An essential RNA element resides in a central region of hepatitis E virus ORF2.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis E virus (genus Hepevirus, family Hepeviridae) is one of the most important causes of acute hepatitis in adults, particularly among pregnant women, throughout Asia and Africa where mortality rates can be 20-30 %. Hepatitis E virus has a single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome that contains three translated ORFs. The two 3' ORFs are translated from a subgenomic RNA. Functional RNA elements have been identified in and adjacent to the genomic 5' and 3' UTRs and in and around the intergenic region. Here we describe an additional RNA element that is located in a central region of ORF2. The RNA element is predicted to fold into two highly conserved stem-loop structures, ISL1 and ISL2. Mutations that disrupt the predicted structures, without altering the encoded amino acid sequence, re

SUBMITTER: Emerson SU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3709636 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature