title: Flaviviral helicase: insights into the mechanism of action of a motor protein.
abstract: Motor proteins are involved in crucial cell activities, such as cargo transport or nucleic acid remodeling, by converting the free energy of ATP hydrolysis into motion or mechanical work. Flavivirus helicase is a motor protein involved in dsRNA separation during viral replication, thus essential for virus infection. Since a clear vision of the protein activity, in particular of the relationship between ATP cycling and dynamics, is missing, we carried over a molecular dynamics study on Dengue virus helicase in its ATP bound and unbound states. Our simulations show different opening levels of the ssRNA access site to the helicase core. Specifically, we show that ATP induces a closed state into the ssRNA access site, likely involved in the helicase unwinding activity.
authors.affiliation: CNR-Istituto di Biofisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Eloise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mastrangelo
authors.forename: Martino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bolognesi
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milani
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000737:chemistry; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000201:enzymology*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020365:RNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D020365:RNA Helicases