HCV NS5A protein promotes the lysosomal degradation of HNF-1α via chaperone-mediated autophagy.

What is it about?

HCV hijacks chaperone-mediated autophagy to induce degradation of HNF-1α in the lysosome. This is the novel strategy to cause viral pathogenesis.

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Why is it important?

Many viruses use a prtein degradation system, such as the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway or the autophagy pathway, for facilitating viral propagation and viral pathogenesis. Chaperone-mediated autophagy is very different from macroautophagy (i.e. autophagy) due to the unique way in which its substrates enter the lysosome. We discovered a role of HCV NS5A in Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA)-dependent degradation of HNF-1α.

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