Palmitoylation of Hepatitis C Virus NS2 Regulates Its Subcellular Localization and NS2-NS3 Autocleavage.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 2 (NS2) is a multifunctional protein implicated in both HCV RNA replication and virus particle assembly. NS2-encoded cysteine protease is responsible for autoprocessing of NS2-NS3 precursor, an essential step in HCV RNA replication. NS2 also promotes HCV particle assembly by recruiting envelope protein 2 (E2) to the virus assembly sites located at the detergent-resistant membranes (DRM). However, the fundamental mechanism regulating multiple functions of NS2 remains unclear. In this study, we discovered that NS2 is palmitoylated at the position 113 cysteine residue (NS2/C113) when expressed by itself in cells and during infectious-HCV replication. Blocking NS2 palmitoylation by introducing an NS2/C113S mutation reduced NS2-NS3 autoprocessing an

SUBMITTER: Wu MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6912101 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature