Sato K, Okamoto H, Aihara S, Hoshi Y, Tanaka T, Mishiro S
Japanese Red Cross Blood Center, Saitama.
Virology. 1993 Sep;196(1):354-7. doi: 10.1006/viro.1993.1488.
The amino acid sequence for the envelope protein(s) predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the E and E2/NS1 regions of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome is enriched with an N-linked glycosylation site motif, Asn-X-Thr/Ser, suggesting oligosaccharide moieties are present on the virion surface. We attempted to characterize the sugar moiety on the surface of HCV virions recovered from sera of infected humans to assess the natural properties of the virus. Six kinds of lectins were used to bind HCV virions in affinity column chromatographies: RCAI, WGA, Con A, AAL, LCA, and PNA. Lectin-bound virions were identified by detecting HCV RNA in eluted chromatography fractions with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Our results showed that HCV was similar to hepatitis B virus (HBV) in characteristics of binding to lectins: HCV showed a strong binding to RCAI and WGA, weak binding to Con A, and no detectable binding to AAL, LCA, or PNA. Treatment of the HCV virion preparation with an enzyme, glycopeptidase A, or a detergent, NP-40, resulted in a significant decrease in the ability to bind these lectins. Our results suggest that asparagine-linked sugar chains are present on the surface of native virions of HCV, very similar to those for HBV.
根据丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）基因组E区和E2/NS1区的核苷酸序列预测的包膜蛋白氨基酸序列富含N-连接糖基化位点基序Asn-X-Thr/Ser，这表明病毒粒子表面存在寡糖部分。我们试图对从受感染人类血清中回收的HCV病毒粒子表面的糖部分进行表征，以评估该病毒的天然特性。在亲和柱色谱中使用了六种凝集素来结合HCV病毒粒子：RCAI、WGA、Con A、AAL、LCA和PNA。通过用聚合酶链反应（PCR）方法检测洗脱的色谱级分中的HCV RNA来鉴定与凝集素结合的病毒粒子。我们的结果表明，HCV在与凝集素结合的特性方面与乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）相似：HCV与RCAI和WGA有强烈结合，与Con A结合较弱，与AAL、LCA或PNA无明显结合。用一种酶（糖肽酶A）或一种去污剂（NP-40）处理HCV病毒粒子制剂会导致与这些凝集素结合的能力显著下降。我们的结果表明，HCV天然病毒粒子表面存在天冬酰胺连接的糖链，这与HBV的糖链非常相似。
