Multiple functions of stress granules in viral infection at a glance

Yuelin Guan; Yan Wang; Xudong Fu; Guannan Bai; Xue Li; Jianhua Mao; Yongbin Yan; Lidan Hu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1138864

Multiple functions of stress granules in viral infection at a glance

Front Microbiol. 2023 Mar 1:14:1138864. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1138864. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yuelin Guan¹, Yan Wang¹, Xudong Fu^{2

3}, Guannan Bai¹, Xue Li⁴, Jianhua Mao¹, Yongbin Yan⁵, Lidan Hu¹

Affiliations

¹ The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.
² Center of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
³ Zhejiang Laboratory for Systems and Precision Medicine, Zhejiang University Medical Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Big Data in Health Science School of Public Health and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Stress granules (SGs) are distinct RNA granules induced by various stresses, which are evolutionarily conserved across species. In general, SGs act as a conservative and essential self-protection mechanism during stress responses. Viruses have a long evolutionary history and viral infections can trigger a series of cellular stress responses, which may interact with SG formation. Targeting SGs is believed as one of the critical and conservative measures for viruses to tackle the inhibition of host cells. In this systematic review, we have summarized the role of SGs in viral infection and categorized their relationships into three tables, with a particular focus on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Moreover, we have outlined several kinds of drugs targeting SGs according to different pathways, most of which are potentially effective against SARS-CoV-2. We believe this review would offer a new view for the researchers and clinicians to attempt to develop more efficacious treatments for virus infection, particularly for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; antiviral drugs; drug design; stress granule; viral infection.

Publication types

Review