Protein Domain : Hepatitis C virus, Non-structural 5a protein IPR002868

Type	Domain
Description	Although Hepatitis A virus, Hepatitis B virus, and Hepatitis C virus have similar names, because they all cause liver inflammation, these are distinctly different viruses both genetically and clinically. The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (50-80 nm in diameter), enveloped, single-stranded, positive sense RNA virus. It is member of the family Flaviviridae. There are seven genotypes and a number of subtypes with diverse geographic distributions. The genome of HCV consists of a single open reading frame. At the 5' and 3' ends of the RNA are the UTR regions that are not translated into proteins but are important to translation and replication of the viral RNA. The 5' UTR has a ribosome binding site (IRES - Internal ribosome entry site) that starts the translation of unique polyprotein that is later cut by cellular and viral proteases into 10 active structural and non-structural smaller proteins []. This entry represents Non-structural 5a viral protein (NS5A). This zinc-containing phosphoprotein plays a role in the regulation of HCV RNA replication [ , ]. Biochemical characterization of the complex formed by the interaction of NS5A-RNA show the importance of zinc in this interaction and confirm the binding of the protein to the viral genome []. The NS5a protein is phosphorylated when expressed in mammalian cells.It is thought to interact with the dsRNA-dependent (interferon inducible) kinase PKR, [ , ]. It also modulates TNFRSF21/DR6 signaling pathway for viral propagation [].
Short Name	HCV_NS5a