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Targeting viruses in their phase

  1. Paulina Strzyz
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It is now well-established that weak, multivalent interactions involving proteins and nucleic acids can lead to the formation of membraneless macromolecular assemblies, or condensates, via liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS). These condensates are prevalent in eukaryotic cells and we are now starting to appreciate their many cellular functions. LLPS has also been found to have roles in bacteria and during viral infection. In the latter case, LLPS may affect not only viral replication, but could also modulate host cell functions to promote viral spread. Hence, better understanding of the involvement of LLPS during the life cycle of human viruses could result in the development of new antiviral therapeutics. Two recent papers pave the way in this direction.

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Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 20, 667 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-021-00129-0

This article originally appeared in Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-021-00400-7)

References

  1. Wang, S. et al. Targeting liquid–liquid phase separation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein promotes innate antiviral immunity by elevating MAVS activity. Nat. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-021-00710-0 (2021)

  2. Risso-Ballester, J. et al. A condensate-hardening drug blocks RSV replication in vivo. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03703-z (2021)

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