Mutations within potential glycosylation sites in the capsid protein of hepatitis E virus prevent the formation of infectious virus particles.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis E virus is a nonenveloped RNA virus. However, the single capsid protein resembles a typical glycoprotein in that it contains a signal sequence and potential glycosylation sites that are utilized when recombinant capsid protein is overexpressed in cell culture. In order to determine whether these unexpected observations were biologically relevant or were artifacts of overexpression, we analyzed capsid protein produced during a normal viral replication cycle. In vitro transcripts from an infectious cDNA clone mutated to eliminate potential glycosylation sites were transfected into cultured Huh-7 cells and into the livers of rhesus macaques. The mutations did not detectably affect genome replication or capsid protein synthesis in cell culture. However, none of the mutants infected r

SUBMITTER: Graff J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2224450 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature