Regulation of Hepatitis B Virus Replication by Cyclin Docking Motifs in Core Protein

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid or core protein (HBc) consists of an N-terminal domain (NTD) and a C-terminal domain (CTD) connected by a short linker peptide. Dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of HBc regulate its multiple functions in capsid assembly and viral replication. The cellular cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) plays a major role in HBc phosphorylation and, furthermore, is incorporated into the viral capsid, accounting for most of the "endogenous kinase" activity associated with the capsid. The packaged CDK2 is thought to play a role in phosphorylating HBc to trigger nucleocapsid disassembly (uncoating), an essential step during viral infection. However, little is currently known on how CDK2 is recruited and packaged into the capsid. We have now identified three RXL motifs in the HBc NTD known as cyclin docking motifs (CDMs), which mediate the interactions of various CDK substrates/regulators with CDK/cyclin complexes. Mutations of the CDMs in the HBc NTD reduced CTD phosphorylation and diminished CDK2 packaging into the capsid. Also, the CDM mutations showed little effects on capsid assembly and pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) packaging but impaired the integrity of mature nucleocapsids. Furthermore, the CDM mutations blocked covalently closed circular DNA (CCC DNA) formation during infection while having no effect on or enhancing CCC DNA formation via intracellular amplification. These results indicate that the HBc NTD CDMs play a role in CDK2 recruitment and packaging, which, in turn, is important for productive infection.IMPORTANCE Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important global human pathogen and persistently infects hundreds of millions of people, who are at high risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. HBV capsid packages a host cell protein kinase, the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), which is thought to be required to trigger disassembly of the viral nucleocapsid during infection by phosphorylating the capsid protein, a prerequisite for successful infection. We have identified docking sites on the capsid protein for recruiting CDK2, in complex with its cyclin partner, to facilitate capsid protein phosphorylation and CDK2 packaging. Mutations of these docking sites reduced capsid protein phosphorylation, impaired CDK2 packaging into HBV capsids, and blocked HBV infection. These results provide novel insights regarding CDK2 packaging into HBV capsids and the role of CDK2 in HBV infection and should facilitate the development of antiviral drugs that target the HBV capsid protein.