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Zhou H, Wu J, Yu Y, Dai Y, Jin X, Sun Q, Che F, Zhang Y, Cheng J. Establishment and Evaluation of Recombinant Expression of HCV Transmembrane Protein (p7) and Detection of Anti-p7 Antibody in Serum of HCV-Infected Patients by Chemiluminescence. Lab Med 2022; 54:299-307. [PMID: 36300840 DOI: 10.1093/labmed/lmac113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
Our aim was to establish a chemiluminescence method for detecting anti-transmembrane protein (p7) antibody in the serum of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
Methods
The p7 gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using the plasmid PUC-p7 containing the p7 nucleic acid sequence of the HCV 1b genotype as the template, and recombinant plasmid pGEX-KG-p7 was constructed. After p7 fusion, the protein was induced and expressed in the prokaryote, extracted, and purified; the anti-p7 antibody detection kit was prepared, and its efficacy was evaluated.
Results
The plasmid pGEX-KG-p7 was constructed correctly, and p7 fusion protein was obtained. The methodological indexes of the kit, the precision test, blank limit and detection limit, etc, met the requirements. The positive rate of serum anti-p7 antibody in 45 patients with HCV infection was 20%.
Conclusions
The kit can be used in screening diagnosis, condition monitoring, prognosis, and disease mechanism and epidemiological study of HCV infection. The p7 protein has immune response in HCV-infected patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huajun Zhou
- Department of Clinical Research, The 903rd Hospital of the PLA , Hangzhou , China
| | - Jie Wu
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College , Bengbu , China
| | - Yu Yu
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College , Bengbu , China
| | - Yuzhu Dai
- Department of Clinical Research, The 903rd Hospital of the PLA , Hangzhou , China
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College , Bengbu , China
| | - Xiaojuan Jin
- Department of Clinical Research, The 903rd Hospital of the PLA , Hangzhou , China
| | - Qingyang Sun
- Department of Clinical Research, The 903rd Hospital of the PLA , Hangzhou , China
| | - Feihu Che
- Department of Clinical Research, The 903rd Hospital of the PLA , Hangzhou , China
| | - Yingjie Zhang
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College , Bengbu , China
| | - Jun Cheng
- Department of Clinical Research, The 903rd Hospital of the PLA , Hangzhou , China
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College , Bengbu , China
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Dwivedi V, Gupta RK, Gupta A, Chaudhary VK, Gupta S, Gupta V. Repurposing Novel Antagonists to p7 Viroporin of HCV Using in silico Approach. LETT DRUG DES DISCOV 2022. [DOI: 10.2174/1570180819666220124112150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:
Background: P7 viroporin in HCV is a cation-selective ion channel-forming protein, functional in the oligomeric form. It is considered to be a potential target for anti-HCV compounds due to its crucial role in viral entry, assembly and release.
Method:
Conserved crucial residues present in HCV p7 protein were delineated with a specific focus on the genotypes 3a &1b prevalent in India from the available literature. Using the Flex-X docking tool, a library of FDA-approved drugs was docked on the receptor sites prepared around crucial residues. In the present study, we propose drug repurposing to target viroporin p7, which may help in the rapid development of effective anti-HCV therapies.
Results:
With our approach of poly-pharmacology, a variety of drugs currently identified classified as antibiotics, anti-parasitic, antiemetic, anti-retroviral, and anti-neoplastic were found to dock successfully with the p7 viroporin. Noteworthy among these are general-purpose cephalosporin antibiotics, leucal, phthalylsulfathiazole, and granisetron, which may be useful in acute HCV infection and anti-neoplastic sorafenib and nilotinib, which may be valuable in advanced HCV-HCC cases.
Conclusion:
This study could pave the way for quick repurposing of these compounds as anti-HCV therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varsha Dwivedi
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi, India
| | - Rakesh Kumar Gupta
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi, India
| | - Amita Gupta
- Department of Biochemistry and Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease Research, Education and Training, University of Delhi South Campus, Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - Vijay K Chaudhary
- Department of Biochemistry and Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease Research, Education and Training, University of Delhi South Campus, Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - Sanjay Gupta
- Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vandana Gupta
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi, India
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Farag NS, Breitinger U, Breitinger HG, El Azizi MA. Viroporins and inflammasomes: A key to understand virus-induced inflammation. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2020; 122:105738. [PMID: 32156572 PMCID: PMC7102644 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2020.105738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The article provides a summary on cellular receptors involved in virus immunity. It summarizes key findings on viroporins, a novel class of viral proteins and their role in the virus life cycle and host cell interactions. It presents an overview of the current understanding of inflammasomes complex activation, with special focus on NLRP3. It discusses the correlation between viroporins and inflammasomes activation and aggravated inflammatory cytokines production.
