Interferons are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten their anti-viral defenses.
Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do not destroy their target pathogen; instead they inhibit its development.
Vaccinia virus is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, which encodes approximately 250 genes. The dimensions of the virion are roughly 360 × 270 × 250 nm, with a mass of approximately 5–10 fg.
Nelfinavir is an antiretroviral drug used in the treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Nelfinavir belongs to the class of drugs known as protease inhibitors (PIs) and like other PIs is almost always used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs. Nelfinavir has been shown to treat SARS-coronavirus, and is being tested to treat COVID-19.
Transcription factor Sp1, also known as specificity protein 1* is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SP1 gene.
A viroplasm, sometimes called 'virus factory' or 'virus inclusion'. is an inclusion body in a cell where viral replication and assembly occurs. They may be thought of as viral factories in the cell. There are many viroplasms in one infected cell, where they appear dense to electron microscopy. Very little is understood about the mechanism of viroplasm formation.
APOBEC3G is a human enzyme encoded by the APOBEC3G gene that belongs to the APOBEC superfamily of proteins. This family of proteins has been suggested to play an important role in innate anti-viral immunity. APOBEC3G belongs to the family of cytidine deaminases that catalyze the deamination of cytidine to uridine in the single stranded DNA substrate. The C-terminal domain of A3G renders catalytic activity, several NMR and crystal structures explain the substrate specificity and catalytic activity
Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) is a DNA poxvirus that causes the human skin infection molluscum contagiosum. Molluscum contagiosum affects about 200,000 people a year, about 1% of all diagnosed skin diseases. Diagnosis is based on the size and shape of the skin lesions and can be confirmed with a biopsy, as the virus cannot be routinely cultured. Molluscum contagiosum virus is the only species in the genus Molluscipoxvirus. MCV is a member of the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae of family Poxviridae. Other commonly known viruses that reside in the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae are variola virus and monkeypox virus.
Interferon regulatory factor 3, also known as IRF3, is an interferon regulatory factor.
Interferon regulatory factor 7, also known as IRF7, is a member of the interferon regulatory factor family of transcription factors.
Interferon-induced GTP-binding protein MX2/MXB is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MX2 gene.
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 6,000 virus species have been described in detail of the millions of types of viruses in the environment. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. The study of viruses is known as virology, a subspeciality of microbiology.
The Yaba monkey tumor virus is a type of poxvirus. The first case of the virus was obtained from a colony of rhesus monkeys in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. The virus caused the formation of tumors on the bodies of the monkeys. From these tumors the virus was isolated and determined to be its own species of virus. It is a species of the Yatapoxvirus genus and is closely related to the tanapox. The virus gets its name from the suburb of Yaba, Lagos.
Antiviral proteins are proteins that are induced by human or animal cells to interfere with viral replication. These proteins are isolated to inhibit the virus from replicating in a host's cells and stop it from spreading to other cells. The Pokeweed antiviral protein and the Zinc-Finger antiviral protein are two major antiviral proteins that have undergone several tests for viruses, including HIV and influenza.
William A. Haseltine is an American scientist, businessman, author, and philanthropist. He is known for his groundbreaking work on HIV/AIDS and the human genome. Haseltine was a professor at Harvard Medical School where he founded two research departments on cancer and HIV/AIDS. Haseltine is a founder of several biotechnology companies including Cambridge Biosciences, The Virus Research Institute, ProScript, LeukoSite, Dendreon, Diversa, X-VAX, and Demetrix. He was a founder chairman and CEO of Human Genome Sciences, a company that pioneered the application of genomics to drug discovery. He is the president of the Haseltine Foundation for Science and the Arts and is the founder, chairman, and president of ACCESS Health International, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving access to high-quality health worldwide. He was listed by Time Magazine as one of the world's 25 most influential business people in 2001 and one of the 100 most influential leaders in biotechnology by Scientific American in 2015.
Picornain 3C is a protease found in picornaviruses, which cleaves peptide bonds of non-terminal sequences. Picornain 3C’s endopeptidase activity is primarily responsible for the catalytic process of selectively cleaving Gln-Gly bonds in the polyprotein of poliovirus and with substitution of Glu for Gln, and Ser or Thr for Gly in other picornaviruses. Picornain 3C are cysteine proteases related by amino acid sequence to trypsin-like serine proteases. Picornain 3C is encoded by enteroviruses, rhinoviruses, aphtoviruses and cardioviruses. These genera of picoviruses cause a wide range of infections in humans and mammals.
B13R is a protein expressed by vaccinia virus.
HSV epigenetics is the epigenetic modification of herpes simplex virus (HSV) genetic code.
Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs are a class of antiviral drugs, which target and inhibit the replication and development of a broad range of viral pathogens. BSAAs work by inhibiting viral proteins or by targeting host cell proteins and processes exploited by the virus during infection.
Sangivamycin is a natural product originally isolated from Streptomyces rimosus, which is a nucleoside analogue. It acts as an inhibitor of protein kinase C. It has antibiotic, antiviral and anti-cancer properties and has been investigated for various medical applications, though never approved for clinical use itself. However, a number of related derivatives continue to be researched.
