Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019163 (hepatitis B)
 38,309 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The recombinant gene for hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was cloned and expressed, and the protein was purified from Escherichia coli cultures. Purified HBcAg was tested for the effects of various physical and chemical agents on its immunoreactivity by a paramagnetic particle-based enzyme immunoassay. Recombinant HBcAg retained its immunoreactivity when heated at 70 degrees C for 60 min but was inactivated at 85 degrees C in 10 min. It was stable between pHs 5 and 10.5 but not at pHs 2 and 13.5. Treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), ethanol, and methanol caused a significant loss in HBcAg reactivity. The proteolytic enzymes papain and bacterial protease (type VIII from Bacillus licheniformis) degraded HBcAg significantly, but trypsin and chymotrypsin did not. The effect of combined SDS and 2-mercaptoethanol on recombinant HBcAg was an immediate loss in immunoreactivity, followed by rapid recovery to about 50% of the initial level. This level was maintained for 24 to 48 h and was followed by an almost total loss of HBcAg in about 120 h.
 ...
PMID:Stability of the recombinant hepatitis B core antigen. 162 88

The hepatitis B viruses replicate by reverse transcription of an RNA pregenome by using a virally encoded polymerase. A key early step in replication is binding of the polymerase to an RNA stem-loop (epsilon) of the pregenome; epsilon is both the RNA encapsidation signal and the origin of reverse transcription. Here we provide evidence that this interaction is also key to the development of enzymatic activity during biosynthesis of the polymerase. Duck hepatitis B virus polymerase expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can synthesize DNA from epsilon-containing RNAs and can also end label other small RNAs. Expression of functional polymerase in S. cerevisiae requires interaction between the polymerase and epsilon during or shortly after translation for it to develop any enzymatic activity; if epsilon is absent during expression, the polymerase is inactive on RNAs both with and without epsilon. Functional duck polymerase can also be produced by in vitro translation, and synthesis of the polymerase in the presence of epsilon induces resistance in the polymerase to proteolysis by papain, trypsin, and bromelain. Induction of the resistance is specific for epsilon sequences that can support RNA encapsidation and initiation of DNA synthesis. Induction of the resistance precedes initiation of DNA synthesis and is reversible by degradation of epsilon. These two sets of data (i) support a model in which binding of epsilon to the polymerase induces a structural alteration of the polymerase prior to the development of enzymatic activity and (ii) suggest that this alteration may be required for the polymerase to mature to an active form.
 ...
PMID:Evidence for activation of the hepatitis B virus polymerase by binding of its RNA template. 870 89

A direct involvement of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS1-(21-47) sequence in virus attachment to cell membrane receptor(s) and the presence on the plasma membranes of HepG2 cells of protein(s) with receptor activity for HBV have been suggested by many previous experiments. In this study, by using a tetravalent derivative of the preS1-(21-47) sequence, we have isolated by affinity chromatography from detergent-solubilized HepG2 plasma membranes a 44-kDa protein (HBV-binding protein; HBV-BP), which was found to closely correspond to the human squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 (SCCA1), a member of the ovalbumin family of serine protease inhibitors. Comparison of SCCA1 sequence with the sequence of the corresponding HBV-BP cDNA, cloned by polymerase chain reaction starting from RNA poly(A)(+) fractions extracted from HepG2 cells, indicated the presence of only four nucleotide substitutions in the coding region, leading to three amino acid changes. Intact recombinant HBV-BP lacked inhibitory activity for serine proteases such as alpha-chymotrypsin and trypsin but inhibited with high potency cysteine proteases such as papain and cathepsin L. Direct binding experiments confirmed the interaction of recombinant HBV-BP with the HBV preS1 domain. HepG2 cells overexpressing HBV-BP after transfection of corresponding cDNA showed a virus binding capacity increased by 2 orders of magnitude compared with untransfected cells, while Chinese hamster ovary cells, which normally do not bind to HBV, acquired susceptibility to HBV binding after transfection. Native HBV particle entry was enhanced in transfected cells. Both recombinant HBV-BP and antibodies to recombinant HBV-BP blocked virus binding and internalization in transfected cells as well as in primary human hepatocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that this protein plays a major role in HBV infection.
 ...
PMID:Cloning and expression of a novel hepatitis B virus-binding protein from HepG2 cells. 1138 43

Eleven human cathepsins have been identified, however, the in vivo roles of individual cathepsins are still largely unknown. In this brief review we will summarize the functions of individual cathepsins in antigen processing and presentation, which are the initial steps of the immune response. Two general inhibitors of papain-like cysteine proteases, E-64 and pyridoxal phosphate, can completely suppress antigen presentation in vivo. To evaluate the contribution of individual cathepsins, specific inhibitors have been developed based on cathepsin tertiary structures: CA-074 for cathepsin B, CLIK-148 and -195 for cathepsin L, CLIK-60 for cathepsin S. Administration of CA-074, a cathepsin B inhibitor, suppresses the response to exogenous antigens, such as hepatitis B virus antigen, ovalbumin and Leishmania major antigen, and induces switching of the helper T cell responses from Th-2 to Th-1 of CD4+ T cells, thereby downregulating the production of IgE and IgG1. Administration of the cathepsin S inhibitor CLIK-60 impairs presentation of an autoantigen, alpha-fodrin, in Sjogren's syndrome and suppresses the Th-1 response and autoantibody production.
 ...
PMID:Insights into the roles of cathepsins in antigen processing and presentation revealed by specific inhibitors. 1288 55