Reprogramming ribosomes during viral protein synthesis.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of molecular mechanisms with no primary human data.
PubMed 41403405 · doi:10.1042/bio_2025_136
What was done
This paper reviews the mechanisms by which viruses manipulate host cell ribosomes to alter translation (termed 'recoding'). It synthesizes the discovery of these mechanisms, the structural roles of viral RNA in inducing ribosomal frameshifting and stop codon readthrough, and outlines unresolved mechanistic questions.
What was found
The abstract provides no quantitative data. It summarizes conceptual mechanisms showing that viruses reprogram elongating host ribosomes to shift reading frames into overlapping coding sequences or to continue elongation through stop codons to maximize the coding capacity of small genomes.
Why it matters
Understanding how viral RNA structures alter ribosome function clarifies essential viral replication strategies and highlights potential molecular targets for antiviral interventions.
Limits
This is a narrative review with no primary experimental datasets, quantitative parameters, or clinical evaluations reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports All known viruses rely on the host cell's genetic code and ribosomal translation machinery.