The ability of alphavirus replicases to synthesize non-viral type I interferon-inducing RNAs correlates with viral RNA synthesis and has a diverse impact on virus replication and pathogenicity.

ABSTRACT: Alphaviruses have positive-strand RNA genomes that mimic cellular mRNAs, and their translation results in the synthesis of nonstructural (ns) polyprotein, the precursor of viral replicase. The ns polyprotein is processed by its protease activity to form an early replicase complex, responsible for the synthesis of negative-strand RNA that forms a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) replication intermediate with the RNA genome. The following processing results in the formation of a late replicase complex responsible for the synthesis of positive-strand RNAs. Replication complexes are anchored to membranes, and dsRNA is shielded from cellular pattern recognition receptors. Nevertheless, alphavirus infection triggers a type I interferon response; this is partly due to the ability of replicases to util

SUBMITTER: Omler A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12911905 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature