Unlike for cellular mRNAs and other viral internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs), the eIF3 subunit e is not required for the translational activity of the HCV IRES.

Viruses depend on the host cell translation machinery for their replication, and one common strategy is the presence of internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs) in the viral RNAs, using different sets of host translation initiation factors. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) IRES binds eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3), but the exact functional role of the eIF3 complex and of its subunits remains to be precisely defined. Toward this goal, here we focused on eIF3 subunit e. We used an in vitro assay combining a ribosome-depleted rabbit reticulocyte lysate and ribosomes prepared from HeLa or Huh-7.5 cells transfected with either control or eIF3e siRNAs. eIF3e silencing reduced translation mediated by the 5'UTR of various cellular genes and HCV-like IRESs. However, this effect was not observed with the bona fide HCV IRES. Silencing of eIF3e reduced the intracellular levels of the c, d, and l subunits of eIF3 and their association with the eIF3 core subunit a. A pulldown analysis of eIF3 subunits associated with the HCV IRES disclosed similar effects and that the a subunit is critical for binding to the HCV IRES. Carrying out HCV infections of control and eIF3e-silenced Huh-7.5 cells, we found that in agreement with the in vitro findings, eIF3e silencing does not reduce HCV replication and viral protein expression. We conclude that unlike for host cellular mRNAs, the entire eIF3 is not required for HCV RNA translation, favoring viral expression under conditions of low eIF3e levels.