MicroRNA-122 target sites in the hepatitis C virus RNA NS5B coding region and 3' untranslated region: function in replication and influence of RNA secondary structure.

ABSTRACT: We have analyzed the binding of the liver-specific microRNA-122 (miR-122) to three conserved target sites of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA, two in the non-structural protein 5B (NS5B) coding region and one in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR). miR-122 binding efficiency strongly depends on target site accessibility under conditions when the range of flanking sequences available for the formation of local RNA secondary structures changes. Our results indicate that the particular sequence feature that contributes most to the correlation between target site accessibility and binding strength varies between different target sites. This suggests that the dynamics of miRNA/Ago2 binding not only depends on the target site itself but also on flanking sequence context to a considerable extent, in pa

SUBMITTER: Gerresheim GK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11107659 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature