim population in NK-92 cells. However, with anti-IL-10 treatment of NK cells in coculture with J6/JFH-1-huh 7.5 cells, there was a significant decrease in the expression of STAT1 and STAT5 proteins in NK-92 cells and an increase in the HCV Core and NS3 proteins. In addition, rIL-21 treatment increased the frequency of the CD56+dim population in NK-92 cells, Also, there was a dramatic increase in the expression of STAT1 and STAT5 proteins in rIL-21 pre-stimulated NK cells and a decrease in the expression of HCV Core protein in coculture with J6/JFH-1-huh 7.5 cells. In summary, we found that the functional activation of NK cells can be modulated by anti-IL-10 or rIL-21, which controls the expression of HCV proteins as well as HCV RNA replication.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 606-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Roque Cuéllar ◽  
J. R. García-Lozano ◽  
B. Sánchez ◽  
J. M. Praena-Fernández ◽  
C. Martínez Sierra ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (19) ◽  
pp. 10237-10249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohji Moriishi ◽  
Tamaki Okabayashi ◽  
Kousuke Nakai ◽  
Kyoji Moriya ◽  
Kazuhiko Koike ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein plays an important role in the formation of the viral nucleocapsid and a regulatory protein involved in hepatocarcinogenesis. In this study, we have identified proteasome activator PA28γ (11S regulator γ) as an HCV core binding protein by using yeast two-hybrid system. This interaction was demonstrated not only in cell culture but also in the livers of HCV core transgenic mice. These findings are extended to human HCV infection by the observation of this interaction in liver specimens from a patient with chronic HCV infection. Neither the interaction of HCV core protein with other PA28 subtypes nor that of PA28γ with other Flavivirus core proteins was detected. Deletion of the PA28γ-binding region from the HCV core protein or knockout of the PA28γ gene led to the export of the HCV core protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Overexpression of PA28γ enhanced the proteolysis of the HCV core protein. Thus, the nuclear retention and stability of the HCV core protein is regulated via a PA28γ-dependent pathway through which HCV pathogenesis may be exerted.


2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tu M. Pham ◽  
Si C. Tran ◽  
Yun-Sook Lim ◽  
Soon B. Hwang

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly dependent on cellular factors for viral propagation. Using high-throughput next-generation sequencing, we analyzed the host transcriptomic changes and identified 30 candidate genes which were upregulated in cell culture-grown HCV (HCVcc)-infected cells. Of these candidates, we selected Rab32 for further investigation. Rab32 is a small GTPase that regulates a variety of intracellular membrane-trafficking events in various cell types. In this study, we demonstrated that both mRNA and protein levels of Rab32 were increased in HCV-infected cells. Furthermore, we showed that HCV infection converted the predominantly expressed GTP-bound Rab32 to GDP-bound Rab32, contributing to the aggregation of Rab32 and thus making it less sensitive to cellular degradation machinery. In addition, GDP-bound Rab32 selectively interacted with HCV core protein and deposited core protein into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated Rab32-derived aggregated structures in the perinuclear region, which were likely to be viral assembly sites. Using RNA interference technology, we demonstrated that Rab32 was required for the assembly step but not for other stages of the HCV life cycle. Taken together, these data suggest that HCV may modulate Rab32 activity to facilitate virion assembly. IMPORTANCE Rab32, a member of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases, regulates various intracellular membrane-trafficking events in many cell types. In this study, we showed that HCV infection concomitantly increased Rab32 expression at the transcriptional level and altered the balance between GDP- and GTP-bound Rab32 toward production of Rab32-GDP. GDP-bound Rab32 selectively interacted with HCV core protein and enriched core in the ER-associated Rab32-derived aggregated structures that were probably necessary for viral assembly. Indeed, we showed that Rab32 was specifically required for the assembly of HCV. Collectively, our study identifies that Rab32 is a novel host factor essential for HCV particle assembly.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 2712-2712
Author(s):  
Edith Bigot-Corbel ◽  
Michelle Gassin ◽  
Isabelle Corre ◽  
Didier Le Carrer ◽  
Odile Delaroche ◽  
...  

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to B-cell malignancy via direct infection and transformation of B-lymphocytes, or via indirect transformation by chronic antigen-driven stimulation. Both mechanisms may occur simultaneously, as we previously reported in a case of HCV infection followed by plasma-cell leukemia (PCL), where blasts were infected with HCV and the monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) they produced was directed against the core protein of the virus (New Engl J Med, 2003; 348:178). Approximately 10% of HCV-positive patients develop a monoclonal Ig, the specificity of which is usually unknown. To evaluate the link between chronic HCV-antigen driven stimulation and plasma–cell transformation, we studied the specificity of monoclonal Ig developed in the context of HCV infection. Over a period of 13 months, sera from patients consulting or hospitalised at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire of Nantes found positive for monoclonal Ig, were systematically tested for the presence of HCV RNA and anti-HCV Ig. Among the 700 patients thus studied, 10 (1.4%) were found positive for HCV. Purification of the monoclonal Ig was achieved for 7/10 patients. Using immunoblotting, the purified monoclonal Ig (2 IgG, 1 IgA, 1 IgM) of 4 patients, all with HCV genotype 2, recognized the C22–3 fragment of HCV-core protein; 2 (IgG) recognized NS-4 and 1 did not recognize HCV. Among the 4 patients with anti-HCV-core monoclonal Ig, two presented with mixed (type II) cryoglobulinemia and one was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Hence, 2/5 patients with anti-HCV core monoclonal Ig developed plasma-cell malignancy. Anti-HCV treatment resulted in the disappearance of the monoclonal Ig for 3/3 treated patients. In summary, in the context of HCV infection monoclonal Ig were typically directed against the virus, and could distinguish patients with increased risk of plasma-cell malignancy. Efforts should be made to identify such patients, as anti-viral therapy should help eradicate the HCV-driven plasma-cell clone.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (21) ◽  
pp. 12047-12053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meirav Matto ◽  
Charles M. Rice ◽  
Benjamin Aroeti ◽  
Jeffrey S. Glenn

ABSTRACT A subpopulation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein in cells harboring full-length HCV replicons is biochemically associated with detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) in a manner similar to that of markers of classical lipid rafts. Core protein does not, however, colocalize in immunofluorescence studies with classical plasma membrane raft markers, such as caveolin-1 and the B subunit of cholera toxin, suggesting that core protein is bound to cytoplasmic raft microdomains distinct from caveolin-based rafts. Furthermore, while both the structural core protein and the nonstructural protein NS5A associate with membranes, they do not colocalize in the DRMs. Finally, the ability of core protein to localize to the DRMs did not require other elements of the HCV polyprotein. These results may have broad implications for the HCV life cycle and suggest that the HCV core may be a valuable probe for host cell biology.


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