Page 94 - MemoriaEHD-Eng

RESEARCH GROUPS

PROGRAMME:
G0086

Hepatitis Virus

Group Members
Lead Researcher
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Gómez Castilla, Jordi
STAFF MEMBERS
Ariza Mateos, M Ascensio

Perales Viejo, C. Belen
Contact:
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ASSOCIATED MEMBERS
Instituto de Parasitologia y Biomedicina López Neyra.
Parque Tecnologico de Ciencias de la Salud. Briones Llorente, Carlos
Domingo Solans, Esteban
Avda. Del Conocimiento, S/N · Phone: (+34) 958 181 647
Garca Sacristn, Ana

Main lines of research

Dr. Jordi Gómez Lab has been involved in : characterization of the RNA struc-
ture of messenger RNA coding for the interferon alfa 5, which expression
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is liver specific, and to characterize its molecular mimicry with the geno-
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mic RNA of the Hepatitis C virus; (2) the RNA structure of the 5’ genomic í
region of HCV RNA in the presence of the liver specific microRNA miR-122;

(3) in collaboration with Drs, Esteban Domingo (CBM-SO) and Juan Ignacio ó

Esteban (Hosp. Vall d’ Hebron) we have evaluated the mutagenic effects
of ribavirine on the the 5’ genomic region of HCV, in cell culture, and also á

evaluated the mutagenic effects on viral RNA recognition by stereospecifc
factors, and (4) a collaboration with Dr. Carlos Briones, is described in the
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following paragraph.
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During 2013, the group of Dr. Carlos Briones at the Centro de Astrobiología

(CSIC-INTA) continued the investigation of the structure/function relation-
ships in the genomic RNA of hepatitis C virus (HCV). We have deepened

into the structural characterization of the long-range interaction between ú

the 5’ and 3’ ends of the HCV genome, and an article was published (onli-
ne version in September 2013 and paper in January 2014) in collaboration

with the group of Dr. Alfredo Berzal (IPBLN, CSIC) [1]. In parallel, we have
extended a collaborative study with Dr. Jordi Gómez (IPBLN, CSIC) in which
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a magnesium-induced RNA conformational switch was described at the in-

ternal ribosome entry site (IRES) of HCV genome, thanks to the combined
use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular biology techniques [2].
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Additionally, in 2013 Dr. Briones was the Chairman of the Organizing and

Scientific Committees of the XII National Congress of Virology (Burgos, June
9-12), in which the plenary session ‘Hepatitis B and C: from basic virolo- 13
20
gy to clinical practice’ was organized in collaboration with the CIBERehd T
[http://cab.inta-csic.es/congresovirologiasev2013/index.php/en.html].
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[1] C. Romero-Lpez, A. Barroso-del Jess, A. Garca-Sacristn, C. Briones y A. Berzal-Herranz. /
‘End-to end cross-talk within the Hepatitis C virus genome mediates the conformational switch of HD
the 3’X-tail region’. Nucleic Acids Research 2014, 42: 567-582.
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[2] A. Garca-Sacristn, E. Lpez-Camacho, A. Ariza-Mateos, M. Moreno, R.M. Judenes, J. Gmez, IB
J.A. Martn-Gago y C. Briones. ‘A magnesium-induced RNA conformational switch at the internal C

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ribosome entry site of hepatitis C virus genome visualized by atomic force microscopy’. Artculo en
revisin en una revista de biologa molecular del primer cuartil.