Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system to significantly increase the expression of genes of interest, and in particular proteins and polypeptide products. Expression of hantavirus nucleocapsid protein (N) by itself results in augmented translational expression of diverse genes. The mechanism of this augmentation relies on the ability of N to replace the cellular cap binding complex to attain more efficient translation initiation—the result being great mRNA production and greater protein/polypeptide production. The inventors have also recently found that inclusion of a 5? untranslated leader region (viral UTR) from a viral RNA, in conjunction with N, leads to even more robust expression. This mechanism appears to involve recognition of the viral UTR by the N to provide even more robust protein production.