title: Site-directed mutagenesis of hepatitis A virus protein 3A: effects on membrane interaction.
abstract: Due to a stretch of hydrophobic amino acids, protein 3A of hepatitis A virus (HAV) has been suggested to act as a membrane anchor or a carrier of the genome-linked protein 3B (VPg) during viral RNA synthesis. Mutagenesis analysis was performed in order to elucidate the role of the N- and C-terminal tracts of protein 3A in cell membrane interaction. Expression of the mutated proteins in E. coli cells demonstrated that the presence of positively charged residues at the C-terminus is not required for membrane anchoring. Changes in the primary sequence involving charged amino acids at the N- and C-termini critically influenced the ability of the protein 3A of a cytopathic strain of HAV to change bacterial membrane permeability. This result demonstrates the strict correlation between the structure and pore-forming potential of HAV protein 3A.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beneduce
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciervo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morace
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000821:virology*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006507:Hepatovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C094209:3A protein, Hepatitis A virus; D014764:Viral Proteins