Hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid particles do not cross the hepatocyte nuclear membrane in transgenic mice

LG Guidotti, V Martinez, YT Loh, CE Rogler… - Journal of …, 1994 - Am Soc Microbiol
LG Guidotti, V Martinez, YT Loh, CE Rogler, FV Chisari
Journal of virology, 1994Am Soc Microbiol
Transgenic mice that express the hepatitis B virus core protein were used to examine factors
that influence the intracellular localization of nucleocapsid particles in the primary
hepatocyte in vivo. In this model, viral nucleocapsid particles are strictly localized to the
nucleus of the hepatocyte except when the nuclear membrane dissolves during cell division,
at which time they enter the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic nucleocapsid particles do not
reenter the nucleus, however, when the nuclear membrane re-forms after cell division. The …
Transgenic mice that express the hepatitis B virus core protein were used to examine factors that influence the intracellular localization of nucleocapsid particles in the primary hepatocyte in vivo. In this model, viral nucleocapsid particles are strictly localized to the nucleus of the hepatocyte except when the nuclear membrane dissolves during cell division, at which time they enter the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic nucleocapsid particles do not reenter the nucleus, however, when the nuclear membrane re-forms after cell division. The data support the notion that nucleocapsid particles can form de novo within the nucleus, and they suggest that performed nucleocapsid particles cannot be transported across the intact nuclear membrane in either direction. The results imply that nucleocapsid disassembly is probably required for entry of the hepadnaviral genome into the nucleus, and they question the role of the intranuclear viral nucleocapsid particle during the viral life cycle.
American Society for Microbiology