RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) play key roles in viral transcription and genome replication, as well as epigenetic and post-transcriptional control of cellular gene expression. In this article, we review the crystallographic, biochemical, and molecular genetic data available for viral RdRPs that have led to a detailed description of substrate and cofactor binding, fidelity of nucleotide selection and incorporation, and catalysis. It is likely that the cellular RdRPs will share some of the basic structural and mechanistic principles gleaned from studies of viral RdRPs. Therefore, studies of the viral RdRP establish a framework for the study of cellular RdRPs, an important yet understudied class of nucleic acid polymerases.

Crystal structures of Norwalk virus polymerase bound to an RNA primer-template duplex and either the natural substrate CTP or the inhibitor 5-nitrocytidine triphosphate have been determined to 1.8 Å resolution. These structures reveal a closed conformation of the polymerase that differs significantly from previously determined open structures of calicivirus and picornavirus polymerases. These closed complexes are trapped immediately prior to the nucleotidyl transfer reaction, with the triphosphate group of the nucleotide bound to two manganese ions at the active site, poised for reaction to the 3-hydroxyl group of the RNA primer. The positioning of the 5-nitrocytidine triphosphate nitro group between the ␣-phosphate and the 3-hydroxyl group of the primer suggests a novel, general approach for the design of antiviral compounds mimicking natural nucleosides and nucleotides. Norwalk virus (NV)4 is the prototype species of the Norovirus genus within the Caliciviridae and is a major cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in developed countries (1). Unfortunately, effective treatments are not currently available for many important diseases caused by NV and related RNA viruses. The virally encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) is the central enzyme required for replication (2) and is one of the key targets for the development of novel antiviral agents. Recently, 5-nitrocytidine triphosphate (NCT) was identified as a potent inhibitor of picornaviral polymerases, and the nucleoside 5-nitrocytidine was found to have low toxicity and significant antiviral activity in a cultured cell viral infection model (3). A structural and mechanistic basis for rationalizing the inhibitory activity of NCT and related inhibitors is currently lacking because of a shortage of high resolution structural information on RdRP replication complexes.Details on the structure and mechanism of viral RdRPs are clearly required to understand the replication of RNA viruses and to develop more effective antiviral agents. Previous structural studies of viral RdRPs from positive strand RNA viruses and double-strand RNA viruses indicate that the general features of RdRP architecture are highly conserved throughout a diverse range of viruses (reviewed in Refs. 2 and 4). The threedimensional arrangement of N-terminal, fingers, palm, and thumb domains, as well as the active site residues in motifs A-F are nearly universally shared (5).The structural conservation seen in RdRPs suggests that the enzymatic mechanism of nucleotidyl transfer is also highly conserved. Studies primarily on poliovirus RdRP have revealed many of the basic features underlying the nucleotidyl transfer reaction in RdRPs (6, 7). These studies and others indicate that RdRPs, like other polynucleotide polymerases, follow a fivestep reaction cycle involving (i) the binding of an NTP complementary to the base of the template to form an initial "open" complex, followed by (ii) a conformational change to the "closed" complex, (iii) nucleotidyl transfer and translocation, (iv) a second confor...

X-ray crystal structures of two non-nucleoside analogue inhibitors bound to hepatitis C virus NS5B RNAdependent RNA polymerase have been determined to 2.0 and 2.9 Å resolution. These noncompetitive inhibitors bind to the same site on the protein, ϳ35 Å from the active site. The common features of binding include a large hydrophobic region and two hydrogen bonds between both oxygen atoms of a carboxylate group on the inhibitor and two main chain amide nitrogen atoms of Ser 476 and Tyr 477 on NS5B. The inhibitor-binding site lies at the base of the thumb domain, near its interface with the C-terminal extension of NS5B. The location of this inhibitor-binding site suggests that the binding of these inhibitors interferes with a conformational change essential for the activity of the polymerase. Hepatitis C virus (HCV)1 infects about 3% of the world's human population. HCV infection can develop into chronic hepatitis, which, in some cases, causes cirrhosis of the liver, eventually leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (1). There is no vaccine against HCV currently, and no generally effective therapy for all genotypes of HCV is available. At the present time, the use of recombinant interferon ␣-2a, ␣-2b, "consensus" interferon, and pegylated interferon ␣-2b either in monotherapy or in combination with ribavirin is the only approved therapy available (2). However, limited efficacy and some adverse side effects are associated with these therapies (3). Therefore, the development of HCV-specific antiviral agents is needed urgently.Extensive studies have been done to understand the structures and functions of the individual components of the HCVencoded polyprotein (structural proteins C, E1, and E2 and nonstructural proteins NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B) (4 -6). Among them, NS2, NS3 protease and helicase, and NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are essential enzymes for the replication of HCV. The high resolution crystal structures of NS3 protease (7-9) and helicase domains (10, 11) and NS5B polymerase (12-14) have been determined by crystallographic methods in the past 5 years. These enzymes are potential targets for structure-based drug design. The inhibitors of NS3 protease and, in some cases, corresponding structures of NS3 protease/inhibitor complexes have been reported recently (15). In the case of HCV NS5B polymerase, both nucleoside and non-nucleoside inhibitors have been discovered in recent years (16). 3TC (2Ј-deoxy-3Ј-thiacytidine proprietary compound lamivudine) triphosphate has been reported to have a weak inhibitory effect with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 180 M (17), whereas numerous non-nucleoside compounds have been documented to possess relatively potent anti-NS5B activity. Examples include specific rhodanines and barbituric acid derivatives, many of which were found to exhibit anti-NS5B activity with IC 50 values below 1 M (18, 19). Classes of dihydroxypyrimidine carboxylic acids and diketoacid derivatives were claimed as well with IC 50 values within the submicromolar range for the latt...

The structural basis of carbohydrate recognition by rat liver mannose-binding protein (MBP-C) has been explored by determining the three-dimensional structure of the C-type carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of MBP-C using x-ray crystallography. The structure was solved by molecular replacement using rat serum man-