A fluorescence-activatable reporter of flavivirus NS2B-NS3 protease activity enables live imaging of infection in single cells and viral plaques.

ABSTRACT: The genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae comprises many medically important viruses, such as dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and yellow fever virus. The quest for therapeutic targets to combat flavivirus infections requires a better understanding of the kinetics of virus-host interactions during infections with native viral strains. However, this is precluded by limitations of current cell-based systems for monitoring flavivirus infection in living cells. In the present study, we report the construction of fluorescence-activatable sensors to detect the activities of flavivirus NS2B-NS3 serine proteases in living cells. The system consists of GFP-based reporters that become fluorescent upon cleavage by recombinant DENV-2/ZIKV proteases in vitro A version of this

SUBMITTER: Arias-Arias JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7039541 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature