1990 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Studies on the Mechanism of Infection and Replication of Hepatitis B Virus
| Project/Area Number |
63480159
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Virology
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
MATSUBARA Kenichi Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Osaka University (professor), 細胞工学センター, 教授 (20037394)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OCHIYA Takahiro Institute Molecular and Cellular Biology Osaka University (Research Associate), 細胞工学センター, 助手 (60192530)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1988 – 1990
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| Keywords | hepatitis B virus / replication / DNA polymerase / core protein / fusion polypeptide / packaging viral nucleic acid / packaging signal sequence |
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| Research Abstract |
In 1984 we have established a cell line that can be transfected by hepatitisB virus (HBV) DNA, and allows replication of this virus. Since then, many molecular biological studies with this virus have been done, but nothing has been understood as to the DNA polymerace (pol) production, and the mechanism where by viral nucleic acid is packaged into core. We have investigated into these two problems.
1. We asked whether HBV pol is synthesized as a core-pol fusion poly-peptide, as suggested from the viral genome structure. For this purpose, a mutant genome that cannot initiate core protein, but can synthesize pol protein was constructed and used for transfection studies. The results showed that pol activity was made in the absence of core protein synthesis, proving that production of core-pol fusion protein is not a prerequisite for pol production.
2. To obtain insights into packaging process of HBV genome nucleic acid into core particles, several deletion derivatives were constructed to see packaging ability. The results showed that the HBV genome carries a unique sequence to be recognized no packaging signal. This sequence was found not more than 75 nucleotide long.
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