Hepatitis C virus NS5A protein protects against TNF-α mediated apoptotic cell death

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) often causes a prolonged and persistent infection which may lead to hepatocellular carcinoma. We have previously reported that the nonstructural 5A (NS5A) protein of HCV promotes cell growth [Ghosh, A.K., Steele, R., Meyer, K., Ray, R., Ray, R.B., 1999. Hepatitis C virus NS5A protein modulates cell cycle regulatory genes and promotes cell growth. J. Gen. Virol. 80, 1179–1183]. In this study, we investigated the role of HCV NS5A (genotype 1a, strain H) in TNF-α induced apoptotic cell death. HepG2 cells expressing NS5A exhibited an inhibitory role in relation to TNF-α mediated apoptotic cell death. The NS5A protein blocked the activation of caspase-3 and inhibited proteolytic cleavage of the death substrate poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase in TNF-α induced cells. Together, these results suggest that HCV NS5A protein protects against TNF-α mediated apoptotic cell death.