A small molecule that targets the processivity factor of molluscum contagiosum virus has therapeutic potential.

ABSTRACT: Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is an infectious disease that occurs only in humans with a tropism that is narrowly restricted to the outermost epidermal layer of the skin. Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) is the causative agent of MC which produces skin lesions that can persist for months to several years. MCV is efficiently transmitted by direct physical contact or by indirect contact with fomites. MC is most prevalent in children and immune compromised patients. The failure to develop a drug that targets MCV replication has been hampered for decades by the inability to propagate MCV in cell culture. To address this dilemma, we recently engineered a surrogate poxvirus expressing the MCV processivity factor (mD4) as the drug target. The mD4 protein is essential for viral replication by keepin

SUBMITTER: Guan H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10209390 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature