Cover Picture: Development and Characterization of New Peptidomimetic Inhibitors of the West Nile Virus NS2B–NS3 Protease (ChemMedChem 2/2013)

Abstract

The front cover picture shows the crystal structure of a new substrate-analogue inhibitor in complex with the West Nile virus (WNV) NS2B-NS3 protease, which has emerged as a potential and specific target for the treatment of WNV infections. Together with other cellular host proteases, it is involved in the processing of the WNV polyprotein, which is a prerequisite for virus propagation. The NS3 domain of the protease (gray) is surrounded and stabilized by the NS2B chain (green). The inset provides a detailed view of the amino acid residues surrounding the inhibitor within the active site of the WNV protease. For more details see the Full Paper by Torsten Steinmetzer et al. on p. 231 ff.