Hepatitis C virus NS2/3 processing is required for NS3 stability and viral RNA replication

The hepatitis C virus NS2/3 protease is responsible for cleavage of the viral polyprotein between nonstructural proteins NS2 and NS3. We show here that mutation of three highly conserved residues in NS2 (His(952), Glu(972), and Cys(993)) abrogates NS2/3 protease activity and that introduction of any of these mutations into subgenomic NS2-5B replicons results in complete inactivation of NS2/3 processing and RNA replication in both stable and transient replication assays. The effect of uncleaved NS2 on the various activities of NS3 was therefore explored. Unprocessed NS2 had no significant effect on the in vitro ATPase and helicase activities of NS3, whereas immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated a decreased affinity of NS4A for uncleaved NS2/3 as compared with NS3. This subsequently resulted in reduced kinetics in an in vitro NS3 protease assay with the unprocessed NS2/3 protein. Interestingly, NS3 was still capable of efficient processing of the polyprotein expressed from a subgenomic replicon in Huh-7 cells in the presence of uncleaved NS2. Notably, we show that fusion with NS2 leads to the rapid degradation of NS3, whose activity is essential for RNA replication. Finally, we demonstrate that uncleaved NS2/3 degradation can be prevented by the addition of a proteasome inhibitor. We therefore propose that NS2/3 processing is a critical step in the viral life cycle and is required to permit the accumulation of sufficient NS3 for RNA replication to occur. The regulation of NS2/3 cleavage could constitute a novel mechanism of switching between viral RNA replication and other processes of the hepatitis C virus life cycle.     

In vitro processing of dengue virus type 2 nonstructural proteins NS2A, NS2B, and NS3.

We have tested the hypothesis that the flavivirus nonstructural protein NS3 is a viral proteinase that generates the termini of several nonstructural proteins by using an efficient in vitro expression system and monospecific antisera directed against the nonstructural proteins NS2B and NS3. A series of cDNA constructs was transcribed by using T7 RNA polymerase, and the RNA was translated in reticulocyte lysates. The resulting protein patterns indicated that proteolytic processing occurred in vitro to generate NS2B and NS3. The amino termini of NS2B and NS3 produced in vitro were found to be the same as the termini of NS2B and NS3 isolated from infected cells. Deletion analysis of cDNA constructs localized the protease domain within NS3 to the first 184 amino acids but did not eliminate the possibility that sequences within NS2B were also required for proper cleavage. Kinetic analysis of processing events in vitro and experiments to examine the sensitivity of processing to dilution suggested that an intramolecular cleavage between NS2A and NS2B preceded an intramolecular cleavage between NS2B and NS3. The data from these expression experiments confirm that NS3 is the viral proteinase responsible for cleavage events generating the amino termini of NS2B and NS3 and presumably for cleavages generating the termini of NS4A and NS5 as well.     

A Conserved NS3 Surface Patch Orchestrates NS2 Protease Stimulation,NS5A Hyperphosphorylation and HCV Genome Replication

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide. The HCV RNA genome is translated into a single polyprotein. Most of the cleavage sites in the non-structural (NS) polyprotein region are processed by the NS3/NS4A serine protease. The vital NS2-NS3 cleavage is catalyzed by the NS2 autoprotease. For efficient processing at the NS2/NS3 site, the NS2 cysteine protease depends on the NS3 serine protease domain. Despite its importance for the viral life cycle, the molecular details of the NS2 autoprotease activation by NS3 are poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of a conserved hydrophobic NS3 surface patch that is essential for NS2 protease activation. One residue within this surface region is also critical for RNA replication and NS5A hyperphosphorylation, two processes known to depend on functional replicase assembly. This dual function of the NS3 surface patch prompted us to reinvestigate the impact of the NS2-NS3 cleavage on NS5A hyperphosphorylation. Interestingly, NS2-NS3 cleavage turned out to be a prerequisite for NS5A hyperphosphorylation, indicating that this cleavage has to occur prior to replicase assembly. Based on our data, we propose a sequential cascade of molecular events: in uncleaved NS2-NS3, the hydrophobic NS3 surface patch promotes NS2 protease stimulation; upon NS2-NS3 cleavage, this surface region becomes available for functional replicase assembly. This model explains why efficient NS2-3 cleavage is pivotal for HCV RNA replication. According to our model, the hydrophobic surface patch on NS3 represents a module critically involved in the temporal coordination of HCV replicase assembly.     

Hyperphosphorylation of the hepatitis C virus NS5A protein requires an active NS3 protease, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5A encoded on the same polyprotein

The nonstructural protein NS5A of hepatitis c virus (HCV) has been demonstrated to be a phosphoprotein with an apparent molecular mass of 56 kDa. In the presence of other viral proteins, p56 is converted into a slower-migrating form of NS5A (p58) by additional phosphorylation events. In this report, we show that the presence of NS3, NS4A, and NS4B together with NS5A is necessary and sufficient for the generation of the hyperphosphorylated form of NS5A (p58) and that all proteins must be encoded on the same polyprotein (in cis). Kinetic studies of NS5A synthesis and pulse-chase experiments demonstrate that fully processed NS5A is the substrate for the formation of p58 and that p56 is converted to p58. To investigate the role of NS3 in NS5A hyperphosphorylation, point and deletion mutations were introduced into NS3 in the context of a polyprotein containing the proteins from NS3 to NS5A. Mutation of the catalytic serine residue into alanine abolished protease activity of NS3 and resulted in total inhibition of NS5A hyperphosphorylation, even if polyprotein processing was allowed by addition of NS3 and NS4A in trans. The same result was obtained by deletion of the first 10 or 28 N-terminal amino acids of NS3, which are known to be important for the formation of a stable complex between NS3 and its cofactor NS4A. These data suggest that the formation of p58 is closely connected to HCV polyprotein processing events. Additional data obtained with NS3 containing the 34 C-terminal residues of NS2 provide evidence that in addition to NS3 protease activity the authentic N-terminal sequence is required for NS5A hyperphosphorylation.     

Modulation of the nucleoside triphosphatase/RNA helicase and 5'-RNA triphosphatase activities of Dengue virus type 2 nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) by interaction with NS5, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

Dengue virus type 2 (DEN2), a member of the Flaviviridae family, is a re-emerging human pathogen of global significance. DEN2 nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) has a serine protease domain (NS3-pro) and requires the hydrophilic domain of NS2B (NS2BH) for activation. NS3 is also an RNA-stimulated nucleoside triphosphatase (NTPase)/RNA helicase and a 5'-RNA triphosphatase (RTPase). In this study the first biochemical and kinetic properties of full-length NS3 (NS3FL)-associated NTPase, RTPase, and RNA helicase are presented. The NS3FL showed an enhanced RNA helicase activity compared with the NS3-pro-minus NS3, which was further enhanced by the presence of the NS2BH (NS2BH-NS3FL). An active protease catalytic triad is not required for the stimulatory effect, suggesting that the overall folding of the N-terminal protease domain contributes to this enhancement. In DEN2-infected mammalian cells, NS3 and NS5, the viral 5'-RNA methyltransferase/polymerase, exist as a complex. Therefore, the effect of NS5 on the NS3 NTPase activity was examined. The results show that NS5 stimulated the NS3 NTPase and RTPase activities. The NS5 stimulation of NS3 NTPase was dose-dependent until an equimolar ratio was reached. Moreover, the conserved motif, 184RKRK, of NS3 played a crucial role in binding to RNA substrate and modulating the NTPase/RNA helicase and RTPase activities of NS3.     

Steady-state cleavage kinetics for dengue virus type 2 ns2b-ns3(pro) serine protease with synthetic peptides

The N-terminal part of the NS3 protein from dengue virus contains a trypsin-like serine protease responsible for processing the nonstructural region of the viral polyprotein. Enzymatic activity of the NS2B-NS3(pro) precursor incorporating a full-length NS2B cofactor of dengue virus type 2 was examined by using synthetic dodecamer peptide substrates encompassing native cleavage sequences of the NS2A/NS2B, NS2B/NS3, NS3/NS4A and NS4B/NS5 polyprotein junctions. Cleavage of the dansylated substrates was monitored by a HPLC-based assay and kinetic parameters for K(1M), k(cat) and k(cat)/K(m) were obtained. The data presented here show that NS2B-NS3(pro) expressed in recombinant E. coli can be renatured to an active protease which reacts in the absence of microsomal membranes with all 4 substrate peptides, albeit the molecule does not exhibit autoproteolytic processing at the NS2B/NS3 site. A marked difference in cleavage efficiency was found for the NS2B/NS3 substrate and the remaining 3 peptides based on the NS2A/NS2B, NS3/NS4A and NS4A/NS5 cleavage sites.     

Reovirus sigma NS protein localizes to inclusions through an association requiring the mu NS amino terminus

Cells infected with mammalian reoviruses contain phase-dense inclusions, called viral factories, in which viral replication and assembly are thought to occur. The major reovirus nonstructural protein mu NS forms morphologically similar phase-dense inclusions when expressed in the absence of other viral proteins, suggesting it is a primary determinant of factory formation. In this study we examined the localization of the other major reovirus nonstructural protein, sigma NS. Although sigma NS colocalized with mu NS in viral factories during infection, it was distributed diffusely throughout the cell when expressed in the absence of mu NS. When coexpressed with mu NS, sigma NS was redistributed and colocalized with mu NS inclusions, indicating that the two proteins associate in the absence of other viral proteins and suggesting that this association may mediate the localization of sigma NS to viral factories in infected cells. We have previously shown that mu NS residues 1 to 40 or 41 are both necessary and sufficient for mu NS association with the viral microtubule-associated protein mu 2. In the present study we found that this same region of micro NS is required for its association with sigma NS. We further dissected this region, identifying residues 1 to 13 of mu NS as necessary for association with sigma NS, but not with mu 2. Deletion of sigma NS residues 1 to 11, which we have previously shown to be required for RNA binding by that protein, resulted in diminished association of sigma NS with mu NS. Furthermore, when treated with RNase, a large portion of sigma NS was released from mu NS coimmunoprecipitates, suggesting that RNA contributes to their association. The results of this study provide further evidence that mu NS plays a key role in forming the reovirus factories and recruiting other components to them.     

Both nonstructural proteins NS2B and NS3 are required for the proteolytic processing of dengue virus nonstructural proteins.

The cleavages at the junctions of the flavivirus nonstructural (NS) proteins NS2A/NS2B, NS2B/NS3, NS3/NS4A, and NS4B/NS5 share an amino acid sequence motif and are presumably catalyzed by a virus-encoded protease. We constructed recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing various portions of the NS region of the dengue virus type 4 polyprotein. By analyzing immune precipitates of 35S-labeled lysates of recombinant virus-infected cells, we could monitor the NS2A/NS2B, NS2B/NS3, and NS3/NS4A cleavages. A polyprotein composed of NS2A, NS2B, and the N-terminal 184 amino acids of NS3 was cleaved at the NS2A/NS2B and NS2B/NS3 junctions, whereas a similar polyprotein containing only the first 77 amino acids of NS3 was not cleaved. This finding is consistent with the proposal that the N-terminal 180 amino acids of NS3 constitute a protease domain. Polyproteins containing NS2A and NS3 with large in-frame deletions of NS2B were not cleaved at the NS2A/NS2B or NS2B/NS3 junctions. Coinfection with a recombinant expressing NS2B complemented these NS2B deletions for NS2B/NS3 cleavage and probably also for NS2A/NS2B cleavage. Thus, NS2B is also required for the NS2A/NS2B and NS2B/NS3 cleavages and can act in trans. Other experiments showed that NS2B was needed, apparently in cis, for NS3/NS4A cleavage and for a series of internal cleavages in NS3. Indirect evidence that NS3 can also act in trans was obtained. Models are discussed for a two-component protease activity requiring both NS2B and NS3.     

Differential requirements of NS4A for internal NS3 cleavage and polyprotein processing of hepatitis C virus

The NS3 protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) possesses protease activity responsible for the proteolytic cleavage of the viral polyprotein at the junctions of nonstructural proteins downstream of NS3. The NS3 protein was also found to be internally cleaved. In this study, we demonstrated that internal cleavages occurred on the NS3 protein of genotype 1b in the presence of NS4A, both in culture cells and with a mouse model system. No internal cleavage products were detected with the NS3 and NS4A proteins of genotype 2a. Three potential cleavage sites were detected in the NS3 protein (genotype 1b), with IPT(402)|S being the major one. The internal cleavage requires the polyprotein processing activity of NS3 protease, but when supplemented in trans, the internal cleavage efficiency is reduced. In addition, several mutations in NS4A disrupted the internal cleavage of NS3 but did not affect polyprotein processing, indicating that NS4A contributes differently to these two proteolytic activities. Furthermore, Ile-25, Val-26, and Ile-29 of the NS4A protein, important for the NS4A-dependent internal cleavages, were also shown to be critical for the transforming activity of NS3, but mutations at these critical residues resulted only in a slight increase of HCV replicating efficiency. The internal cleavage-associated enhancement of the transforming activity of NS3 was reduced when a T402A substitution at the major internal cleavage site was introduced. The multiple roles of NS4A in viral multiplication and pathogenesis make NS4A an ideal molecular target for HCV therapy.     

Mechanistic role of NS4A and substrate in the activation of HCV NS3 protease

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease is the key enzyme for its maturation. Three hypotheses have been advanced in the literature to demonstrate the mechanism of the activation of the HCV NS3 protease. A virus-encoded protein NS4A and substrate are proposed to be involved in the activation of the HCV NS3 protease. However, the three hypotheses are not completely consistent with one another. Multiple molecular dynamics simulations were performed on various NS3 protease systems: free NS3 protease, NS3/4A, NS3/inhibitor, and NS3/4A/inhibitor complexes, to further unravel the mechanism of the activation of the NS3 protease. Simulation results suggest that the binding of NS4A induces a classic serine protease conformation of the catalytic triad of the NS3 protease. NS4A rearranges the secondary structure of both the N-terminus and catalytic site of the NS3 protease, reduces the mobility of the global structure of the NS3 protease, especially the catalytic site, and provides a rigid and tight structure, except for the S1 pocket, for the binding and hydrolysis of substrates. The binding of substrate also contributes to the activation of the NS3 protease by an induced-fit of the classic serine protease catalytic triad. However, the global structure of the NS3 protease is still loose and highly flexible without stable secondary structural elements, such as helix α0 at the N-terminus and helix α1 and β-sheet E1-F1 at the catalytic site. The structure of the NS3 protease without NS4A is not suitable for the binding and hydrolysis of substrates.     

Stimulation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) helicase activity by the NS3 protease domain and by HCV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) possesses multiple enzyme activities. The N-terminal one-third of NS3 primarily functions as a serine protease, while the remaining two-thirds of NS3 serve as a helicase and nucleoside triphosphatase. Whether the multiple enzyme activities of NS3 are functionally interdependent and/or modulated by other viral NS proteins remains unclear. We performed biochemical studies to examine the functional interdependence of the NS3 protease and helicase domains and the modulation of NS3 helicase by NS5B, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). We found that the NS3 protease domain of the full-length NS3 (NS3FL) enhances the NS3 helicase activity. Additionally, HCV RdRp stimulates the NS3FL helicase activity by more than sevenfold. However, the helicase activity of the NS3 helicase domain was unaffected by HCV RdRp. Glutathione S-transferase pull-down as well as fluorescence anisotropy results revealed that the NS3 protease domain is required for specific NS3 and NS5B interaction. These findings suggest that HCV RdRp regulates the functions of NS3 during HCV replication. In contrast, NS3FL does not increase NS5B RdRp activity in vitro, which is contrary to a previously published report that the HCV NS3 enhances NS5B RdRp activity.     

The N-terminal region of hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) is essential for stable complex formation with NS4A.

Hepatitis C virus proteins are produced by proteolytic processing of the viral precursor polyprotein that is encoded in the largest open reading frame of the viral genome. Processing of the nonstructural viral polyprotein requires the viral serine-type proteinase present in nonstructural protein 3 (NS3). The cleavage of the junction between NS4B and NS5A is mediated by NS3 only when NS4A is present. NS4A is thought to be a cofactor that enhances the cleavage efficiency of NS3 in hepatitis C virus protein-producing cells. Stable NS3-NS4A complex formation required the N-terminal 22 amino acid residues of NS3. This interaction contributed to stabilization of the NS3 product as well as increased the efficiency of cleavage at the NS4B/5A site. The N-terminal 22 amino acid residues fused to Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase also formed a stable complex with NS4A. NS3 derivatives which lacked the N-terminal 22 amino acid residues showed drastically reduced cleavage activity at the NS4B/5A site even in the presence of NS4A. These data suggested that the interaction with NS4A through the 22 amino acid residues of NS3 is primarily important for the NS4A-dependent processing of the NS4B/5A site by NS3.     

Multiple functional domains and complexes of the two nonstructural proteins of human respiratory syncytial virus contribute to interferon suppression and cellular location

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major cause of severe respiratory diseases, efficiently suppresses cellular innate immunity, represented by type I interferon (IFN), using its two unique nonstructural proteins, NS1 and NS2. In a search for their mechanism, NS1 was previously shown to decrease levels of TRAF3 and IKKε, whereas NS2 interacted with RIG-I and decreased TRAF3 and STAT2. Here, we report on the interaction, cellular localization, and functional domains of these two proteins. We show that recombinant NS1 and NS2, expressed in lung epithelial A549 cells, can form homo- as well as heteromers. Interestingly, when expressed alone, substantial amounts of NS1 and NS2 localized to the nuclei and to the mitochondria, respectively. However, when coexpressed with NS2, as in RSV infection, NS1 could be detected in the mitochondria as well, suggesting that the NS1-NS2 heteromer localizes to the mitochondria. The C-terminal tetrapeptide sequence, DLNP, common to both NS1 and NS2, was required for some functions, but not all, whereas only the NS1 N-terminal region was important for IKKε reduction. Finally, NS1 and NS2 both interacted specifically with host microtubule-associated protein 1B (MAP1B). The contribution of MAP1B in NS1 function was not tested, but in NS2 it was essential for STAT2 destruction, suggesting a role of the novel DLNP motif in protein-protein interaction and IFN suppression.     

Expression and purification of an active, full-length hepatitis C viral NS4A

The nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a bifunctional protein with protease and helicase activities. Nonstructural protein 4A (NS4A) is preceded by NS3 and augments the proteolytic activity of NS3 through protein-protein interaction. The central domain of NS4A has been shown to be sufficient for the enhancement of the NS3 protease activity. However, investigations on the roles of the N-terminal and the C-terminal regions of NS4A have been hampered by the difficulty of purification of full-length NS4A, a polypeptide that contains highly hydrophobic amino acid residues. Here we report a procedure by which one can produce and purify an active, full-length NS4A using maltose-binding protein fusion method. The full-length NS4A fused to the maltose binding protein is soluble and maintains its NS3 protease-enhancing activity.     

Modulation of hepatitis C virus NS3 protease and helicase activities through the interaction with NS4A

The hepatitis C virus nonstructural 3 protein (NS3) possesses a serine protease activity in the N-terminal one-third, whereas RNA-stimulated NTPase and helicase activities reside in the C-terminal portion. The serine protease activity is required for proteolytic processing at the NS3-NS4A, NS4A-NS4B, NS4B-NS5A, and NS5A-NS5B polyprotein cleavage sites. NS3 forms a complex with NS4A, a 54-residue polypeptide that was shown to act as an essential cofactor of the NS3 protease. We have expressed in Escherichia coli the NS3-NS4A precursor; cleavage at the junction between NS3 and NS4A occurs during expression in the bacteria cells, resulting in the formation of a soluble noncovalent complex with a sub-nanomolar dissociation constant. We have assessed the minimal ionic strength and detergent and glycerol concentrations required for maximal proteolytic activity and stability of the purified NS3-NS4A complex. Using a peptide substrate derived from the NS5A-NS5B junction, the catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of NS3-NS4A-associated protease under optimized conditions was 55 000 s-1 M-1, very similar to that measured with a recombinant complex purified from eukaryotic cells. Dissociation of the NS3-NS4A complex was found to be fully reversible. No helicase activity was exhibited by the purified NS3-NS4A complex, but NS3 was fully active as a helicase upon dissociation of NS4A. On the other hand, both basal and poly(U)-induced NTPase activity and ssRNA binding activity associated with the NS3-NS4A complex were very similar to those exhibited by NS3 alone. Therefore, NS4A appears to uncouple the ATPase/ssRNA binding and RNA unwinding activities associated with NS3.     

RNA unwinding activity of the hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase is modulated by the NS5B polymerase

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 170 million persons worldwide. It is the leading cause of liver disease in the U.S. and is responsible for most liver transplants. Current treatments for this infectious disease are inadequate; therefore, new therapies must be developed. Several labs have obtained evidence for a protein complex that involves many of the nonstructural (NS) proteins encoded by the virus. NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B appear to interact structurally and functionally. In this study, we investigated the interaction between the helicase, NS3, and the RNA polymerase, NS5B. Pull-down experiments and surface plasmon resonance data indicate a direct interaction between NS3 and NS5B that is primarily mediated through the protease domain of NS3. This interaction reduces the basal ATPase activity of NS3. However, NS5B stimulates product formation in RNA unwinding experiments under conditions of excess nucleic acid substrate. When the concentrations of NS3 and NS5B are in excess of nucleic acid substrate, NS5B reduces the rate of NS3-catalyzed unwinding. Under pre-steady-state conditions, in which NS3 and substrate concentrations are similar, product formation increased in the presence of NS5B. The increase was consistent with 1:1 complex formed between the two proteins. A fluorescently labeled form of NS3 was used to investigate this interaction through fluorescence polarization binding assays. Results from this assay support interactions that include a 1:1 complex formed between NS3 and NS5B. The modulation of NS3 by NS5B suggests that these proteins may function together during replication of the HCV genome.     

NS1-binding protein abrogates the elevation of cell viability by the influenza A virus NS1 protein in association with CRKL

The influenza A virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is a multifunctional virulence factor consisting of an RNA binding domain and several Src-homology (SH) 2 and SH3 binding motifs, which promotes virus replication in the host cell and helps to evade antiviral immunity. NS1 modulates general host cell physiology in association with various cellular molecules including NS1-binding protein (NS1-BP) and signaling adapter protein CRK-like (CRKL), while the physiological role of NS1-BP during influenza A virus infection especially in association with NS1 remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed the intracellular association of NS1-BP, NS1 and CRKL to elucidate the physiological roles of these molecules in the host cell. In HEK293T cells, enforced expression of NS1 of A/Beijing (H1N1) and A/Indonesia (H5N1) significantly induced excessive phosphorylation of ERK and elevated cell viability, while the over-expression of NS1-BP and the abrogation of CRKL using siRNA abolished such survival effect of NS1. The pull-down assay using GST-fusion CRKL revealed the formation of intracellular complexes of NS1-BP, NS1 and CRKL. In addition, we identified that the N-terminus SH3 domain of CRKL was essential for binding to NS1-BP using GST-fusion CRKL-truncate mutants. This is the first report to elucidate the novel function of NS1-BP collaborating with viral protein NS1 in modulation of host cell physiology. In addition, an alternative role of adaptor protein CRKL in association with NS1 and NS1-BP during influenza A virus infection is demonstrated.     

A novel recombinant single-chain hepatitis C virus NS3-NS4A protein with improved helicase activity.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) has been shown to possess protease and helicase activities and has also been demonstrated to spontaneously associate with nonstructural protein NS4A (NS4A) to form a stable complex. Previous attempts to produce the NS3/NS4A complex in recombinant baculovirus resulted in a protein complex that aggregated and precipitated in the absence of nonionic detergent and high salt. A single-chain form of the NS3/NS4A complex (His-NS4A21-32-GSGS-NS3-631) was constructed in which the NS4A core peptide is fused to the N-terminus of the NS3 protease domain as previously described (Taremi et al., 1998). This protein contains a histidine tagged NS4A peptide (a.a. 21-32) fused to the full-length NS3 (a.a. 3-631) through a flexible tetra amino acid linker. The recombinant protein was expressed to high levels in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity, and examined for NTPase, nucleic acid unwinding, and proteolytic activities. The single-chain recombinant NS3-NS4A protein possesses physiological properties equivalent to those of the NS3/NS4A complex except that this novel construct is stable, soluble and sixfold to sevenfold more active in unwinding duplex RNA. Comparison of the helicase activity of the single-chain recombinant NS3-NS4A with that of the full-length NS3 (without NS4A) and that of the helicase domain alone suggested that the presence of the protease domain and at least the NS4A core peptide are required for optimal unwinding activity.     

Langat flavivirus protease NS3 binds caspase-8 and induces apoptosis

The flavivirus NS3 protein plays an important role in the cleavage and processing of the viral polyprotein and in the synthesis of the viral RNA. NS3 recruits NS2B and NS5 proteins to form complexes possessing protease and replicase activities through protease and nucleoside triphosphatase/helicase domains. We have found that NS3 also induces apoptosis. Expression of the Langat (LGT) virus NS3 protein resulted in a cleavage of cellular DNA and reduced the viability of cells. Coexpression of NS3 with apoptotic inhibitors (CrmA and P35) and addition of caspase peptide substrates (Z-VAD-FMK and Z-IETD-FMK) to NS3-transfected cells blocked NS3-induced apoptosis. In cotransfection experiments, NS3 bound to caspase-8 and enhanced caspase-8-mediated apoptosis. NS3 and caspase-8 colocalized in the cytoplasm of transfected cells. Deletion analysis demonstrated that at least two regions of NS3 contribute to its apoptotic activities. The protease and helicase domains are each able to bind to caspase-8, while the protease domain alone induces apoptosis. The protease domain and tetrahelix region of the helicase domain are required for NS3 to augment caspase-8-mediated apoptosis. Thus, the LGT virus NS3 protein is a multifunctional protein that binds to caspase-8 and induces apoptosis.