ABSTRACT
During the replicative cycle of the hepatitis C virus (HCV),
non-structural proteins (NS) are organized in a replication complex near the
endoplasmic reticulum. This organization seems to be responsible for a
rearrangement into vesicular membrane structure called «
membranous web ». Previous studies have suggested that
the HCV transmembrane protein NS4B could directly act in the formation of these
particular membrane structures. However, the involvement of this protein has
still not been clearly demonstrated.
In this context, the work undertaken in the host laboratory
has been to clone in a Semliki system the sequence encoding the NS4B
non-structural protein derived from a complete and replicative HCV clone called
JFH1. In a first step, the production of NS4B in BHK-21 cells was verified by
immunofluorescence and Western-blot. Analysis by electron microscopy still
underway will directly characterize the involvement of the NS4B protein in the
intracellular membrane structures morphogenesis. If the involvement of NS4B for
the « membranous web » formation should be confirmed, the
development of new therapeutic strategies could be considered.
Key-words : Hepatitis C, HCV, SFV vector, replication,
membranous web
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