Hepatitis C Therapeutics The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome
consists of a small enveloped single-stranded RNA with a single
open reading frame that produces one protein product, which is
subsequently processed into active proteins. Its 5´ untranslated
region (UTR) possesses an internal ribosome entry site (IRES)
with a specific secondary structure that facilitates viral
protein synthesis. Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D., Howard Hughes
Medical Institute investigator and professor of molecular and
cell biology and chemistry at the University of California,
Berkeley, studies HCV protein synthesis. “We have performed
mutational analyses and determined crystallographic structures
of functional parts of the IRES. We want to understand how the
virus uses the IRES to control protein expression. “The IRES
contains a characteristic structure called a pseudoknot. If we
can understand how this piece engages the ribosome, we may be
able to develop a therapeutic to block that process.” To better
define the ribosomal binding site