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Potential Viroporin Candidates From Pathogenic Viruses Using Bacteria-Based Bioassays

Prabhat Pratap Singh Tomar1, Rivka Oren1, Miriam Krugliak1

  • 1Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus Givat-Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.

Viruses
|July 21, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Viroporins, viral proteins with ion channel activity, are potential targets for antiviral therapies. This study identified six new viroporin candidates from various viruses using bacterial assays, offering a rapid screening method for novel antiviral drug discovery.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Viroporins are small hydrophobic viral proteins facilitating ion transport across membranes.
  • Targeting viroporins offers a potential strategy to inhibit viral infectivity, analogous to blocking influenza's M2 H+ channel.
  • Identifying novel viroporins is crucial for developing new antiviral therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize novel viroporin candidates from biomedically important viruses.
  • To establish a rapid bacterial assay for detecting viral protein ion channel activity.
  • To provide a platform for screening potential viroporin channel blockers.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized three distinct bacterial assays to screen for ion channel activity.
  • Analyzed six small hydrophobic proteins from Eastern equine encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Dengue virus, and Variola virus.
  • Assessed protein function based on their ability to induce ion permeability in bacterial systems.

Main Results:

  • Eastern equine encephalitis virus 6k, West Nile virus MgM, Dengue virus 2k, Dengue virus P1, Variola virus gp170, and Variola virus gp151 proteins demonstrated ion channel activity in bacterial assays.
  • These proteins are identified as potential viroporin candidates.
  • The bacterial assays proved effective in identifying proteins with channel activity.

Conclusions:

  • The identified proteins exhibit characteristics of viroporins and warrant further investigation.
  • The developed bacterial assay provides a rapid and accessible method for discovering new viroporin candidates.
  • This approach can accelerate the identification of novel targets for antiviral drug development.
Keywords:
anti-viral drugsbacterial assayschannel blockersviral channels

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