Mutational analysis of hepatitis C virus NS3-associated helicase

Nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) of hepatitis C virus contains a bipartite structure consisting of an N-terminal serine protease and a C-terminal DEXH box helicase. To investigate the roles of individual amino acid residues in the overall mechanism of unwinding, a mutational-functional analysis was performed based on a molecular model of the NS3 helicase domain bound to ssDNA, which has largely been confirmed by a recently published crystal structure of the NS3 helicase-ssDNA complex. Three full-length mutated NS3 proteins containing Tyr(392)Ala, Val(432)Gly and Trp(501)Ala single substitutions, respectively, together with a Tyr(392)Ala/Trp(501)Ala double-substituted protein were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. All individually mutated forms showed a reduction in duplex unwinding activity, single-stranded polynucleotide binding capacity and polynucleotide-stimulated ATPase activity compared to wild-type, though to different extents. Simultaneous replacement of both Tyr(392) and Trp(501) with Ala completely abolished all these enzymatic functions. On the other hand, the introduced amino acid substitutions had no influence on NS3 intrinsic ATPase activity and proteolytic efficiency. The results obtained with Trp(501)Ala and Val(432)Gly single-substituted enzymes are in agreement with a recently proposed model for NS3 unwinding activity. The mutant phenotype of the Tyr(392)Ala and Tyr(392)Ala/Trp(501)Ala enzymes, however, represents a completely novel finding.