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Positive and negative effects on translation of the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region
Lisa Wiklund1, Karin Spångberg, Stefan Schwartz
1Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Objectives:
To determine the role of the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region in viral mRNA translation in transfected cells and in cell extracts.
Study Design/Methods:
Noninfectious hepatitis C virus mini-genome RNAs with various deletions in the viral 3' untranslated region were transfected into cells or translated in vitro, and the translation efficiency was determined.
Results:
We have found that the presence of the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region modestly increases mRNA translation. The positive effect correlated with the binding of a 45-kDa cytoplasmic factor to the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region. Furthermore, the U-rich sequence in the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region inhibits translation of capped and polyadenylated mRNAs as a result of the hybridization.
Conclusions:
The modest effect of the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region on translation suggests that it does not play a major role in mRNA translation. The inhibitory effect of the hepatitis C virus 3' untranslated region on translation of polyadenylated mRNAs supports the notion that translation of hepatitis C virus mRNAs occurs independently of a polyA tail.
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