Development of a S-adenosylmethionine analog that intrudes the RNA-cap binding site of Zika methyltransferase.
Jain, R., Butler, K.V., Coloma, J., Jin, J., Aggarwal, A.K.(2017) Sci Rep 7: 1632-1632
- PubMed: 28487506 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-01756-7
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5ULP - PubMed Abstract: 
The Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a major health hazard. We present here a high resolution structure (1.55 Å) of ZIKV NS5 methyltransferase bound to a novel S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) analog in which a 4-fluorophenyl moiety substitutes for the methyl group. We show that the 4-fluorophenyl moiety extends into a portion of the RNA binding tunnel that typically contains the adenosine 2'OH of the RNA-cap moiety. Together, the new SAM analog and the high-resolution crystal structure are a step towards the development of antivirals against ZIKV and other flaviviruses.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, USA.