Origin, antigenicity, and function of a secreted form of ORF2 in hepatitis E virus infection.

ABSTRACT: The enterically transmitted hepatitis E virus (HEV) adopts a unique strategy to exit cells by cloaking its capsid (encoded by the viral ORF2 gene) and circulating in the blood as "quasi-enveloped" particles. However, recent evidence suggests that the majority of the ORF2 protein present in the patient serum and supernatants of HEV-infected cell culture exists in a free form and is not associated with virus particles. The origin and biological functions of this secreted form of ORF2 (ORF2^S) are unknown. Here we show that production of ORF2^S results from translation initiated at the previously presumed AUG start codon for the capsid protein, whereas translation of the actual capsid protein (ORF2^C) is initiated at a previously unrecognized internal AUG codon (

SUBMITTER: Yin X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5939091 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature