Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein Promotes miR-122 Destabilization by Inhibiting GLD-2.

ABSTRACT: The liver-specific microRNA miR-122, which has essential roles in liver development and metabolism, is a key proviral factor for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Despite its crucial role in the liver and HCV life cycle, little is known about the molecular mechanism of miR-122 expression regulation by HCV infection. Here, we show that the HCV core protein downregulates the abundance of miR-122 by promoting its destabilization via the inhibition of GLD-2, a non-canonical cytoplasmic poly(A) polymerase. The decrease in miR-122 expression resulted in the dysregulation of the known functions of miR-122, including its proviral activity for HCV. By high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs from human liver biopsies, we found that the 22-nucleotide (nt) prototype miR-122 is modified at its 3' end by 3'-ter

SUBMITTER: Kim GW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4930175 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature