A high-throughput cell-based screening method for Zika virus protease inhibitor discovery.

Zika virus (ZIKV) continues to pose a significant global public health threat, with recurring regional outbreaks and potential for pandemic spread. Despite often being asymptomatic, ZIKV infections can have severe consequences, including neurological disorders and congenital abnormalities. Unfortunately, there are currently no approved vaccines or antiviral drugs for the prevention or treatment of ZIKV. One promising target for drug development is the ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease due to its crucial role in the virus life cycle. In this study, we established a cell-based ZIKV protease inhibition assay designed for high-throughput screening (HTS). Our assay relies on the ZIKV protease's ability to cleave a cyclised firefly luciferase fused to a natural cleavage sequence between NS2B and NS3 protease within living cells. We evaluated the performance of our assay in HTS setting using the pharmacologic controls (JNJ-40418677 and MK-591) and by screening a Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC). The results confirmed the feasibility of our assay for compound library screening to identify potential ZIKV protease inhibitors.

Mechanistic insight into the RNA-stimulated ATPase activity of tick-borne encephalitis virus helicase.

The helicase domain of nonstructural protein 3 (NS3H) unwinds the double-stranded RNA replication intermediate in an ATP-dependent manner during the flavivirus life cycle. While the ATP hydrolysis mechanism of Dengue and Zika viruses NS3H has been extensively studied, little is known in the case of the tick-borne encephalitis virus NS3H. We demonstrate that ssRNA binds with nanomolar affinity to NS3H and strongly stimulates the ATP hydrolysis cycle, whereas ssDNA binds only weakly and inhibits ATPase activity in a noncompetitive manner. Thus, NS3H is an RNA-specific helicase, whereas DNA might act as an allosteric inhibitor. Using modeling, we explored plausible allosteric mechanisms by which ssDNA inhibits the ATPase via nonspecific binding in the vicinity of the active site and ATP repositioning. We captured several structural snapshots of key ATP hydrolysis stages using X-ray crystallography. One intermediate, in which the inorganic phosphate and ADP remained trapped inside the ATPase site after hydrolysis, suggests that inorganic phosphate release is the rate-limiting step. Using structure-guided modeling and molecular dynamics simulation, we identified putative RNA-binding residues and observed that the opening and closing of the ATP-binding site modulates RNA affinity. Site-directed mutagenesis of the conserved RNA-binding residues revealed that the allosteric activation of ATPase activity is primarily communicated via an arginine residue in domain 1. In summary, we characterized conformational changes associated with modulating RNA affinity and mapped allosteric communication between RNA-binding groove and ATPase site of tick-borne encephalitis virus helicase.

Generation of recombinant rabies viruses encoding NanoLuc luciferase for antiviral activity assays.

Rabies is an invariably fatal disease caused by Rabies virus (RABV), a member of the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Lyssavirus. Once central nervous infection occurs and symptoms develop, the case fatality rate approaches 100% despite availability of post-exposure prophylaxis. Therefore, new antiviral therapies for rabies are urgently required. Antivirals which can inhibit virus replication can be identified through screening of small compounds, however, as RABV infection does not generate easily discernible cytopathic effects in vitro, cell viability assays may not be feasible to observe antiviral activity of small compounds against RABV. In this study, recombinant RABVs (rRABVs) encoding NanoLuc luciferase (NanoLuc) were generated to facilitate the screening of small compound libraries. NanoLuc expression was confirmed in single-step growth cures of virus infection and showed that the rRABVs were capable of viral replication without decrease of luciferase activity through ten serial passages. Furthermore, the rRABVs were able to quantify the antiviral activity of the nucleoside analogue ribavirin against RABV in vitro. These findings confirm the potential of the rRABV encoding NanoLuc system to facilitate screening of small compounds to inhibit RABV infection.

Detection of coronavirus genomes in Moluccan naked-backed fruit bats in Indonesia.

Bats have been shown to serve as natural reservoirs for numerous emerging viruses including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In the present study, we report the discovery of bat CoV genes in Indonesian Moluccan naked-backed fruit bats (Dobsonia moluccensis). A partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene sequence was detected in feces and tissues samples from the fruit bats, and the region between the RdRp and helicase genes could also be amplified from fecal samples. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that these bat CoVs are related to members of the genus Betacoronavirus.