Expression of hepatitis C virus nonstructural 4B in transgenic mice.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a pathogen that is of great medical significance in chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Although the HCV proteins have been intensively investigated over the past decade, the biochemical functions of the NS4B protein are still largely unknown. To investigate NS4B as a potential causative agent of liver disease, transgenic mice expressing the NS4B protein in liver tissue were produced. The transgenic animals were phenotypically similar to their normal littermates for up to 18 months of age. Our results suggest that the HCV NS4B protein is not directly cytopathic or oncogenic in our transgenic mice model.
Wang
Ai Guo
AG
Laboratory of Human Genomics, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience, and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
Moon
Hyung Bae
HB
Kim
Jin Man
JM
Hwang
Soon Bong
SB
Yu
Dae Yeul
DY
Lee
Dong Seok
DS
D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins