Targeting viral capsid assembly

Researchers at Prosetta Antiviral Inc. have used an in vitro screen to identify small molecules targeting the host-catalyzed capsid assembly pathway for the rabies virus.¹ The biotech has partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to use the screen to identify small molecules targeting the pathway for HIV.

The viral capsid is a multiprotein complex that gives a virus its shape and protects its genome. Although once thought to form spontaneously, the viral capsid has recently been shown by Jaisri Lingappa and others to form via a pathway catalyzed by a host assembly complex.^2-4 Thus, directly targeting the proteins comprising the host assembly complex could be a way to block formation of the viral capsid and prevent viral infection...