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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Lipid Droplet Isolation for Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Analysis
Published on: April 17, 2017
The hepatitis C virus 3'-untranslated region or a poly(A) tract promote efficient translation subsequent to the
Shelton S Bradrick1, Robert W Walters, Matthias Gromeier
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
Enhancement of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) translation initiation by the 3' poly(A) tail is mediated through interaction of poly(A)-binding protein with eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4G, bridging the 5' terminal cap structure. In contrast to cellular mRNA, translation of the uncapped, non-polyadenylated hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome occurs independently of eIF4G and a role for 3'-untranslated sequences in modifying HCV gene expression is controversial. Utilizing cell-based and in vitro translation assays, we show that the HCV 3'-untranslated region (UTR) or a 3' poly(A) tract of sufficient length interchangeably stimulate translation dependent upon the HCV internal ribosomal entry site (IRES). However, in contrast to cap-dependent translation, the rate of initiation at the HCV IRES was unaffected by 3'-untranslated sequences. Analysis of post-initiation events revealed that the 3' poly(A) tract and HCV 3'-UTR improve translation efficiency by enabling termination and possibly ribosome recycling for successive rounds of translation.
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