March 1, 2012
Purdue researchers created this three-dimensional reconstruction of enterovirus 71, which causes hand, foot and mouth disease and potentially fatal encephalitis. Researchers are reporting new findings about the structure of the virus, proposing a way to design an antiviral drug to treat the infection. (Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have discovered critical new details about the structure of a virus that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children, pointing toward designs for antiviral drugs to treat the disease....
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ABSTRACT
Crystal Structure of the Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Virus, Enterovirus 71
Pavel Plevka1, Rushika Perera1, Jane Cardosa2, Richard J. Kuhn1, and Michael G. Rossmann1*
1Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
2Sentinext Therapeutics, Malaysia
Enterovirus 71 is a picornavirus associated with fatal neurological illness in infants and young children. Here we report the crystal structure of enterovirus 71 and show that, unlike in other enteroviruses, the "pocket factor," a small molecule that stabilizes the virus, is partly exposed on the floor of the canyon. Thus the structure of antiviral compounds may require a hydrophilic head group designed to interact with residues at the entrance of the pocket.
