Up-Regulation of Hepatitis C Virus Replication and Production by Inhibition of MEK/ERK Signaling |
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| Authors: | Jean Ndjomou In-woo Park Ying Liu Lindsey D Mayo Johnny J He |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.; 2. Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.; 3. Center for AIDS Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.;Pohang University of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundViruses interact with and exploit the host cellular machinery for their multiplication and propagation. The MEK/ERK signaling pathway positively regulates replication of many RNA viruses. However, whether and how this signaling pathway affects hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication and production is not well understood.Methods and ResultsIn this study, we took advantage of two well-characterized MEK/ERK inhibitors and MEK/ERK dominant negative mutants and investigated the roles of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway in HCV gene expression and replication. We showed that inhibition of MEK/ERK signaling enhanced HCV gene expression, plus- and minus-strand RNA synthesis, and virus production. In addition, we showed that this enhancement was independent of interferon-α (IFN-α) antiviral activity and did not require prior activation of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Furthermore, we showed that only MEK and ERK-2 but not ERK-1 was involved in HCV replication, likely through regulation of HCV RNA translation.ConclusionsTaken together, these results demonstrate a negative regulatory role of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway in HCV replication and suggest a potential risk in targeting this signaling pathway to treat and prevent neoplastic transformation of HCV-infected liver cells. |
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