HuR binding to AU-rich elements present in the 3' untranslated region of Classical swine fever virus

• Published in: Virology journal Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 340
• Main Authors: Nadar, Muthukumar, Chan, Meng-Yu, Huang, Shi-Wei, Huang, Chin-Cheng, Tseng, Joseph T, Tsai, Ching-Hsiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 06.07.2011; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: 3' Untranslated Regions; Animals; Antigens, Surface - metabolism; Binding proteins; Binding Sites; Cell Line; Classical swine fever virus; Classical swine fever virus - genetics; ELAV Proteins; ELAV-Like Protein 1; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; family; Genetic aspects; genus; Hog cholera; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Physiological aspects; Protein Binding; Risk factors; RNA; RNA, Viral - genetics; RNA, Viral - metabolism; RNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Swine; virulence; Taiwan
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-8-340

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is the member of the genus Pestivirus under the family Flaviviridae. The 5' untranslated region (UTR) of CSFV contains the IRES, which is a highly structured element that recruits the translation machinery. The 3' UTR is usually the recognition site of the viral replicase to initiate minus-strand RNA synthesis. Adenosine-uridine rich elements (ARE) are instability determinants present in the 3' UTR of short-lived mRNAs. However, the presence of AREs in the 3' UTR of CSFV conserved in all known strains has never been reported. This study inspects a possible role of the ARE in the 3' UTR of CSFV. Using RNA pull-down and LC/MS/MS assays, this study identified at least 32 possible host factors derived from the cytoplasmic extracts of PK-15 cells that bind to the CSFV 3' UTR, one of which is HuR. HuR is known to bind the AREs and protect the mRNA from degradation. Using recombinant GST-HuR, this study demonstrates that HuR binds to the ARE present in the 3' UTR of CSFV in vitro and that the binding ability is conserved in strains irrespective of virulence. This study identified one of the CSFV 3' UTR binding proteins HuR is specifically binding to in the ARE region.