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Protein phosphatase 1 catalyzes HBV core protein dephosphorylation and is co-packaged with viral pregenomic RNA into nucleocapsids
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Protein phosphatase 1 catalyzes HBV core protein dephosphorylation and is co-packaged with viral pregenomic RNA into nucleocapsids

Zhanying Hu, Haiqun Ban, Haiyan Zheng, Mingliang Liu, Jinhong Chang and Ju-Tao Guo
PLoS pathogens, v 16(7), pp e1008669-e1008669
01 Jul 2020
PMID: 32702076
url
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008669View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Cell Line Hepatitis B - virology Hepatitis B virus - physiology Humans Nucleocapsid - metabolism Peptide Fragments - metabolism Phosphorylation Protein Phosphatase 1 - metabolism RNA, Viral - metabolism Viral Core Proteins - metabolism Virus Assembly - physiology
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) replicates its genomic DNA via viral DNA polymerase self-primed reverse transcription of a RNA pre-genome in the nucleocapsid assembled by 120 core protein (Cp) dimers. The arginine-rich carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of Cp plays an important role in the selective packaging of viral DNA polymerase-pregenomic (pg) RNA complex into nucleocapsid. Previous studies suggested that the CTD is initially phosphorylated at multiple sites to facilitate viral RNA packaging and subsequently dephosphorylated in association with viral DNA synthesis and secretion of DNA-containing virions. However, our recent studies suggested that Cp is hyper-phosphorylated as free dimers and its dephosphorylation is associated with pgRNA encapsidation. Herein, we provide further genetic and biochemical evidence supporting that extensive Cp dephosphorylation does take place during the assembly of pgRNA-containing nucleocapsids, but not empty capsids. Moreover, we found that cellular protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is required for Cp dephosphorylation and pgRNA packaging. Interestingly, the PP1 catalytic subunits α and β were packaged into pgRNA-containing nucleocapsids, but not empty capsids, and treatment of HBV replicating cells with core protein allosteric modulators (CpAMs) promoted empty capsid assembly and abrogated the encapsidation of PP1 α and β. Our study thus identified PP1 as a host cellular factor that is co-packaged into HBV nucleocapsids, and plays an essential role in selective packaging of the viral DNA-polymerase-pgRNA complex through catalyzing Cp dephosphorylation.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
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Web of Science research areas
Microbiology
Parasitology
Virology
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