Zika virus proteins at an atomic scale: how does structural biology help us to understand and develop vaccines and drugs against Zika virus infection?

ABSTRACT: In Brazil and in other tropical areas Zika virus infection was directly associated with clinical complications as microcephaly in newborn children whose mothers were infected during pregnancy and the Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. Recently, research has been focused on developing new vaccines and drug candidates against Zika virus infection since none of those are available. In order to contribute to vaccine and drug development efforts, it becomes important the understanding of the molecular basis of the Zika virus recognition, infection and blockade. To this purpose, it is essential the structural determination of the Zika virus proteins. The genome sequencing of the Zika virus identified ten proteins, being three structural (protein E, protein C and protein prM) and seven non-struct

SUBMITTER: Valente AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6727858 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature