Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a bullet-shaped rhabdovirus and a model system of negative-strand RNA viruses. Through direct visualization by means of cryo-electron microscopy, we show that each virion contains two nested, left-handed helices: an outer helix of matrix protein M and an inner helix of nucleoprotein N and RNA. M has a hub domain with four contact sites that link to neighborin...

Hepatitis B virus consists of an outer envelope and an inner capsid, or core, that wraps around the small genome plus the viral replication enzyme. The icosahedrally symmetric nucleocapsid is assembled from multiple dimeric subunits of a single 183-residue capsid protein, which must therefore contain interfaces for monomer dimerization and for dimer multimerization. The atomic structure of the ...

In order to characterize the hepatitis B virus (HBV) hepatocellular receptor, several proteins have previously been identified in HepG2 hepatoma cells and in primary cultured normal human hepatocytes (PCHs) that reacted with an anti-idiotypic antibody against a preS1(21-47)-specific MAb (F35.25). Here, we report the identification of one of these preS1-binding proteins, a 35 kDa protein (preS1-...

Pulse-chase labeling and cell fractionation were used to examine the pathways taken by the three nucleocapsid polypeptide species of vesicular stomatitis virus into nucleocapsids and then into virions. An improved method of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis resolved nucleocapsid polypeptides N and NS from cellular actin, facilitating accurate quantitation of the viral polypeptides. Contrary to...

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an enveloped virus that is about 50-70 nm in diameter, has positive-strand RNA, and belongs to the genus Hepacivirus and the family Flaviridae. The detection and quantification of the core antigen, HCV nucleocapsid protein, has been successful in many trials and is considered a marker of viral replication since it presents a sequence of highly conserved amino acid...

The nucleocapsid protein (NC) from the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity for structural studies by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The protein contains two copies of a conserved zinc-coordinating "CCHC array" or "zinc knuckle" motif common to the nucleocapsid proteins of nearly all known retroviruses. The resid...

Several studies have demonstrated that cytokine-mediated noncytopathic suppression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication may provide an alternative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection. In our previous study, we showed that transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) could effectively suppress HBV replication at physiological concentrations. Here, we provide mo...

The genome of measles virus is encapsidated by multiple copies of the nucleoprotein (N), forming helical nucleocapsids of molecular mass approaching 150 Megadalton. The intrinsically disordered C-terminal domain of N (N(TAIL)) is essential for transcription and replication of the virus via interaction with the phosphoprotein P of the viral polymerase complex. The molecular recognition element (...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is a major causative agent of blood-borne hepatitis, has chronically infected about 170 million individuals worldwide and leads to chronic infection, resulting in development of steatosis, cirrhosis, and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma associated with HCV infection is not only caused by chronic inflammation, but also by the biological...