Inhibition of Influenza A virus propagation by benzoselenoxanthenes stabilizing TMPRSS2 Gene G-quadruplex and hence down-regulating TMPRSS2 expression
Li-Wen Shen, Man-Qing Qian, Kai Yu, Suresh Narva, Fei Yu, Yan-Ling Wu & Wen Zhang
Scientific Reports volume 10, Article number: 7635 (2020)
Abstract
Proteolytic cleavage of influenza A virus (IAV) hemagglutinin by host proteases is crucial for virus infectivity and spread. The transmembrane serine protease TMPRSS2 was previously identified as the essential protease that can cleave hemagglutinin of many subtypes of influenza virus and spike protein of coronavirus. Herein, we found that a guanine rich tract, capable of forming intramolecular G-quadruplex in the presence of potassium ions, in the promoter region of human TMPRSS2 gene was quite important for gene transcriptional activity, hence affecting its function.
