Unique properties of Zika NS2B-NS3pro complexes as decoded by experiments and MD simulations

Amrita Roy; Liangzhong Lim; Shagun Srivastava; Jianxing Song

Together, these results clearly indicate that unlike Dengue one, Zika NS2B indeed has a dynamic and disordered C-terminal region even in the enzymatically active complexes with its NS3pro domain. Nevertheless, our results suggest that this C-terminal region is absolutely required for implementing the catalytic actions, implying that the closed conformation might be indeed the enzymatically-active conformation, as previously speculated (20) (21) (22) (23) 31) , because the deletion of the C-terminal region completely abolishes the potential of Zika NS2B-NS3pro complex to form the closed conformation. Additionally, despite being highly disordered, the C-region might have other functional roles such as to maintain functional dynamics to facilitate HCV replication (32, 33) . author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.