The genus , family , includes four historically accepted species, i.e., bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)-1 and -2, classical swine fever virus (CSFV), and border disease virus (BDV). A large number of new pestivirus species were identified in recent years. A common feature of most members is the presence of two unique proteins, N and E, that pestiviruses evolved to regulate the host's innate immune response. In addition to its function as a structural envelope glycoprotein, E is also released in the extracellular space, where it is endocytosed by neighboring cells. As an endoribonuclease, E is able to cleave viral ss- and dsRNAs, thus preventing the stimulation of the host's interferon (IFN) response. Here, w... More
The genus , family , includes four historically accepted species, i.e., bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)-1 and -2, classical swine fever virus (CSFV), and border disease virus (BDV). A large number of new pestivirus species were identified in recent years. A common feature of most members is the presence of two unique proteins, N and E, that pestiviruses evolved to regulate the host's innate immune response. In addition to its function as a structural envelope glycoprotein, E is also released in the extracellular space, where it is endocytosed by neighboring cells. As an endoribonuclease, E is able to cleave viral ss- and dsRNAs, thus preventing the stimulation of the host's interferon (IFN) response. Here, we characterize the basic features of soluble E of a large variety of classified and unassigned pestiviruses that have not yet been described. Its ability to form homodimers, its RNase activity, and the ability to inhibit dsRNA-induced IFN synthesis were investigated. Overall, we found large differences between the various E proteins that cannot be predicted solely based on their primary amino acid sequences, and that might be the consequence of different virus-host co-evolution histories. This provides valuable information to delineate the structure-function relationship of pestiviral endoribonucleases.
