Investigation of the expression of Bin1, a putative suppressor, in human hepatoma cells

The SH3 binding motif of HCV [corrected] NS5A protein interacts with Bin1 and is important for apoptosis and infectivity

BACKGROUND & AIMS

HCV nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) has been implicated in regulating cell growth and interferon response. The NS5A protein contains proline-rich regions that are highly conserved among HCV genotypes and match Src homology 3 (SH3)-binding motifs (PxxP) found in various cellular signaling molecules.

METHODS

We screened for HCV NS5A interacting proteins by using the yeast 2-hybrid system and studied the functional consequence of this interaction.

RESULTS

Several independent clones containing SH3 domains were isolated along with Bin1, a tumor suppressor with pro-apoptotic properties, being the most frequently identified clone. The protein-protein interaction between NS5A and Bin1 was confirmed by in vitro binding, in vivo co-immunoprecipitation, and confocal microscopy. Deletion and mutation analyses indicated that the SH3 binding motif of HCV NS5A and SH3 domain of Bin1 are essential for interaction. Human hepatoma (HepG2) cells lacking expression of Bin1 undergo apoptosis upon infection with adeno-Bin1. Bin1-induced apoptosis was inhibited in HepG2 cells expressing wild-type NS5A but not NS5A mutant with mutations in the SH3 binding motif. Infectious HCV genome containing mutations in the SH3 binding motif was not infectious in chimpanzees.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that this interaction is implicated in productive HCV infection and may contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, the NS5A PxxP motif may represent a novel target for antiviral development.

A hepatocellular carcinoma cell line producing mature hepatitis B viral particles

Current in vitro models for hepatitis B virus (HBV) are based on human hepatoblastoma cell lines transfected with HBV genome. The objective of this work was to develop an in vitro, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-based system supporting HBV full replication and producing mature viral particles. The FLC4 human HCC cell line was stably transfected with a plasmid carrying a head-to-tail dimer of the adwHBV genome. One of the clones, FLC4A10II, exhibited prolonged expression of HBV, as was demonstrated by secreted levels of HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV DNA in the culture medium of the growing cells. Furthermore, the cells produced HBV particles that were detected by a cesium chloride density gradient performed on the culture medium. Analysis by Southern blot revealed that HBV DNA has integrated into the FLC4A10II cell genome. The presence of HBV in the FLC4A10II cells did not cause alterations in cell morphology and the cells continued to resemble mature hepatocytes. They do exhibit a high mitotic activity. The new HBV stably transfected cell line, FLC4A10II, can serve as an important tool for further exploration of HBV host-pathogen interaction, viral life cycle, and for assessing new antiviral agents.

The myc oncogene: MarvelouslY Complex

The activated product of the myc oncogene deregulates both cell growth and death check points and, in a permissive environment, rapidly accelerates the affected clone through the carcinogenic process. Advances in understanding the molecular mechanism of Myc action are highlighted in this review. With the revolutionary developments in molecular diagnostic technology, we have witnessed an unprecedented advance in detecting activated myc in its deregulated, oncogenic form in primary human cancers. These improvements provide new opportunities to appreciate the tumor subtypes harboring deregulated Myc expression, to identify the essential cooperating lesions, and to realize the therapeutic potential of targeting Myc. Knowledge of both the breadth and depth of the numerous biological activities controlled by Myc has also been an area of progress. Myc is a multifunctional protein that can regulate cell cycle, cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, transformation, genomic instability, and angiogenesis. New insights into Myc's role in regulating these diverse activities are discussed. In addition, breakthroughs in understanding Myc as a regulator of gene transcription have revealed multiple mechanisms of Myc activation and repression of target genes. Moreover, the number of reported Myc regulated genes has expanded in the past few years, inspiring a need to focus on classifying and segregating bona fide targets. Finally, the identity of Myc-binding proteins has been difficult, yet has exploded in the past few years with a plethora of novel interactors. Their characterization and potential impact on Myc function are discussed. The rapidity and magnitude of recent progress in the Myc field strongly suggests that this marvelously complex molecule will soon be unmasked.