Identifying crucial E-protein residues responsible for unusual stability of Zika virus envelope.

ABSTRACT: An outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in 2015-16 that caused microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities in newborns prompted intense research across the globe. These studies have suggested that ZIKV can survive high temperatures and harsh physiological conditions, unlike the other flaviviruses such as dengue virus (DENV). In contrast, recent cryo-electron microscopy studies have shown very similar architecture of the ZIKV and DENV envelopes that constitute the primary level of viral protection. Encouraged by these findings, here we attempt to identify the crucial protein residues that make the ZIKV envelope so robust by employing coarse-grained and all-atomic molecular dynamics simulations and computational mutagenesis studies. In accordance with more recent cryo-electron micros

SUBMITTER: Pindi C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8511359 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature