The Hepatitis C Virus-Induced Membranous Web and Associated Nuclear Transport Machinery Limit Access of Pattern Recognition Receptors to Viral Replication Sites.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive-strand RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family and a major cause of liver disease worldwide. HCV replicates in the cytoplasm, and the synthesis of viral proteins induces extensive rearrangements of host cell membranes producing structures, collectively termed the membranous web (MW). The MW contains the sites of viral replication and assembly, and we have identified distinct membrane fractions derived from HCV-infected cells that contain replication and assembly complexes enriched for viral RNA and infectious virus, respectively. The complex membrane structure of the MW is thought to protect the viral genome limiting its interactions with cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and thereby preventing activation of cellular innate immune responses

SUBMITTER: Neufeldt CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4749181 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature