title: Role of seipin in lipid droplet morphology and hepatitis C virus life cycle.
abstract: Infectious hepatitis C virus (HCV) particle assembly starts at the surface of lipid droplets, cytoplasmic organelles responsible for neutral fat storage. We analysed the relationship between HCV and seipin, a protein involved in lipid droplet maturation. Although seipin overexpression did not affect the total mean volume occupied by lipid droplets nor the total triglyceride and cholesterol ester levels per cell, it caused an increase in the mean diameter of lipid droplets by 60 %, while decreasing their total number per cell. The latter two effects combined resulted in a 34 % reduction of the total outer surface area of lipid droplets per cell, with a proportional decrease in infectious viral particle production, probably due to a defect in particle assembly. These results suggest that the available outer surface of lipid droplets is a critical factor for HCV release, independent of the neutral lipid content of the cell.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clément
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fauvelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Branche
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kaddai
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Conzelmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tujana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boldanova
authors.affiliation: CRCL, INSERM U1052, CNRS 5286, University of Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Birke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bartosch
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Minehira
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.|Division of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Negro
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D044388:GTP-Binding Protein gamma Subunits / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D053586:Virus Internalization; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C432679:BSCL2 protein, human; D044388:GTP-Binding Protein gamma Subunits; D008055:Lipids