A novel druggable interprotomer pocket in the capsid of rhino- and enteroviruses
Rhino- and enteroviruses are important human pathogens, against which no antivirals are available.
The best-studied inhibitors are “capsid binders” that fit in a hydrophobic pocket of the viral capsid. Employing a new class of entero-/rhinovirus inhibitors and by means of cryo–electron microscopy (EM), followed by resistance selection and reverse genetics, we discovered a hitherto unknown druggable pocket that is formed by viral proteins VP1 and VP3 and that is conserved across entero-/rhinovirus species.