Hepatitis B Virus X Protein Stimulates Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Replication by Protecting HCV Core Protein from E6AP-Mediated Proteasomal Degradation.

ABSTRACT: Most clinical and experimental studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) is dominant over hepatitis B virus (HBV) during coinfection, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we found that the HBV X protein (HBx) upregulates the levels of the HCV core protein to stimulate HCV replication during coinfection in human hepatoma cells. For this purpose, HBx upregulated both the protein levels and enzyme activities of cellular DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and DNMT3b, and this subsequently reduced the expression levels of the E6-associated protein (E6AP), an E3 ligase of the HCV core protein, via DNA methylation. The ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal degradation of the HCV core protein was severely impaired in the presence of HBx, whereas this effect was not ob

SUBMITTER: Yoon H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9784765 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature