The production of the alphavirus virion is a multistep event requiring the assembly of the nucleocapsid core in the cytoplasm and the maturation of the glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. These components associate during the budding process to produce the mature virion. The nucleocapsid proteins of Sindbis virus and Ross River virus have been produced in a T7-ba...

DNA synthesis within the hepatitis B virus (HBV) nucleocapsid appears to be coupled to nucleocapsid envelopment. The nature of the envelopment signal is unknown, but is thought to involve a conformational change at the surface of the capsid that facilitates interaction with HBV envelope proteins. In binding assays in vitro, it was found that empty HBV core particles bound synthetic peptides cor...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleocapsid protein is a major structural component of the virion core and a key factor involved in proviral DNA synthesis and virus formation. 2,2'-Dithiobenzamides (DIBA-1) and related compounds that are inhibitors of NCp7 are thought to eject zinc ions from NCp7 zinc fingers, inhibiting the maturation of virion proteins. Here, we show that the presence of...

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem which influences about 170 million people worldwide. Different types of vaccines have been designed using HCV structural proteins to control the viral infection. The core nucleocapsid protein is one of the most conserved proteins and a desirable target for HCV vaccines, especially the protein-based vaccines. In cur...

UNLABELLED Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an important human and animal pathogen, for which no safe and efficient vaccines or therapeutic means have been developed. Viral particle assembly and budding processes represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention. However, our understanding of the mechanistic process of VEEV assembly, RNA encapsidation, and the roles of diff...

introduction: hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection is a major public health problem which influences about 170 million people worldwide. different types of vaccines have been designed using hcv structural proteins to control the viral infection. the core nucleocapsid protein is one of the most conserved proteins and a desirable target for hcv vaccines, especially the protein-based vaccines. in cur...

The building block of hepatitis C virus (HCV) nucleocapsid, the core protein, together with viral RNA, is composed of different domains involved in RNA binding and homo-oligomerization. The HCV core protein 1-169 (C(HCV)169) and its N-terminal region from positions 1 to 117 (C(HCV)117) were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity suitable for biochemical and biophysical charac...

The structure of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been characterized in great detail (Tiollais & Buendia, 1991). HBV belongs to a group of hepatotropic DNA viruses (hepadnaviruses) that includes the hepatitis viruses of the woodchuck (Summers et al., 1978), ground squirrel (Marion et al., 1980), Pekin duck (Mason et al., 1980) and heron (Sprengel et al., 1988). HBV is a smaII virus, about 42 nm in d...

One of the major structural proteins of vesicular stomatitis virus is a small, nonglycosylated, matrix protein which associates with the nucleocapsid core during final stages of morphogenesis and budding. Biochemical and genetic studies suggested that the matrix protein regulates RNA synthesis both in vitro and in vivo. We have purified biologically active matrix protein from the virus and have...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein, in addition to its structural role to form the nucleocapsid assembly, plays a critical role in HCV pathogenesis by interfering in several cellular processes, including microRNA and mRNA homeostasis. The C-terminal truncated HCV core protein (C124) is intrinsically unstructured in solution and is able to interact with unspecific nucleic acids, in ...