Abstract 2235 Viral SF1B helicases as antiviral targets

The successful development of inhibitors to viral enzymes like the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and protease that exhibit broad-spectrum activity support the general notion that viral enzymes are tractable drug targets. Plus-strand RNA viruses of animals encode a helicase, although helicase activity has not been demonstrated for all. Alphaviruses (chikungunya virus, CHIKV) and coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS2) encode superfamily 1B (SF1B) helicases that translocate in a 5'->3' direction.