RNA-protein interactions coordinating gene expression and replication of hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major agent of chronic liver disease in man. Thus, unraveling the molecular basis of the viral replication process is an important task to understand the mechanisms of viral pathogenesis. A crucial step in the HCV life cycle concerns the switch from translation (viral protein synthesis) to replication of the viral RNA genome, the molecular determinants of which are far from being understood. Our project aims at identifying and characterizing the role of cellular proteins involved in this step. Specifically, we want to examine the role of a group of ubiquitous cellular factors, the so-called "NF/NFAR proteins", in the coordination of the translation and replication process of the viral RNA and to examine the impact of posttranslational modifications of the NF/NFAR proteins along their recruitment as functional components of the viral replication machinery.