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Journal of Glycobiology | ISSN: 2168-958X | Volume 7
Glycobiology & Glycoproteomics
5th International Conference on
&
August 27-28, 2018 | Toronto, Canada
Molecular Biology & Nucleic Acids
3rd International Conference on
Hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 3 (HCV NS3) resolves G4RNA structures
Binyam Belachew, Alicia K Byrd, Jun Gao, and Kevin D Raney
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. It is currently estimated
that over 71 million people in the world are infected with HCV virus. The HCV genome encodes for a polyprotein that
is cleaved into 7 non-structural and 3 structural proteins. One of the non-structural proteins, non-structural protein 3 (NS3),
has both protease and helicase domains and is the key protein in regulating HCV RNA replication. NS3 has been one of the
major targets in the treatment of HCV infection. The current HCV drugs are extremely expensive and patients may develop
resistance. Therefore, it is important to develop a cost-effective anti-viral compound that targets conserved regions within
the HCV genome and prevent replication of various HCV genotypes and subtypes. Recent works have shown the presence of
conserved guanine-rich consensus sequences within the HCV genome. These guanine sequences can form G-quadruplex (G4)
secondary structures through Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding. It has been reported that both replication and translation of the
HCV genome could be inhibited by the formation of G4 structures. However, it is still unknown how HCV G4RNA structures
are regulated. The aim of this project is to investigate whether and how NS3 helicase resolves HCV G4RNA structures.
Understanding the mechanism by which NS3 resolves HCV G4RNA might allow us to find processes and factors that could be
targeted to prevent HCV replication in a host cell.
Biography
Binyam Belachew is a second year Ph.D. student in Kevin Raney’s laboratory. He graduated from Wingate University (NC) in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in
Biology and a minor in Chemistry. As an undergraduate student, he conducted both Chemistry and Biology research with Wingate University professors; He also
served as a laboratory assistant. Following his undergraduate program, Binyam worked as a laboratory analyst II for Charlotte Water Company in Charlotte, North
Carolina before moving to Little Rock, Arkansas for his doctoral program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Binyam Belachew et al., J Glycobiol 2018, Volume 7
DOI: 10.4172/2168-958X-C1-012