Abstract 812: Processing of core protein by signal peptide peptidase participates in propagation and pathogenesis of hepatitis C virus

Author(s):  
Toru Okamoto ◽  
Sayaka Aizawa ◽  
Takahisa Kouwaki ◽  
Tatsuya Suzuki ◽  
Takasuke Fukuhara ◽  
...  
2006 ◽  
Vol 281 (38) ◽  
pp. 27679-27692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christelle Vauloup-Fellous ◽  
Véronique Pène ◽  
Julie Garaud-Aunis ◽  
Francis Harper ◽  
Sabine Bardin ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Graham Hope ◽  
Marion J. McElwee ◽  
John McLauchlan

Maturation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein requires cleavage by signal peptidase (SP) and signal peptide peptidase (SPP) at a signal peptide between core and the E1 glycoprotein. For HCV strain Glasgow, amino acids Ala180, Ser183 and Cys184 within the signal peptide have previously been shown to be essential for efficient SPP cleavage. By contrast, these residues apparently did not contribute to core maturation in HCV strain J1. In the present study, the source of this discrepancy has been analysed and it is concluded that interpretation of the strain J1 data was incorrect, due to the inability to separate wild-type and mutant forms of core on gels by using standard buffer systems.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (17) ◽  
pp. 8349-8361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoko Okamoto ◽  
Yoshio Mori ◽  
Yasumasa Komoda ◽  
Toru Okamoto ◽  
Masayasu Okochi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein has shown to be localized in the detergent-resistant membrane (DRM), which is distinct from the classical raft fraction including caveolin, although the biological significance of the DRM localization of the core protein has not been determined. The HCV core protein is cleaved off from a precursor polyprotein at the lumen side of Ala191 by signal peptidase and is then further processed by signal peptide peptidase (SPP) within the transmembrane region. In this study, we examined the role of SPP in the localization of the HCV core protein in the DRM and in viral propagation. The C terminus of the HCV core protein cleaved by SPP in 293T cells was identified as Phe177 by mass spectrometry. Mutations introduced into two residues (Ile176 and Phe177) upstream of the cleavage site of the core protein abrogated processing by SPP and localization in the DRM fraction. Expression of a dominant-negative SPP or treatment with an SPP inhibitor, L685,458, resulted in reductions in the levels of processed core protein localized in the DRM fraction. The production of HCV RNA in cells persistently infected with strain JFH-1 was impaired by treatment with the SPP inhibitor. Furthermore, mutant JFH-1 viruses bearing SPP-resistant mutations in the core protein failed to propagate in a permissive cell line. These results suggest that intramembrane processing of HCV core protein by SPP is required for the localization of the HCV core protein in the DRM and for viral propagation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malika Ait-Goughoulte ◽  
Christophe Hourioux ◽  
Romuald Patient ◽  
Sylvie Trassard ◽  
Denys Brand ◽  
...  

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein, expressed with a Semliki Forest virus replicon, self-assembles into HCV-like particles (HCV-LP) at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, providing an opportunity to study HCV assembly and morphogenesis by electron microscopy. This model was used to investigate whether the processing of the HCV core protein by the signal peptide peptidase (SPP) is required for the HCV-LP assembly. Several mutants were designed as there are conflicting reports concerning the cleavage of mutant proteins by SPP. Production of the only core mutant protein that escaped SPP processing led to the formation of multiple layers of electron-dense ER membrane, with no evidence of HCV-LP assembly. These data shed light on the HCV core residues involved in SPP cleavage and suggest that this cleavage is essential for HCV assembly.


2008 ◽  
Vol 283 (24) ◽  
pp. 16850-16859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Targett-Adams ◽  
Graham Hope ◽  
Steeve Boulant ◽  
John McLauchlan

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (19) ◽  
pp. 9923-9939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Shuang Ai ◽  
Yu-Wen Lee ◽  
Steve S.-L. Chen

ABSTRACT The molecular basis underlying hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein maturation and morphogenesis remains elusive. We characterized the concerted events associated with core protein multimerization and interaction with membranes. Analyses of core proteins expressed from a subgenomic system showed that the signal sequence located between the core and envelope glycoprotein E1 is critical for core association with endoplasmic reticula (ER)/late endosomes and the core's envelopment by membranes, which was judged by the core's acquisition of resistance to proteinase K digestion. Despite exerting an inhibitory effect on the core's association with membranes, (Z-LL)2-ketone, a specific inhibitor of signal peptide peptidase (SPP), did not affect core multimeric complex formation, suggesting that oligomeric core complex formation proceeds prior to or upon core attachment to membranes. Protease-resistant core complexes that contained both innate and processed proteins were detected in the presence of (Z-LL)2-ketone, implying that core envelopment occurs after intramembrane cleavage. Mutations of the core that prevent signal peptide cleavage or coexpression with an SPP loss-of-function D219A mutant decreased the core's envelopment, demonstrating that SPP-mediated cleavage is required for core envelopment. Analyses of core mutants with a deletion in domain I revealed that this domain contains sequences crucial for core envelopment. The core proteins expressed by infectious JFH1 and Jc1 RNAs in Huh7 cells also assembled into a multimeric complex, associated with ER/late-endosomal membranes, and were enveloped by membranes. Treatment with (Z-LL)2-ketone or coexpression with D219A mutant SPP interfered with both core envelopment and infectious HCV production, indicating a critical role of core envelopment in HCV morphogenesis. The results provide mechanistic insights into the sequential and coordinated processes during the association of the HCV core protein with membranes in the early phase of virus maturation and morphogenesis.


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