- Three-Dimensional architecture and biogenesis of membrane
structures associated with hepatitis C virus replication (2012)
- All positive strand RNA viruses are known to replicate their
genomes in close association with intracellular membranes. In
case of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a member of the family
Flaviviridae, infected cells contain accumulations of vesicles
forming a membranous web (MW) that is thought to be the site of
viral RNA replication. However, little is known about the
biogenesis and three-dimensional structure of the MW. In this
study we used a combination of immunofluorescence- and electron
microscopy (EM)-based methods to analyze the membranous
structures induced by HCV in infected cells. We found that the
MW is derived primarily from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and
contains markers of rough ER as well as markers of early and
late endosomes, COP vesicles, mitochondria and lipid droplets
(LDs). The main constituents of the MW are single and double
membrane vesicles (DMVs). The latter