A Ligand-Binding Pocket in the Dengue Virus Envelope Glycoprotein
Modis, Y., Ogata, S., Clements, D., Harrison, S.C.(2003) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100: 6986
- PubMed: 12759475 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0832193100
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1OAN, 1OKE - PubMed Abstract: 
Dengue virus is an emerging global health threat. Its major envelope glycoprotein, E, mediates viral attachment and entry by membrane fusion. A crystal structure of the soluble ectodomain of E from dengue virus type 2 reveals a hydrophobic pocket lined by residues that influence the pH threshold for fusion. The pocket, which accepts a hydrophobic ligand, opens and closes through a conformational shift in a beta-hairpin at the interface between two domains. These features point to a structural pathway for the fusion-activating transition and suggest a strategy for finding small-molecule inhibitors of dengue and other flaviviruses.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 320 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.