Structure of the catalytic domain of the hepatitis C virus NS2-3 protease

Abstract

Over 150 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus, there is no vaccine, and current therapies are not always effective. More efficient antivirals are much sought after, so the report of the crystal structure of the NS2 autoprotease of hepatitis C virus is a major advance. The structure, which reveals NS2 as a dimeric cysteine protease, will help in elucidating NS2's role in the viral life cycle, and it may aid the design of new drugs. Hepatitis C virus is a major global health problem affecting an estimated 170 million people worldwide1. Chronic infection is common and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is no vaccine available and current therapies have met with limited success2. The viral RNA genome encodes a polyprotein that includes two proteases essential for virus replication3,4. The NS2-3 protease mediates a single cleavage at the NS2/NS3 junction, whereas the NS3-4A protease cleaves at four downstream sites in the polyprotein. NS3-4A is characterized as a serine protease with a chymotrypsin-like fold5,6, but the enzymatic mechanism of the NS2-3 protease remains unresolved7,8,9. Here we report the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the NS2-3 protease at 2.3 Å resolution. The structure reveals a dimeric cysteine protease with two composite active sites. For each active site, the catalytic histidine and glutamate residues are contributed by one monomer, and the nucleophilic cysteine by the other. The carboxy-terminal residues remain coordinated in the two active sites, predicting an inactive post-cleavage form. Proteolysis through formation of a composite active site occurs in the context of the viral polyprotein expressed in mammalian cells. These features offer unexpected insights into polyprotein processing by hepatitis C virus and new opportunities for antiviral drug design.