c-Fos regulates hepatitis C virus propagation

► In this study we identified c-Fos as a host factor involved in HCV propagation. ► We demonstrated that overexpression of c-Fos significantly increased HCV propagation. ► We showed that c-Fos level was upregulated by HCV infection. ► Collectively, we conclude that c-Fos acts as a positive regulator of HCV propagation. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replication requires cellular factors as well as viral non-structural proteins (NS protein). Using small interfering RNA (siRNA) library screening, we previously identified c-Fos as a host factor involved in HCV propagation. In the present study, we demonstrated that silencing of c-Fos expression resulted in decrease of HCV propagation in cell culture grown HCV (HCVcc)-infected cells; whereas overexpression of c-Fos significantly increased HCV propagation. We further confirmed the positive role of c-Fos in HCV propagation by both HCV-luciferase reporter assay and immunofluorescence analysis. We showed that c-Fos level was upregulated by HCV infection. Furthermore, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced c-Fos level was synergistically increased by HCV infection. These data suggest that c-Fos acts as a positive regulator of HCV propagation and may contribute to HCV-associated pathogenesis.