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Journal of Virology, July 1999, p. 5459-5465, Vol. 73, No. 7
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Elimination of Duck Hepatitis B Virus RNA-Containing Capsids in Duck Interferon-Alpha-Treated Hepatocytesdagger

Ursula Schultz,1,Dagger Jesse Summers,2 Peter Staeheli,3 and Francis V. Chisari1,*

Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 920371; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 871312; and Department of Virology, Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany3

Received 12 November 1998/Accepted 30 March 1999

Evidence is presented that the previously cloned type I duck interferon (DuIFN) cDNA encodes a homologue of mammalian interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha ). Recombinant DuIFN-alpha was used to study the inhibition of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) replication in primary hepatocytes in order to determine the IFN-sensitive steps of the virus replication cycle. IFN-treated cells accumulated two- to threefold-lower amounts of viral RNA transcripts early during infection, when IFN was added before virus. This reduction was not due to inhibition of virus entry since initial covalently closed circular DNA levels were not decreased in IFN-treated cells. Interestingly, the inhibitory effect of IFN on viral RNA levels was not observed in cells infected with a mutant DHBV that fails to synthesize core protein, suggesting that an uncharacterized core protein-mediated enhancing effect is blocked by IFN. When IFN was added at 4 days postinfection, encapsidated viral RNA pregenomes disappeared from infected cells within 3 days. This depletion was not simply due to conversion of pregenomes to DNA since depletion was not blocked by phosphonoformic acid, an inhibitor of the viral reverse transcriptase. The intracellular concentration of intact nucleocapsids was reduced, suggesting that in the presence of IFN pregenome-containing capsids were selectively depleted in hepatocytes. Thus, two steps in DHBV replication that involve the viral core protein were inhibited by DuIFN-alpha .

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037. Phone: (619) 784-8228. Fax: (619) 784-2160. E-mail: fchisari{at}scripps.edu.

dagger Manuscript no. 12063-MEM from The Scripps Research Institute.

Dagger Present address: Department of Internal Medicine II/Molecular Biology, University Hospital Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany.

Journal of Virology, July 1999, p. 5459-5465, Vol. 73, No. 7
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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