Virally encoded receptor

In principle, various targets for therapeutic intervention exist. A successful drug can interact with viral receptors, virally encoded enzymes, viral structural components, viral genes or transcripts, or cellular factors required for viral replication. In recent years, attention has been given to small molecules that can target viral-specific RNA sites and prevent the formation of key RNA-protein and RNA-RNA complexes. Aminoglycoside antibiotics have provided the impetus for this approach as discussed below. 

Chemokines are small chemotactic cytokines that act as important messenger molecules between cells of the immune system. Chemokines produce their effects by activating a family of G-protein-coupled receptors. Chemokine receptors are all seven-transmembrane glycoproteins that are structurally related. They may be characterized into those that bind to specific ligands, or those that bind several chemokine ligands. There are also virally encoded (viral) chemokine receptors that represent shared receptors that have been transduced into the viral genome during evolutionary history (Premack and SchaU 1996). 

Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) Activation of oncogenes and expression of a virally encoded VEGF receptor Flaitz and Hicks [63]... 

Several kinds of structures able to receive functional signals of CK are known. The most important ones can be formed into the following categories (1) specific receptors, (2) shared receptors, (3) promiscuous receptors, (4) virally encoded receptors, and (5) orphan receptors. ... 

Virally encoded chemokines have also been discovered, in several herpesviruses (e.g. HHV-8, mouse cytomegalovirus) and in molluscum conta-giosum virus (MCV), a human poxvirus which causes the skin disease molluscum contagiosum. Interestingly, broad-spectrum chemokine receptor antagonist activity has been reported for several of these molecules, including vMIP-II of HHV-8 and MC148R of... 

Viral-encoded G-protein coupled receptors new targets for drug research ... 

M.J. Smit, H. Timmerman, D. VerzijI, R. Leurs Chemokine receptors interaction with FIIV-1 and viral-encoded chemokines... 

Keywords Viral-encoded G-protein coupled receptor Herpes virus CMV KSHV GPCR... 

The viral-encoded GPCRs show highest homology to the family of chemokine receptors. The members of this family can be divided in three subclasses based on their ability to bind to different classes of chemokines. One... 

Chemokine receptors interaction with HIV-1 and viral-encoded... 

Chemokine Receptor Heterodimerization with Virally Encoded CPCRs... 

Casarosa, P., Menge, W.M., Minisini, R., Otto, C., van Heteren, J., Jongejan, A., Timmerman, H., Moepps, B. et al. (2003) Identification of the first nonpeptidergic inverse agonist for a constitutively active viral-encoded G protein-coupled receptor. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 278, 5172-5178. 

Hulshof, J.W., Vischer, H.F., Verheij, M.H., Fratantoni, S.A., Smit, M.J., de Esch, I.J., and Leurs, R. (2006) Synthesis and pharmacological characterization of novel inverse agonists acting on the viral-encoded chemokine receptor US28. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 14, 7213-7230. 

Vischer, H.F., Vink, C., and Smit, M.J. (2006) A viral conspiracy hijacking the chemokine system through virally encoded pirated chemokine receptors. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 303, 121-154. 

This article will focus mainly on virally encoded mimics of chemokine system components (Table 1). Only a brief summary of the cellular chemokine receptors used for cell... 

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