The role of chikungunya virus capsid-viral RNA interactions in programmed ribosomal frameshifting

Abstract

The multifunctional roles of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) capsid protein—particularly its RNA-binding properties and potential to influence translation—represent important aspects of viral replication and pathogenesis. This study focuses on the CHIKV capsid’s influence on PRF, a key step in viral protein synthesis. Similar capsid-vRNA binding regions have been described in other alphaviruses, such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (B. D. Carey, I. Akhrymuk, B. Dahal, C. L. Pinkham, et al., PLOS Pathogens 16:e1008282, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008282 ), suggesting that capsid-mediated modulation of translation may represent a partially conserved mechanism across the alphavirus genus. By elucidating a role for capsid in PRF modulation, this study highlights a previously unrecognized layer of gene regulation in alphaviruses with broad implications for immune evasion, viral fitness, and translational control.