Sayaka Aizawa, Toru Okamoto, Yukari Sugiyama, Takahisa Kouwaki, Ayano Ito, Tatsuya Suzuki, Chikako Ono, Takasuke Fukuhara, Masahiro Yamamoto, Masayasu Okochi, Nobuhiko Hiraga, Michio Imamura, Kazuaki Chayama, Ryosuke Suzuki, Ikuo Shoji, Kohji Moriishi, Kyoji Moriya, Kazuhiko Koike, Yoshiharu Matsuura
Signal-peptide peptidase (SPP) is an intramembrane protease that participates in the production of the mature core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Here we show that SPP inhibition reduces the production of infectious HCV particles and pathogenesis. The immature core protein produced in SPP-knockout cells or by treatment with an SPP inhibitor is quickly degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Oral administration of the SPP inhibitor to transgenic mice expressing HCV core protein (CoreTg) reduces the expression of core protein and ameliorates insulin resistance and liver steatosis...
May 4, 2016: Nature Communications