The Structural Biology of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, an Emerging Viral Threat

S Saif Hasan; Debajit Dey; Suruchi Singh; Matthew Martin

doi:10.3390/pathogens10080973

The Structural Biology of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, an Emerging Viral Threat

Pathogens. 2021 Jul 31;10(8):973. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10080973.

Authors

S Saif Hasan^{1

2

3}, Debajit Dey¹, Suruchi Singh¹, Matthew Martin¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 108 N. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
² Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
³ University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, 22. S. Greene St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.

Abstract

Alphaviruses are arboviruses that cause arthritis and encephalitis in humans. Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that is implicated in severe encephalitis in humans with high mortality. However, limited insights are available into the fundamental biology of EEEV and residue-level details of its interactions with host proteins. In recent years, outbreaks of EEEV have been reported mainly in the United States, raising concerns about public safety. This review article summarizes recent advances in the structural biology of EEEV based mainly on single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) structures. Together with functional analyses of EEEV and related alphaviruses, these structural investigations provide clues to how EEEV interacts with host proteins, which may open avenues for the development of therapeutics.

Keywords: alphavirus; antibody; assembly; eastern equine encephalitis virus; structure.

Publication types

Review