West Nile Virus MP: Proteins and Enzymes

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of the Flaviviridae, a plus-stranded virus family that includes St. Louis encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, and Dengue virus. WNV was initially isolated in 1937 in the West Nile region of Uganda and has become prevalent in Africa, Asia, and Europe. It has rapidly spread across the United States with cases being observed in every continental state (reviewed in 1). Virus particles consist of a dense core made up of the core/capsid protein encapsulating the RNA genome surrounded by a membrane envelope embedded with envelope and matrix proteins (1). However, when the viruses are inside of infected cells, the matrix protein exists in its