Properties and Functions of the Dengue Virus Capsid Protein.

BYK L.; GAMARNIK A

Annual Review of Virology

AR

Año: 2016

Dengue virus affects hundreds of millions of peopleeach year around the world, causing a tremendous social and economic impact onaffected countries. The aim of this review is to summarize our currentknowledge of functions, structure, and interactions of the viral capsid protein.The primary role of capsid is to package the viral genome. There are twoprocesses linked to this function: the recruitment of the viral RNA duringassembly and the release of the genome during infection. Although particleassembly takes place on endoplasmic reticulum membranes, capsid localizes innucleoli and lipid droplets. Why capsid accumulates in these locations duringinfection is still a puzzle. Here, we describe available data and discuss newideas on dengue virus capsid functions and interactions. We believe that adeeper understanding of how the capsid protein works during infection will opennovel opportunities for antiviral strategies, which are urgently needed to controldengue virus infections.