Context-Dependent Cleavage of the Capsid Protein by the West Nile Virus Protease Modulates the Efficiency of Virus Assembly.

ABSTRACT:

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The molecular mechanisms that define the specificity of flavivirus RNA encapsulation are poorly understood. Virions composed of the structural proteins of one flavivirus and the genomic RNA of a heterologous strain can be assembled and have been developed as live attenuated vaccine candidates for several flaviviruses. In this study, we discovered that not all combinations of flavivirus components are possible. While a West Nile virus (WNV) subgenomic RNA could readily be packaged by structural proteins of the DENV2 strain 16681, production of infectious virions with DENV2 strain New Guinea C (NGC) structural proteins was not possible, despite the very high amino acid identity between these viruses. Mutagenesis studies identified a single residue (position 101) of the DEN

SUBMITTER: VanBlargan LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4524226 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature