Structural comparisons of hepatitis B core antigen particles with different C-terminal lengths

Core protein of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with various C-terminal lengths (residue 154, 164, 167 and 183) can self-assemble into recombinant hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) particles. To understand the RNA encapsidation mechanism of HBV, the three-dimensional structures of these particles were reconstructed by cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM). Detailed structural comparisons showed that their capsid structures are highly similar, while the RNA content is increased upon the retention of more amino acid residues at the C-terminus of core protein, suggesting the crucial role of the basic C-terminal tail on determining the genome size.