JAC Advance Access originally published online on July 14, 2004
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Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2004 54(2):299-302; doi:10.1093/jac/dkh355
JAC vol.54 no.2 © The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2004; all rights reserved.
Leading article |
Inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus by RhoA-derived peptides: implications for the development of improved antiviral agents targeting heparin-binding viruses

1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232; 2 Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, Vaccine Research Center-NIAID, National Institutes of Health, MSC 3017, Bldg. 40 Room 2502, 40 Convent Dr., Bethesda, MD, 208923017, USA
Corresponding author. Tel: +1-301-594-8468; Fax: +1-301-480-2771; Email: bgraham{at}nih.gov
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion glycoprotein (F) can interact with the small intracellular GTPase RhoA, and peptides derived from RhoA inhibit RSV replication. These observations initially suggested that RhoA-derived peptides might inhibit RSV replication by disrupting an in vivo interaction between RSV F and RhoA. However, recent data indicate that the antiviral activity of RhoA-derived peptides is not due to competitive inhibition of an hypothesized FRhoA interaction, but is rather a function of the peptides' intrinsic biophysical properties. We summarize here what is known about the mechanism of RSV inhibition by these peptides and give our opinion regarding the potential implications of this work with regards to RSV biology, and to the development of antiviral agents targeting RSV and other enveloped viruses.
Keywords: RSV , polyanions , fusion inhibition , dextran sulphate , sulphated polysaccharides , antiviral agents , post-attachment neutralization , human immunodeficiency virus , HIV , heparin , heparan sulphate