The lipid droplet (LD) is an organelle that is used for the storage of neutral lipids. It dynamically moves through the cytoplasm, interacting with other organelles, including the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These interactions are thought to facilitate the transport of lipids and proteins to other organelles. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a causative agent of chronic liver diseases. HCV capsid protein (Core) associates with the LD, envelope proteins E1 and E2 reside in the ER lumen, and the viral replicase is assumed to localize on ER-derived membranes. How and where HCV particles are assembled, however, is poorly understood. Here, we show that the LD is involved in the production of infectious virus particles. We demonstrate that Core recruits nonstructural (NS) proteins and replication complexes to LD-associated membranes, and that this recruitment is critical for producing infectious viruses. Furthermore, virus particles were observed in close proximity to LDs, indicating that some steps of virus assembly take place around LDs. This study reveals a novel function of LDs in the assembly of infectious HCV and provides a new perspective on how viruses usurp cellular functions.

Retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cytokine production induced by pathogens. The RIG-I also augments the production of IFN and other cytokines via an amplification circuit. Because the production of cytokines is closely controlled, up-and down-regulation of RIG-I signaling also needs strict regulation. The mechanism of this regulation, however, remains elusive. Here, we found that RIG-I undergoes proteasomal degradation after conjugation to ubiquitin by RNF125. Further, RNF125 conjugates ubiquitin to MDA5, a family protein of RIG-I as well as IPS-1, which is also a downstream protein of RIG-I signaling that results in suppressing the functions of these proteins. Because RNF125 is enhanced by IFN, these functions constitute a negative regulatory loop circuit for IFN production.innate immunity ͉ signal transduction

Dengue virus (DENV) is one of the most important arthropod-borne pathogens that cause life-threatening diseases in humans. However, no vaccine or specific antiviral is available for dengue. As seen in other RNA viruses, the innate immune system plays a key role in controlling DENV infection and disease outcome. Although the interferon (IFN) response, which is central to host protective immunity, has been reported to limit DENV replication, the molecular details of how DENV infection is modulated by IFN treatment are elusive. In this study, by employing a gain-of-function screen using a type I IFN-treated cell-derived cDNA library, we identified a previously uncharacterized gene, C19orf66, as an IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) that inhibits DENV replication, which we named Repressor of yield of DENV (RyDEN). Overexpression and gene knockdown experiments revealed that expression of RyDEN confers resistance to all serotypes of DENV in human cells. RyDEN expression also limited the replication of hepatitis C virus, Kunjin virus, Chikungunya virus, herpes simplex virus type 1, and human adenovirus. Importantly, RyDEN was considered to be a crucial effector molecule in the IFN-mediated anti-DENV response. When affinity purification-mass spectrometry analysis was performed, RyDEN was revealed to form a complex with cellular mRNA-binding proteins, poly(A)-binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1), and La motif-related protein 1 (LARP1). Interestingly, PABPC1 and LARP1 were found to be positive modulators of DENV replication. Since RyDEN influenced intracellular events on DENV replication and, suppression of protein synthesis from DENV-based reporter construct RNA was also observed in RyDEN-expressing cells, our data suggest that RyDEN is likely to interfere with the translation of DENV via interaction with viral RNA and cellular mRNA-binding proteins, resulting in the inhibition of virus replication in infected cells.

Recently, a production system for infectious particles of hepatitis C virus (HCV) utilizing the genotype 2a JFH1 strain has been developed. This strain has a high capacity for replication in the cells. Cyclosporine (CsA) has a suppressive effect on HCV replication. In this report, we characterize the anti-HCV effect of CsA. We observe that the presence of viral structural proteins does not influence the anti-HCV activity of CsA. Among HCV strains, the replication of genotype 1b replicons was strongly suppressed by treatment with CsA. In contrast, JFH1 replication was less sensitive to CsA and its analog, NIM811. Replication of JFH1 did not require the cellular replication cofactor, cyclophilin B (CyPB). CyPB stimulated the RNA binding activity of NS5B in the genotype 1b replicon but not the genotype 2a JFH1 strain. These findings provide an insight into the mechanisms of diversity governing virus-cell interactions and in the sensitivity of these strains to antiviral agents.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a causative agent of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV in circulating blood associates with lipoproteins such as very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Although these associations suggest that lipoproteins are important for HCV infectivity, the roles of lipoproteins in HCV production and infectivity are not fully understood. To clarify the roles of lipoprotein in the HCV life cycle, we analyzed the effect of apolipoprotein E (ApoE), a component of lipoprotein, on virus production and infectivity. The production of infectious HCV was significantly reduced by the knockdown of ApoE. When an ApoE mutant that fails to be secreted into the culture medium was used, the amount of infectious HCV in the culture medium was dramatically reduced; the infectious HCV accumulated inside these cells, suggesting that infectious HCV must associate with ApoE prior to virus release. We performed rescue experiments in which ApoE isoforms were ectopically expressed in cells depleted of endogenous ApoE. The ectopic expression of the ApoE2 isoform, which has low affinity for the LDL receptor (LDLR), resulted in poor recovery of infectious HCV, whereas the expression of other isoforms, ApoE3 and ApoE4, rescued the production of infectious virus, raising it to an almost normal level. Furthermore, we found that the infectivity of HCV required both the LDLR and scavenger receptor class B, member I (SR-BI), ligands for ApoE. These findings indicate that ApoE is an essential apolipoprotein for HCV infectivity.