Hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3
Nonstructural protein 3, also known as p-70, is a viral nonstructural protein that is the 70 kDa cleavage product of the hepatitis C virus polyprotein. It acts as a serine protease. The C-terminal two-thirds of the protein also acts as a helicase and nucleoside triphosphatase. The first 180 amino acids of NS3 have an additional role as cofactor domains for the NS2 protein.