BIOL 94 |
| Here we demonstrate the effects of Bleomycin on Hepatitis C Virus replication. Bleomycins (BLM) are family of antitumor antibiotics, isolated from Streptomyces verticillus. BLM bind to and degrade double stranded DNA in a sequence selective manner. They have also been shown to cleave tRNA. However, in RNA, BLM-mediated cleavage occurs on the tertiary structure, not the primary sequence as is the case for DNA. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a 9.6kb single stranded RNA. Its tertiary structure contains both single and double-stranded RNA. We have shown that BLM specifically target subgenomic HCV RNA without affecting the encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) IRES of the replicon. Our experiments show that at inhibitory concentrations, BLM affects HCV viral replication faster than cellular DNA. A possible mechanism of inhibition is that BLM target the tertiary structure of single-stranded genomic viral RNA, or dsRNA replicating intermediates, preventing HCV protein translation in the viral life cycle.
|
|
Chemistry and Metabolism
4:30 PM-6:30 PM, Tuesday, 12 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Hall D, Poster
Division of Biological Chemistry |
