The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus (CoV) is an enveloped, positive-stranded RNA viruses that can cause a severe respiratory disease. Its genome consists of a ∼30 kb linear, non-segmented, capped, polycistronic, polyadenylated RNA molecule, the first two-third of which is directly translated into two large polyproteins. These two polypeptides are processed into 16 non-structural proteins (nsps), forming the replicase complex, which is active in the cytoplasm in close association with cellular membranes. Nsp1 was proved to be able to suppress host gene expression by promoting host mRNA degradation and was involved in cellular chemokine deregulation. This virus evades the host innate immune response in part through the expression of its non-structural protein (nsp) 1, which inhibits both host gene expression and virus- and interferon (IFN)-dependent signaling. Thus, nsp1 is a promising target for drugs, as inhibition of nsp1 would make SARS-CoV more susceptible to the host antiviral defenses.
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