Alphavirus Evasion of Zinc Finger Antiviral Protein (ZAP) Correlates with CpG Suppression in a Specific Viral nsP2 Gene Sequence.

ABSTRACT: Certain re-emerging alphaviruses, such as chikungunya virus (CHIKV), cause serious disease and widespread epidemics. To develop virus-specific therapies, it is critical to understand the determinants of alphavirus pathogenesis and virulence. One major determinant is viral evasion of the host interferon response, which upregulates antiviral effectors, including zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP). Here, we demonstrated that Old World alphaviruses show differential sensitivity to endogenous ZAP in 293T cells: Ross River virus (RRV) and Sindbis virus (SINV) are more sensitive to ZAP than o'nyong'nyong virus (ONNV) and CHIKV. We hypothesized that the more ZAP-resistant alphaviruses evade ZAP binding to their RNA. However, we did not find a correlation between ZAP sensitivity and binding to alp

SUBMITTER: Nguyen LP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10145277 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature