Small-Molecule Fusion Inhibitors Bind the pH-Sensing Stable Signal Peptide-GP2 Subunit Interface of the Lassa Virus Envelope Glycoprotein.

ABSTRACT:

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Arenavirus species are responsible for severe life-threatening hemorrhagic fevers in western Africa and South America. Without effective antiviral therapies or vaccines, these viruses pose serious public health and biodefense concerns. Chemically distinct small-molecule inhibitors of arenavirus entry have recently been identified and shown to act on the arenavirus envelope glycoprotein (GPC) to prevent membrane fusion. In the tripartite GPC complex, pH-dependent membrane fusion is triggered through a poorly understood interaction between the stable signal peptide (SSP) and the transmembrane fusion subunit GP2, and our genetic studies have suggested that these small-molecule inhibitors act at this interface to antagonize fusion activation. Here, we have designed and synth

SUBMITTER: Shankar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4944282 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature