Potential Dual Role of West Nile Virus NS2B in Orchestrating NS3 Enzymatic Activity in Viral Replication.

ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV) nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) harbors the viral triphosphatase and helicase for viral RNA synthesis and, together with NS2B, constitutes the protease responsible for polyprotein processing. NS3 is a soluble protein, but it is localized to specialized compartments at the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), where its enzymatic functions are essential for virus replication. However, the mechanistic details behind the recruitment of NS3 from the cytoplasm to the RER have not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we employed immunofluorescence and biochemical assays to demonstrate that NS3, when expressed individually and when cleaved from the viral polyprotein, is localized exclusively to the cytoplasm. Furthermore, NS3 appeared to be peripherally recruited to the RER

SUBMITTER: Tseng AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7911885 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature