Nature Communications (Jul 2018)
microRNA-122 amplifies hepatitis C virus translation by shaping the structure of the internal ribosomal entry site
Abstract
The liver-specific microRNA-122 is an essential proviral host factor of Hepatitis C virus replication. Here the authors show that microRNA-122 functions as an RNA chaperone that guides the formation of a functional internal ribosome entry site by preventing energetically more favorable secondary structures within the HCV RNA genome.