Dengue virus NS1 protein interacts with the ribosomal protein RPL18: This interaction is required for viral translation and replication in Huh-7 cells

Given dengue virus (DENV) genome austerity, it uses cellular molecules and structures for virion entry, translation and replication of the genome. NS1 is a multifunctional protein key to viral replication and pathogenesis. Identification of cellular proteins that interact with NS1 may help in further understanding the functions of NS1. In this paper we isolated a total of 64 proteins from DENV infected human hepatic cells (Huh-7) that interact with NS1 by affinity chromatography and immunoprecipitation assays. The subcellular location and expression levels during infection of the ribosomal proteins RPS3a, RPL7, RPL18, RPL18a plus GAPDH were determined. None of these proteins changed their expression levels during infection; however, RPL-18 was redistributed to the perinuclear region after 48 hpi. Silencing of the RPL-18 does not affect cell translation efficiency or viability, but it reduces significantly viral translation, replication and viral yield, suggesting that the RPL-18 is required during DENV replicative cycle.