Large-scale production and structural and biophysical characterizations of the human hepatitis B virus polymerase.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major human pathogen that causes serious liver disease and 600,000 deaths annually. Approved therapies for treating chronic HBV infections usually target the multifunctional viral polymerase (hPOL). Unfortunately, these therapies--broad-spectrum antivirals--are not general cures, have side effects, and cause viral resistance. While hPOL remains an attractive therapeutic target, it is notoriously difficult to express and purify in a soluble form at yields appropriate for structural studies. Thus, no empirical structural data exist for hPOL, and this impedes medicinal chemistry and rational lead discovery efforts targeting HBV. Here, we present an efficient strategy to overexpress recombinant hPOL domains in Escherichia coli, purifying them at

SUBMITTER: Voros J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3958071 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature