Human Hepatitis B Virus Polymerase Interacts with the Molecular Chaperonin Hsp60

Previous studies showed that hepatitis B virus polymerase (HBV Pol) interacts with host factors such as the Hsp90 complex, which is a critical step in viral genome replication. In this report, we propose that another chaperone, Hsp60, interacts with human HBV Pol and that this is a very important step for maturation of human HBV Pol into the active state. In the immunoprecipitation of recombinant human HBV Pol expressed in insect cells with the recombinant baculovirus expression system, the 60-kDa protein was coimmunoprecipitated with Pol and the protein was identified as Hsp60 through peptide sequencing and immunogenic analysis with an anti-Hsp60 antibody. In vitro experiments showed that Hsp60 strongly affected human HBV Pol activity in that (i) blocking of Hsp60 by the protein-specific antibody reduced human HBV Pol activity, (ii) the activity was increased by addition of Hsp60 in the presence of ATP, and (iii) ATP synergistically activated human HBV Pol with Hsp60. In vivo experiments showed that inhibition of Hsp60 in cells by a mutant Hsp60, C Delta 540, resulted in the reduction of human HBV Pol activity. In summary, our results indicate that the interaction is significant for conversion of human HBV Pol into the active state.