Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions

The Hepatitis C virus E1 and E2 envelope proteins are the major players in all events required for virus entry into target cells. In addition, the recently developed HCV cell culture system has indicated that E1E2 heterodimer formation is a prerequisite for viral particle production. In this paper,...

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Main Authors: Alessia Bianchi, Stefania Crotta, Michela Brazzoli, Steven K. H. Foung, Marcello Merola
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2011-01-01
Series:International Journal of Hepatology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2011/968161
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author Alessia Bianchi
Stefania Crotta
Michela Brazzoli
Steven K. H. Foung
Marcello Merola
author_facet Alessia Bianchi
Stefania Crotta
Michela Brazzoli
Steven K. H. Foung
Marcello Merola
author_sort Alessia Bianchi
collection DOAJ
description The Hepatitis C virus E1 and E2 envelope proteins are the major players in all events required for virus entry into target cells. In addition, the recently developed HCV cell culture system has indicated that E1E2 heterodimer formation is a prerequisite for viral particle production. In this paper, we explored a new genetic approach to construct intergenotypic 2a/1b chimeras, maintaining the structural region of the infectious strain JFH1 and substituting the soluble portion of E1 and/or E2 proteins. This strategy provides useful information on the role of the surface-exposed domain of the envelope proteins in virus morphogenesis and allows comparative analysis of different HCV genotypes. We found that substituting the E2 protein ectodomain region abolishes the production of chimeric infectious particles. Our data indicate that the soluble part of the E2 protein is involved in a genotype-specific interplay with remaining viral proteins that affect the HCV assembly process.
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institution OA Journals
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spelling doaj-art-e694af8a356e4a32895df274ee105bdf2025-08-20T02:21:03ZengWileyInternational Journal of Hepatology2090-34482090-34562011-01-01201110.4061/2011/968161968161Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious VirionsAlessia Bianchi0Stefania Crotta1Michela Brazzoli2Steven K. H. Foung3Marcello Merola4Department of Molecular Immunology, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostic, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Immunology, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostic, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Immunology, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostic, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, ItalyDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USADepartment of Molecular Immunology, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostic, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, ItalyThe Hepatitis C virus E1 and E2 envelope proteins are the major players in all events required for virus entry into target cells. In addition, the recently developed HCV cell culture system has indicated that E1E2 heterodimer formation is a prerequisite for viral particle production. In this paper, we explored a new genetic approach to construct intergenotypic 2a/1b chimeras, maintaining the structural region of the infectious strain JFH1 and substituting the soluble portion of E1 and/or E2 proteins. This strategy provides useful information on the role of the surface-exposed domain of the envelope proteins in virus morphogenesis and allows comparative analysis of different HCV genotypes. We found that substituting the E2 protein ectodomain region abolishes the production of chimeric infectious particles. Our data indicate that the soluble part of the E2 protein is involved in a genotype-specific interplay with remaining viral proteins that affect the HCV assembly process.http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2011/968161
spellingShingle Alessia Bianchi
Stefania Crotta
Michela Brazzoli
Steven K. H. Foung
Marcello Merola
Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions
International Journal of Hepatology
title Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions
title_full Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions
title_fullStr Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions
title_full_unstemmed Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions
title_short Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein Ectodomain Is Essential for Assembly of Infectious Virions
title_sort hepatitis c virus e2 protein ectodomain is essential for assembly of infectious virions
url http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2011/968161
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