Expression of Hepatitis C Virus Proteins Does Not Interfere ... : Hepatology (original) (raw)

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Expression of Hepatitis C Virus Proteins Does Not Interfere With Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Processing and Presentation In Vitro

Moradpour, Darius1; Grabscheid, Benno2; Kammer, Andreas R.2; Schmidtke, Gunter3; Groettrup, Marcus3; Blum, Hubert E.1; Cerny, Andreas M.D.*,2

1_Department of Medicine II, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany_

2_Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, Switzerland_

3_Research Department, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen, Switzerland_

* Clinica Medica, Ospedale Civico, Via Tesserete 46, CH–6903 Lugano, Switzerland. E–mail: [email protected]; fax: (41) 91–805–6045.

Received: 8 November 2000; Accepted: 8 February 2001

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection takes a chronic course in the majority of patients. The mechanisms underlying the evasion of the host immune response and viral persistence are poorly understood. In this context, we investigated interactions of HCV proteins with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I processing and presentation pathways using cell lines that allow the tetracycline–regulated expression of viral structural and nonstructural proteins. These well–characterized inducible cell lines were found to efficiently process and present endogenously synthesized HCV proteins via MHC class I. Functional MHC class I cell–surface expression and intracellular proteasome activity were not affected by the expression of HCV proteins. These results suggest that viral evasion of the host immune response does not involve interactions of HCV with MHC class I processing and presentation. Other mechanisms, such as interference with the interferon system, may be operative in HCV infection, leading to viral persistence. (Hepatology 2001;33:1282–1287.)