Cloning and identification of human gene 3 transactivated by nonstructural protein 5A of hepatitis C virus / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To screen and clone the target genes transactivated by nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Methods The mRNA was isolated from HepG2 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1(-)-NS5A and pcDNA3.1(-) empty vector, respectively. Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method was employed to analyze the differentially expressed DNA sequence between the two groups. The obtained sequences were searched for homologous DNA sequence from GenBank. The new gene with no homology with known genes in this database was confirmed, and electric polymerase chain reaction was conducted for cloning the full-length DNA of the new gene and in conjunction with Kozak rule and the terminus of polyadenyl signal sequence. The reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) was used to amplify the new gene from mRNA of HepG2 cell as the template. The coding sequence of the new gene was deduced according to the nucleotide sequence. Results A new gene with unknown function was named as NS5ATP3. The nucleotide sequence of the NS5ATP3 gene and its corresponding amino acid have been determined, which contained 1 572nt and 524aa. The sequence of the NS5ATP3 gene was deposited into GenBank, with the accession number AF529364. Conclusions NS5ATP3 gene transactivated by HCV NS5A protein was cloned and identified successfully by combining molecular biological technology and bioinformatics technique. These results will pave the way for the study of the molecular mechanism of the transactivating effects of HCV NA5A protein and the development of new therapy for chronic hepatitis C.