Viroporins are virus encoded proteins that alter membrane permeability and can trigger subsequent cellular signals. Oligomerization of viroporin subunits results in formation of a hydrophilic pore which facilitates ion transport across host cell membranes. These viral channel proteins may be involved in different stages of the virus infection cycle. Inflammasomes are large multimolecular complexes best recognized for their ability to control activation of caspase-1, which in turn regulates the maturation of interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) and interleukin 18 (IL-18). IL-1β was originally identified as a pro-inflammatory cytokine able to induce both local and systemic inflammation and a febrile reaction in response to infection or injury. Excessive production of IL-1β is associated with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Microbial derivatives, bacterial pore-forming toxins, extracellular ATP and other pathogen-associated molecular patterns trigger activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes. Recent studies have reported that viroporin activity is capable of inducing inflammasome activity and production of IL-1β, where NLRP3 is shown to be regulated by fluxes of K+, H+ and Ca2+ in addition to reactive oxygen species, autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress. The aim of this review is to present an overview of the key findings on viroporin activity with special emphasis on their role in virus immunity and as possible activators of inflammasomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- N S Farag
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, German University inCairo, New Cairo, Egypt.
| | - U Breitinger
- Department of Biochemistry, German University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt
| | - H G Breitinger
- Department of Biochemistry, German University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt
| | - M A El Azizi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, German University inCairo, New Cairo, Egypt
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Ganesan A, Barakat K. Applications of computer-aided approaches in the development of hepatitis C antiviral agents. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2017; 12:407-425. [PMID: 28164720 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2017.1291628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health problem that causes several chronic life-threatening liver diseases. The numbers of people affected by HCV are rising annually. Since 2011, the FDA has approved several anti-HCV drugs; while many other promising HCV drugs are currently in late clinical trials. Areas covered: This review discusses the applications of different computational approaches in HCV drug design. Expert opinion: Molecular docking and virtual screening approaches have emerged as a low-cost tool to screen large databases and identify potential small-molecule hits against HCV targets. Ligand-based approaches are useful for filtering-out compounds with rich physicochemical properties to inhibit HCV targets. Molecular dynamics (MD) remains a useful tool in optimizing the ligand-protein complexes and understand the ligand binding modes and drug resistance mechanisms in HCV. Despite their varied roles, the application of in-silico approaches in HCV drug design is still in its infancy. A more mature application should aim at modelling the whole HCV replicon in its active form and help to identify new effective druggable sites within the replicon system. With more technological advancements, the roles of computer-aided methods are only going to increase several folds in the development of next-generation HCV drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aravindhan Ganesan
- a Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences , University of Alberta , Edmonton , Canada
| | - Khaled Barakat
- a Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences , University of Alberta , Edmonton , Canada
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Jovanovic-Cupic S, Glisic S, Stanojevic M, Nozic D, Petrovic N, Mandusic V, Krajnovic M. The influence of host factors and sequence variability of the p7 region on the response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b in patients from Serbia. Arch Virol 2016; 161:1189-98. [PMID: 26860912 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-016-2777-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to identify host and viral factors affecting the response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b. Baseline characteristics of the patients and sequences within the p7 region were analyzed in pre-treatment serum samples from 53 individuals with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b and related to the outcome of therapy. We found a significant correlation between age and response to therapy (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the pre-treatment viral load was closely associated with the stage of liver fibrosis (p < 0.001). The presence of fewer than 4 mutations and age above 40 were significantly associated with non-response (NR) (p < 0.001). Our findings may be useful for estimating the likelihood of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients who are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus genotype 1b.
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Affiliation(s)
- Snezana Jovanovic-Cupic
- Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Sanja Glisic
- Center for Multidisciplinary Research, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Maja Stanojevic
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Darko Nozic
- Clinics of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Military Medical Academy, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Nina Petrovic
- Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Vesna Mandusic
- Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Milena Krajnovic
- Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia
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Cannalire R, Barreca ML, Manfroni G, Cecchetti V. A Journey around the Medicinal Chemistry of Hepatitis C Virus Inhibitors Targeting NS4B: From Target to Preclinical Drug Candidates. J Med Chem 2015; 59:16-41. [PMID: 26241789 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b00825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health burden with an estimated 130-170 million chronically infected individuals and is the cause of serious liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV NS4B protein represents a validated target for the identification of new drugs to be added to the combination regimen recently approved. During the last years, NS4B has thus been the object of impressive medicinal chemistry efforts, which led to the identification of promising preclinical candidates. In this context, the present review aims to discuss research published on NS4B functional inhibitors focusing the attention on hit identification, hit-to-lead optimization, ADME profile evaluation, and the structure-activity relationship data raised for each compound family taken into account. The information delivered in this review will be a useful and valuable tool for those medicinal chemists dealing with research programs focused on NS4B and aimed at the identification of innovative anti-HCV compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rolando Cannalire
