An N-terminal amphipathic helix in dengue virus nonstructural protein 4A mediates oligomerization and is essential for replication.

Omer Stern, Yu-Fu Hung, Olga Valdau, Yakey Yaffe, Eva Harris, Silke Hoffmann, Dieter Willbold, Ella H Sklan

Journal of virology 2013 Apr

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Dengue virus (DENV) causes dengue fever, a major health concern worldwide. We identified an amphipathic helix (AH) in the N-terminal region of the viral nonstructural protein 4A (NS4A). Disruption of its amphipathic nature using mutagenesis reduced homo-oligomerization and abolished viral replication. These data emphasize the significance of NS4A in the life cycle of the dengue virus and demarcate it as a target for the design of novel antiviral therapy.

Citation

Omer Stern, Yu-Fu Hung, Olga Valdau, Yakey Yaffe, Eva Harris, Silke Hoffmann, Dieter Willbold, Ella H Sklan. An N-terminal amphipathic helix in dengue virus nonstructural protein 4A mediates oligomerization and is essential for replication. Journal of virology. 2013 Apr;87(7):4080-5