학술논문

FHL1 is a key player of chikungunya virus tropism and pathogenesis
Document Type
article
Source
Comptes Rendus Biologies, Vol 343, Iss 4, Pp 79-89 (2021)
Subject
Chikungunya
Four and a Half LIM domains 1 Tropism
Pathogenesis
Virus infection
Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
Language
English
French
ISSN
1768-3238
Abstract
Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, and for which there is no licensed vaccine nor antiviral treatments. By using a loss-of-function genetic screen, we have recently identified the FHL1 protein as an essential host factor for CHIKV tropism and pathogenesis. FHL1 is highly expressed in muscles cells and fibroblasts, the main CHIKV-target cells. FHL1 interacts with the viral protein nsP3 and plays a critical role in CHIKV genome amplification. Experiments in vivo performed in FHL1-deficient mice have shown that these animals are resistant to infection and do not develop muscular lesions. Altogether these observations, published in the journal Nature [1], show that FHL1 is a key host factor for CHIKV pathogenesis and identify the interaction between FHL1 and nsP3 as a promising target for the development of new antiviral strategies.