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Engineered Puf Proteins: New Flexible Toolkits to Target the Replication of Rna Viruses Publisher



Kiani SJ1 ; Ghalejoogh ZY2 ; Samimirad K2
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Future Virology Published:2021


Abstract

Aim: The RNA recognition code of an RNA-binding protein known as Pumilio/FBF (PUF) protein was reprogrammed in order to provide binding to internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome. Materials & methods: The ability of the modified protein to repress IRES-dependent translation was analyzed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, cell viability assay, cell cytotoxicity assay and anti-HCV assay. Results: The modified protein was able to reduce reporter gene expression (>30%) and HCV viral load (>98%) and reduced HCV-induced cytotoxicity to the level observed in uninfected cells. Conclusion: Our results can set the stage for using modified PUFs for interfering with critical steps such as replication and translation in virus life cycle, especially RNA viruses. © 2021 Future Medicine Ltd.
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1. Repression of the Internal Ribosome Entry Site-Dependent Translation of Hepatitis C Virus by an Engineered Puf Protein, Hepatitis Monthly (2017)
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