Nuclear respiratory factor 1 plays an essential role in transcriptional initiation from the hepatitis B virus x gene promoter.

ABSTRACT: The X gene of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major factors in HBV-induced hepatocarcinogenesis and is essential for the establishment of productive HBV replication in vivo. Recent studies have shown that the X gene product targets mitochondria and induces calcium flux, thereby activating Ca(+)-dependent signal transduction pathways. However, regulatory mechanisms of X gene expression have remained unclear. Previous studies had localized a minimal promoter activity to a 21-bp GC-rich sequence located 130 bp upstream of the X protein coding region and showed that there was a cellular protein bound to this DNA. Interestingly, the 21-bp sequence identified as an X gene minimal promoter does not contain any previously identified core promoter elements, such as a TATA box. To better under

SUBMITTER: Tokusumi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC521811 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature