title: Promoter/origin structure of the complementary strand of hepatitis C virus genome.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B protein encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Sequences in the 3' termini of both the plus and minus strand of HCV genomic RNA harbor the activity of a replication origin and a transcription promoter. There are unique stem-loop structures in both termini of the viral RNA. We found that the complementary strand of the internal ribosome-binding site (IRES) showed strong template activity in vitro. The complementary strand RNA of the HCV genome works as a template for mRNA and viral genomic RNA. We analyzed the promoter/origin structure of the complementary sequence of IRES and found that the first and second stem-loops worked as negative and positive elements in RNA synthesis, respectively. The complementary strand of the second stem-loop of IRES was an important element also for binding to HCV RdRp.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Kurume University, School of Medicine, 67 Asahimachi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kashiwagi
authors.forename: Koyu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Michinori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohara
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iwahashi
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Haruhito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honda-Yoshino
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toyoda
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D017353:Gene Deletion; D016679:Genome, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018741:Replication Origin; D013997:Time Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins