Identification of the Interaction between Minichromosome Maintenance Proteins and the Core Protein of Hepatitis B Virus

Abstract

Chronic HBV infection is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Finding host factors involved in the viral life cycle and elucidating their mechanisms is essential for developing innovative strategies for treating HBV. The HBV core protein has pleiotropic roles in HBV replication; thus, finding the interactions between the core protein and host factors is important in clarifying the mechanism of viral infection and proliferation. Recent studies have revealed that core proteins are involved in cccDNA formation, transcriptional regulation, and RNA metabolism, in addition to their primary functions of capsid formation and pgRNA packaging. Here, we report the interaction of the core protein with MCMs, which have an essential role in host DNA replication. The knockdown of MCM2 led to increased viral replication during infection, suggesting that MCM2 serves as a restriction factor for HBV proliferation. This study opens the possibility of elucidating the relationship between core proteins and host factors and their function in viral proliferation.

Identification of Host Proteins Involved in Hepatitis B Virus Genome Packaging

“…Comprehensive literature research of the proteins enriched in LJ144 pgRNA in either comparison found that over 60 of the proteins have previously been identified as effectors of the HBV life cycle (Table and Supporting Table 5). − Some interactors, such as HSP90AB1 and LIG1, are required for essential aspects of the viral life cycles: reverse transcription and cccDNA conversion, respectively. , Other interactors, such as HNRNPK and AURKA, are associated with increased viral replication efficiency. , We also identified antiviral factors including Z3CHAV1 and SACM1L. , Two of the proteins, EIF4E and PPP1CA, are known to be packaged into capsids. , The identification of these known important host proteins provides further support indicating an effective characterization of the pgRNA interactome.…”