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Discovery and structural characterization of monkeypox virus methyltransferase VP39 inhibitors reveal similarities to SARS-CoV-2 nsp14 methyltransferase
Nature Communications 14: 2259 (2023)
Monkeypox is a disease with pandemic potential. It is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), a double-stranded DNA virus from the Poxviridae family, that replicates in the cytoplasm and must encode for its own RNA processing machinery including the capping machinery. Here, we present crystal structures of its 2′-O-RNA methyltransferase (MTase) VP39 in complex with the pan-MTase inhibitor sinefungin and a series of inhibitors that were discovered based on it. A comparison of this 2′-O-RNA MTase with enzymes from unrelated single-stranded RNA viruses (SARS-CoV-2 and Zika) reveals a conserved sinefungin binding mode, implicating that a single inhibitor could be used against unrelated viral families. Indeed, several of our inhibitors such as TO507 also inhibit the coronaviral nsp14 MTase.
Cryo-EM structures of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense ISG65 with human complement C3 and C3b and their roles in alternative pathway restriction
Nature Communications 14: 2403 (2023)
GPR160 is not a receptor of anorexigenic cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide
European Journal of Pharmacology 949: 175713 (2023)
Protein Crowding and Cholesterol Increase Cell Membrane Viscosity in a Temperature Dependent Manner
Journal of Theoretical & Computational Chemistry 2023: Early View