Molecular mechanisms of respiratory syncytial virus replication: a guide for the development of antivirals

Abstract

During the last ten years, structural and functional data on the RNA polymerase complex of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the main cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants, have accumulated. Beyond the scientific interest of understanding how this polymerase complex works and synthesize viral RNAs, these data open new perspectives to develop antiviral drugs that are still missing. The RNA polymerase complex of single-stranded RNA viruses of negative polarity has no equivalent in the cell and therefore represents a target of choice for developing compounds specifically targeting these viruses. This review presents all the structural and functional data now available for the RSV polymerase complex and the prospects for the development of antiviral compounds targeting this fantastic molecular machine.