Targeting hepatitis C virus RNA

CARB 32

Thomas Hermann, tch@ucsd.edu, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093
The non-translated region of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) that is required for viral protein synthesis. We have used X-ray crystallography, fluorescent labelling in solution as well as binding studies with small-molecule ligands to investigate a highly conserved RNA motif in the HCV IRES which is a potential target for antiviral drug therapy.