Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) cDNA cassettes containing sequences encoding the capsid precursor P1-2A with and without those encoding the proteases L and 3C were introduced into Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) expression vectors. Procapsid proteins 1AB, 1C and 1D were produced in cells infected with recombinant baculoviruses, when L and 3C were present in the co...

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease that produces severe economic losses in the livestock industry. This disease is being controlled by the use of an inactivated vaccine. However, the use of recombinant empty capsids as a subunit vaccine has been reported to be a promising candidate because it avoids the use of virus in the vaccine production. A plasmid containing the capsid p...

A cell-based system that detects human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) 3C protease (3C) activity, using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), was established by creating a stable cell line that constitutively expresses a FRET protein construct consisting of a 3C cleavage motif flanked by a FRET pair of enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP) and enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP). HEV7...

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) 3C protease (3C(pro)) plays a vital role in virus replication by performing most of the cleavages required to divide the viral polyprotein precursor into its functional component proteins. To date, no structural information has been available for FMDV 3C(pro), which is an attractive target for antiviral drugs. Targeted mutagenesis of surface amino acids ident...

The host innate immune response to viral infections often involves the activation of parallel pattern recognition receptor (PRR) pathways that converge on the induction of type I interferons (IFNs). Several viruses have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to attenuate antiviral host signaling by directly interfering with the activation and/or downstream signaling events associated with PRR signal ...

Oligonucleotides as short as 6 nt in length have been shown to bind specifically and tightly to proteins and affect their biological function. Yet, sparse structural data are available for corresponding complexes. Employing a recently developed hexanucleotide array, we identified hexadeoxyribonucleotides that bind specifically to the 3C protease of hepatitis A virus (HAV 3C(pro)). Inhibition as...

SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus) caused infection of ~8000 people and death of ~800 patients around the world during the 2003 outbreak. In addition, picornaviruses such as enterovirus, coxsackievirus and rhinovirus also can cause life-threatening diseases. Replication of picornaviruses and coronaviruses requires 3Cpro (3C protease) and 3CLpro (3C-like protease...