title: Regulation of core expression during the hepatitis C virus life cycle.
abstract: Core plays a critical role during hepatitis C virus (HCV) assembly, not only as a structural component of the virion, but also as a regulator of the formation of assembly sites. In this study, we observed that core is expressed later than other HCV proteins in a single viral cycle assay, resulting in a relative increase of core expression during a late step of the viral life cycle. This delayed core expression results from an increase of core half-life, indicating that core is initially degraded and is stabilized at a late step of the HCV life cycle. Stabilization-mediated delayed kinetics of core expression were also observed using heterologous expression systems. Core stabilization did not depend on its interaction with non-structural proteins or lipid droplets but was correlated with its expression levels and its oligomerization status. Therefore in the course of a HCV infection, core stabilization is likely to occur when the prior amplification of the viral genome during an initial replication step allows core to be synthesized at higher levels as a stable protein, during the assembly step of the viral life cycle.
authors.affiliation: Atta ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.|Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Muhammad Sohail
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alsaleh
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Rayan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Belouzard
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Adeline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Danneels
authors.affiliation: EA4294, Unité de Virologie Clinique et Fondamentale, CHU d'Amiens, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Descamps
authors.affiliation: EA4294, Unité de Virologie Clinique et Fondamentale, CHU d'Amiens, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duverlie
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Czeslaw
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wychowski
authors.affiliation: Atta ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Najam Us Sahar Sadaf
authors.initials: NUSS
authors.lastname: Zaidi
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubuisson
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rouillé
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D055550:Protein Stability; D013997:Time Factors; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus