Insect-Specific Flavivirus Replication in Mammalian Cells Is Inhibited by Physiological Temperature and the Zinc-Finger Antiviral Protein.

ABSTRACT: The genus Flavivirus contains pathogenic vertebrate-infecting flaviviruses (VIFs) and insect-specific flaviviruses (ISF). ISF transmission to vertebrates is inhibited at multiple stages of the cellular infection cycle, via yet to be elucidated specific antiviral responses. The zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) in vertebrate cells can bind CpG dinucleotides in viral RNA, limiting virus replication. Interestingly, the genomes of ISFs contain more CpG dinucleotides compared to VIFs. In this study, we investigated whether ZAP prevents two recently discovered lineage II ISFs, Binjari (BinJV) and Hidden Valley viruses (HVV) from replicating in vertebrate cells. BinJV protein and dsRNA replication intermediates were readily observed in human ZAP knockout cells when cultured at 34 °C. In

SUBMITTER: Colmant AMG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8066048 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature