常见肝炎病毒感染性疾病相关miRNA功能研究进展

病毒感染引发的疾病一直威胁着人类健康。Mi RNA是真核生物表达的一类重要的小分子RNA,可特异性的调节基因与蛋白的表达。mi RNA的研究为病毒性疾病的发生发展提供了新思路,为目前热点研究领域。随着mi RNA的研究深入,一些病毒感染中相关mi RNA的功能也被相继报道,如有些mi RNA具有抑制病毒感染宿主细胞的功能,有些mi RNA则可促进病毒在宿主细胞中的复制,有些mi RNA却参与病毒相关疾病的发生,还有些mi RNA则可作为病毒感染性疾病的特异性生物标志物。本文主要以两种常见肝炎病毒:HBV、HCV为例来系统阐述mi RNA在病毒感染中的相关功能。     

The pre-transmembrane region of the HCV E1 envelope glycoprotein: Interaction with model membranes

The previously identified membranotropic regions of the HCV E1 envelope glycoprotein, a class II membrane fusion protein, permitted us to identify different sequences which might be implicated in viral membrane fusion, membrane interaction and/or protein-protein binding. HCV E1 glycoprotein presents a membrano-active region immediately adjacent to the transmembrane segment, which could be involved in membrane destabilization similarly to the pre-transmembrane domains of class I fusion proteins. Consequently, we have carried out a study of the binding and interaction with the lipid bilayer of a peptide corresponding to segment 309-340, peptide E1_PTM, as well as the structural changes which take place in both the peptide and the phospholipid molecules induced by the binding of the peptide to the membrane. Here we demonstrate that peptide E1_PTM strongly partitions into phospholipid membranes, interacts with negatively-charged phospholipids and locates in a shallow position in the membrane. These data support its role in HCV-mediated membrane fusion and suggest that the mechanism of membrane fusion elicited by class I and II fusion proteins might be similar.