Study on the interaction between hepatitis B virus X protein and cytochrome c oxidase Ⅲ / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the interaction between hepatitis B virus(HBV) X protein and cytochrome C oxidase Ⅲ (COXⅢ).Methods Mating experiment and in vitro binding assays were utilized tO verify the interaction between HBV X protein and COX Ⅲ in vivo and in vitro respectively in yeast cells.Coimmunoprecipitation was employed to demonstrated the binding between these tWOproteins in mammalian cells.Results In mating experiment,the resulting diploids containing both pAS2-1-X and pACT2-COX Ⅲ plasmids turned blue in the β-gal assay,the result of Western blot displayed a positive reactive strap which indicated X protein could interact directly with COX Ⅲ in vitro binding assays.Interaction between these two proteins in mammalian cells was further confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation,as a protein strap about 17 000 was detected in Western blot.Conclusions It is speculated the specific interaction may exist between HBV X protein and COX Ⅲ in both prokaryotie and mammalian cells.X protein may impair the mitochondrial respiration chain and energy metabolism through its association with COX Ⅲ.