The Hepatitis C virus NS5A and core proteins exert antagonistic effects on

摘要

During HCV infection, the multifunctional core and NS5A viral proteins regulate the iron‐regulatory hormone hepcidin expression antagonistically. While hepcidin is enhanced by core‐mediated activation of BMP/SMAD and STAT3 pathways, it is down‐regulated by NS5A independently of these factors. Herein, we show that NS5A disturbs the MTF‐1/Zn2+/hepcidin positive regulation axis, by mopping up Zn2+, thereby preserving the structural integrity of NS5A dimers.