Unconventional viral gene expression mechanisms as therapeutic targets

Review

关键词: HEPATITIS-C-VIRUS;    RIBOSOME ENTRY SITE;    OPEN READING FRAMES;    OVERLAPPING CODING SEQUENCES;    MESSENGER-RNA;    INFLUENZA-VIRUS;    SENDAI-VIRUS;    TRANSLATION INITIATION;    CRYPTIC EPITOPES;    V-PROTEIN;   

DOI  :  10.1038/s41586-021-03511-5

来源: SCIE

【 摘 要 】

Unlike the human genome that comprises mostly noncoding and regulatory sequences, viruses have evolved under the constraints of maintaining a small genome size while expanding the efficiency of their coding and regulatory sequences. As a result, viruses use strategies of transcription and translation in which one or more of the steps in the conventional gene-protein production line are altered. These alternative strategies of viral gene expression (also known as gene recoding) can be uniquely brought about by dedicated viral enzymes or by co-opting host factors (known as host dependencies). Targeting these unique enzymatic activities and host factors exposes vulnerabilities of a virus and provides a paradigm for the design of novel antiviral therapies. In this Review, we describe the types and mechanisms of unconventional gene and protein expression in viruses, and provide a perspective on how future basic mechanistic work could inform translational efforts that are aimed at viral eradication.

【 授权许可】

Free