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Updated: Oct 20, 2025

Arbovirus Infections As Screening Tools for the Identification of Viral Immunomodulators and Host Antiviral Factors
Published on: September 13, 2018
Uncovering viral RNA-host cell interactions on a proteome-wide scale
Louisa Iselin1, Natasha Palmalux2, Wael Kamel3
1Nuffield Department of Medicine, Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SY, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3QU, Oxford, UK.
Abstract:
RNA viruses interact with a wide range of cellular RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) during their life cycle. The prevalence of these host-virus interactions has been highlighted by new methods that elucidate the composition of viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs). Applied to 11 viruses so far, these approaches have revealed hundreds of cellular RBPs that interact with viral (v)RNA in infected cells. However, consistency across methods is limited, raising questions about methodological considerations when designing and interpreting these studies. Here, we discuss these caveats and, through comparing available vRNA interactomes, describe RBPs that are consistently identified as vRNP components and outline their potential roles in infection. In summary, these novel approaches have uncovered a new universe of host-virus interactions holding great therapeutic potential.
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