Dengue virus NS4B interacts with NS3 and dissociates it from single-stranded RNA

Dengue virus, a member of the family Flaviviridae of positive-strand RNA viruses, has seven non-structural proteins: NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B and NS5. Except for enzymic activities contained within NS3 and NS5, the roles of the other proteins in virus replication and pathogenesis are not well defined. In this study, a physical interaction between NS4B and the helicase domain of NS3 was identified by using a yeast two-hybrid assay. This interaction was further confirmed by biochemical pull-down and immunoprecipitation assays, both with purified proteins and with dengue virus-infected cell lysates. NS4B co-localized with NS3 in the perinuclear region of infected human cells. Furthermore, NS4B dissociated NS3 from single-stranded RNA and consequently enhanced the helicase, activity of NS3 in an in vitro unwinding assay. These results suggest that NS4B modulates dengue virus replication via its interaction with NS3.