Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1993 Apr;193(2):888-99.
doi: 10.1006/viro.1993.1198.

Dengue 2 virus NS2B and NS3 form a stable complex that can cleave NS3 within the helicase domain

C F Arias  1 , F Preugschat, J H Strauss
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Dengue 2 virus NS2B and NS3 form a stable complex that can cleave NS3 within the helicase domain

C F Arias et al. Virology. 1993 Apr.

Abstract

Flavivirus genomic RNA is translated into a large polyprotein that is processed into structural and nonstructural proteins. The N-termini of several nonstructural proteins are produced by cleavage at dibasic sites by a two-component viral proteinase consisting of NS2B and NS3. NS3 contains a trypsin-like serine proteinase domain at its N-terminus, whereas the function of NS2B in proteolysis is yet to be determined. We have used an NS3-specific antiserum, under nondenaturing conditions, to demonstrate that NS2B and NS3 form a complex both in vitro and in vivo. The N-terminal 184 residues of NS3 are sufficient to form the complex with NS2B. The complex forms efficiently when the NS2B and NS3 are translated from two different mRNAs as well as when NS2B and NS3 are translated as a polyprotein from the same mRNA. A chimeric complex can be formed between yellow fever NS2B and a chimeric yellow fever-dengue 2 NS3. Using anti-NS3 antisera, we also found that a 50-kDa fragment of NS3, consisting of the N-terminal approximately 460 residues, is produced in infected mammalian cells. This fragment is not produced in infected mosquito cells, but will form in Triton X-100 lysates of mosquito cells. The cleavage of NS3 to form this fragment is catalyzed by the NS3 proteinase itself and proteolysis requires NS2B. Examination of the amino acid sequence of NS3 reveals a potential conserved cleavage site that resembles other sites cleaved by the NS3/NS2B proteinase; this site occurs within a conserved RNA helicase sequence motif. The importance of this alternatively processed form of NS3 and its role in the replication cycle of dengue virus remain to be determined.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources