Proximity between the cap and 5′ ε stem-loop structure is critical for the suppression of pgRNA translation by the hepatitis B viral polymerase

Dong Kyun Ryu, Byung Yoon Ahn, Wang Shick Ryu

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) serves as an mRNA as well as an RNA template for viral reverse transcription. We previously reported that HBV Pol (polymerase) suppresses translation of the pgRNA through a mechanism involving the 5' ε sequence [Virology 373:112-123(2008)]. Here, we found that the recognition of the 5′ ε stem-loop structure by HBV Pol is essential for the translation suppression. Intriguingly, the translation suppression was observed only when the 5' ε sequence was positioned within approximately 60 nucleotides from the 5' end, which is striking reminiscent of the pgRNA encapsidation. This finding implicates that the translation suppression is mechanistically linked to encapsidation of the pgRNA. However, unexpectedly, the HBV Pol-eIF4E interaction, which we reported recently [J. Virol. 84:52-58(2010)], is not required for the translation suppression. Instead, the data suggested that the cap proximity of 5′ ε sequence is necessary and sufficient for the translation suppression.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)56-64
    Number of pages9
    JournalVirology
    Volume406
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010 Oct

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology ( KRF-2008-C00271 ) and in part by the Yonsei University Research Fund of 2009 .

    Keywords

    • Encapsidation
    • Hepatitis B virus
    • Polymerase
    • Translation

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Virology

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Proximity between the cap and 5′ ε stem-loop structure is critical for the suppression of pgRNA translation by the hepatitis B viral polymerase'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this