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Hepatitis C virus down-regulates SERPINE1/PAI-1 expression to facilitate its replication.

Identification of host factors involved in viral replication is critical for understanding the molecular mechanism of viral replication and pathogenesis. Genes differentially expressed in HuH-7 cells with or without a hepatitis C virus (HCV) sub-genomic replicon were screened by microarray analysis. SERPINE1/PAI-1 was found to be down-regulated after HCV infection in this analysis. Down-regulation of SERPINE1/PAI-1 expression at the transcriptional level was verified by the real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR assay. Reduced SERPINE1/PAI-1 protein secretion was detected in the supernatant of HCV replicon cells and in sera from HCV-infected patients. SERPINE1 gene expression was down-regulated by HCV NS3/4A and NS5A proteins through the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signalling pathway at the transcriptional level. Down-regulated genes in HCV replicon cells could be the factors supressing HCV replication. Indeed, over-expressed PAI-1 inhibited HCV replication but the mechanism is unknown. It has been demonstrated that HCV induces the expression of TGF-β, and TGF-β enhances HCV replication by a not-yet-defined mechanism. SERPINE1/PAI-1 is also known to be potently induced by TGF-β at the transcriptional level through both Smad-dependent and Smad-independent pathways. The exogenously expressed SERPINE1/PAI-1 suppressed the expression of the endogenous SERPINE1 gene at the transcriptional level through the TGF-β signalling but not the Smad pathway. Thus, SERPINE1/PAI-1 could suppress HCV replication possibly by negatively regulating TGF-β signalling. A model is proposed for the interplay betweenthe TGF-β signalling pathway, HCV and SERPINE1/PAI-1 to keep the homeostasis of the cells.