Antiviral protein

[1] It also protects other types of plants that have genetically engineered to express RAP that do not normally do so.

[1] Recombinant pokeweed antiviral protein has also been proposed as a treatment of human diseases such as AIDS and cancer.

[2][3] ZAP (Zinc finger Antiviral Protein) is encoded by the ZC3HAV1 gene in humans[4] whose expression is induced by interferon and helps fight a number of viral infections including influenza.

[5] Ribonuclease L or RNase L (for latent), ais an interferon (IFN)-induced ribonuclease which, upon activation, destroys all RNA within the cell (both cellular and viral) as well as inhibiting mRNA export.

[8] Consequently pharmacological induction of IFITM3 potentially could be used to treat a number of viral infections.

Mechanism of zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) recognition of specific target RNA, and the process by which ZAP coordinates downstream RNA degradation (left). ZAP-RNA complex protein ribbon diagram (right).