Investigating the impact of ADAR1 on HCV replication

Abstract

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family. The virus is the causative agent of hepatitis C, a disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide. New direct direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been shown to be highly effective in treating hepatitis C; however, a preventive vaccine against HCV has not yet been developed.Despite the fact that the HCV genome consists of single single-stranded RNA, this RNA forms numerous secondary structures that can act as substrates for RNA RNA-binding proteins of the innate immune system, including adenosine deaminase acting on double double-stranded RNA 1 (ADAR1). This enzyme catalyses the conversion of adenosine to inosine, which is recognised by cellular mechanisms as guanine. This, in turn, leads to mutations in the targeted dsRNA molecule.