Y-Box Binding Protein 1 Interacts with Dengue Virus Nucleocapsid and Mediates Viral Assembly
Mayra Diosa‐Toro, Debbie R. Kennedy, Vanessa Chuo, Vsevolod L. Popov, Julien Pompon, Mariano A. García-Blanco
Abstract
The global incidence of dengue virus (DENV) infections has steadily increased over the past decades representing an enormous challenge for public health. During infection, DENV viral RNA interacts with numerous host RNA binding proteins (RBPs) that aid viral replication and thus constitute potential molecular targets to curb infection. We recently reported that Y-box-binding protein 1 (YBX1) interacts with DENV RNA and is required at a late step of the replication cycle. Here we describe the molecular mechanism by which YBX1 mediates DENV infection. We show that YBX1 interacts with the viral nucleocapsid, distributes to DENV assembly sites and is required for efficient assembly of intracellular infectious virions. These results provide important insights into DENV assembly, revealing novel functions of host RBPs during viral infection and opening new avenues for antiviral intervention.