The RNA promoter for pathogenic orthoflaviviruses replication is universal and serves as target for viral inhibition - PubMed
2 hours ago
- #RNA promoter
- #orthoflavivirus
- #viral inhibition
- The RNA promoter Stem-Loop A (SLA) is essential for orthoflavivirus replication and conserved across diverse viruses including dengue, Zika, and tick-borne encephalitis.
- SLA's functional core, particularly the top loop interaction with the NS5 polymerase, is universally maintained, allowing interchangeability between viruses in infectious clones.
- Divergent SLA sub-elements, such as the three-way junction, have co-evolved in group-specific ways to preserve overall 3D structure and NS5 binding.
- Small molecules targeting the conserved SLA structure can inhibit replication across multiple pathogenic orthoflaviviruses, offering a broad-spectrum therapeutic strategy.