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Subcellular localisation of NS3 in HCV‐infected hepatocytes
Author(s) -
Errington William,
Wardell Andrew D.,
McDonald Sarah,
Goldin Robert D.,
McGarvey Michael J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199912)59:4<456::aid-jmv6>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - ns3 , cytoplasm , virology , hepatitis c virus , protease , virus , viral replication , hepacivirus , nucleus , biology , cell , microbiology and biotechnology , enzyme , biochemistry
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 is a multifunctional protein with both protease and helicase activities and has been shown to interact with host cell proteins. It is shown that NS3 is present in the hepatocytes from patients with chronic HCV infection by using anti‐NS3 antisera. NS3 is detectable in approximately 4% of the hepatocytes from these patients. In most infected cells, NS3 is present in the cytoplasm; however, in a minority of HCV‐infected cells, both the cytoplasm and the nucleus or the nucleus on its own are positive for NS3. The presence of NS3 in the nuclei of hepatocytes in chronically infected patients indicates that the protein may play a role other than in virus replication, such as in persistence of HCV infection. J. Med. Virol. 59:456–462, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.