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia , Via A. Fabretti, 48-06123 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maria Letizia Barreca
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia , Via A. Fabretti, 48-06123 Perugia, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Manfroni
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia , Via A. Fabretti, 48-06123 Perugia, Italy
| | - Violetta Cecchetti
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia , Via A. Fabretti, 48-06123 Perugia, Italy
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Lin MV, King LY, Chung RT. Hepatitis C virus-associated cancer. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PATHOLOGY-MECHANISMS OF DISEASE 2014; 10:345-70. [PMID: 25387053 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-pathol-012414-040323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major etiologic agents of liver cancer. HCV is an RNA virus that, unlike hepatitis B virus, is unable to integrate into the host genome. Through complex interactions between viral and host proteins that induce host responses and promote inflammation, fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis, HCV infection can result in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The HCV oncogenic process involves genetic and epigenetic alterations and oncogenic effects mediated by viral proteins in the activation of cellular oncogenes, inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes, and dysregulation of multiple signal-transduction pathways. Advances in genetics and gene expression profiling have enhanced our current understanding of the pathways involved in HCV-associated liver cancer development. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis induced by HCV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming V Lin
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114; , ,
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8
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Ion-dynamics in hepatitis C virus p7 helical transmembrane domains — a molecular dynamics simulation study. Biophys Chem 2014; 192:33-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2014.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2014] [Revised: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Hundt J, Li Z, Liu Q. Post-translational modifications of hepatitis C viral proteins and their biological significance. World J Gastroenterol 2013; 19:8929-8939. [PMID: 24379618 PMCID: PMC3870546 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i47.8929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2013] [Accepted: 12/04/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) depends on the interaction of viral proteins with various host cellular proteins and signalling pathways. Similar to cellular proteins, post-translational modifications (PTMs) of HCV proteins are essential for proper protein function and regulation, thus, directly affecting viral life cycle and the generation of infectious virus particles. Cleavage of the HCV polyprotein by cellular and viral proteases into more than 10 proteins represents an early protein modification step after translation of the HCV positive-stranded RNA genome. The key modifications include the regulated intramembranous proteolytic cleavage of core protein, disulfide bond formation of core, glycosylation of HCV envelope proteins E1 and E2, methylation of nonstructural protein 3 (NS3), biotinylation of NS4A, ubiquitination of NS5B and phosphorylation of core and NS5B. Other modifications like ubiquitination of core and palmitoylation of core and NS4B proteins have been reported as well. For some modifications such as phosphorylation of NS3 and NS5A and acetylation of NS3, we have limited understanding of their effects on HCV replication and pathogenesis while the impact of other modifications is far from clear. In this review, we summarize the available information on PTMs of HCV proteins and discuss their relevance to HCV replication and pathogenesis.
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Aweya JJ, Mak TM, Lim SG, Tan YJ. The p7 protein of the hepatitis C virus induces cell death differently from the influenza A virus viroporin M2. Virus Res 2012; 172:24-34. [PMID: 23246447 PMCID: PMC7114515 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2012.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2012] [Revised: 12/04/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Most viruses encode proteins that modulate cell-death signaling by the host. For hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, apoptosis and other forms of cell-death have been observed in vitro and in vivo but the detailed understanding of this intricate viral-host interplay is unclear. This study examined the role played by the HCV p7 protein in the induction of cell-death. By measuring caspase-3/7 activation and cleavage of endogenous PARP, two hallmarks of apoptosis, the overexpression of p7 protein was shown to induce apoptosis in Huh7.5 cells. Furthermore, p7-induced apoptosis is caspase-dependent and involves both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Similar to the M2 protein of influenza A virus, p7-induced apoptosis is independent of its ion channel activity. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments further showed that both M2 and p7 interact with the essential autophagy protein Beclin-1. However, only the M2 protein could cause an increase in the level of LC3-II, which is an indicator of autophagic activity. Thus, although the p7 protein is functionally similar to the well-characterized M2 protein, they differ in their activation of autophagic cell-death. Taken together, these results shed more light on the relationship between the HCV p7 ion channel protein and cell-death induction in host cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jude Juventus Aweya
- Department of Microbiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Health System (NUHS), National University of Singapore, Singapore
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Popescu CI, Rouillé Y, Dubuisson J. Hepatitis C virus assembly imaging. Viruses 2011; 3:2238-54. [PMID: 22163343 PMCID: PMC3230850 DOI: 10.3390/v3112238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2011] [Revised: 11/03/2011] [Accepted: 11/04/2011] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) assembly process is the least understood step in the virus life cycle. The functional data revealed by forward and reverse genetics indicated that both structural and non-structural proteins are involved in the assembly process. Using confocal and electron microscopy different groups determined the subcellular localization of different viral proteins and they identified the lipid droplets (LDs) as the potential viral assembly site. Here, we aim to review the mechanisms that govern the viral proteins recruitment to LDs and discuss the current model of HCV assembly process. Based on previous examples, this review will also discuss advanced imaging techniques as potential means to extend our present knowledge of HCV assembly process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costin-Ioan Popescu
- Institute of Biochemistry, The Romanian Academy, Splaiul Independentei 296, 060031 Bucharest 17, Romania
| | - Yves Rouillé
- Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille 59021, France; E-Mails: (Y.R.); (J.D.)
| | - Jean Dubuisson
- Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille 59021, France; E-Mails: (Y.R.); (J.D.)
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