Cleavage of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) by enterovirus proteases during infection leads to the shutoff of cellular cap-dependent translation, but does not affect the initiation of cap-independent translation of mRNAs containing an internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Death-associated protein 5 (DAP5), a structural homolog of eIF4G, is a translation initiation factor specific for IRES-containing mRNAs. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a positive single-stranded RNA virus and a primary causal agent of human myocarditis. Its RNA genome harbors an IRES within the 5′-untranslated region and is translated by a cap-independent, IRES-driven mechanism. Previously, we have shown that DAP5 is cleaved during CVB3 infection. However, the protease responsible for cleavage, cleavage site and effects on the translation of target genes during CVB3 infection have not been investigated. In the present study, we demonstrated that viral protease 2A but not 3C is responsible for DAP5 cleavage, generating 45-and 52-kDa N-(DAP5-N) and C-terminal (DAP5-C) fragments, respectively. By site-directed mutagenesis, we found that DAP5 is cleaved at amino acid G434. Upon cleavage, DAP5-N largely translocated to the nucleus at the later time points of infection, whereas the DAP5-C largely remained in the cytoplasm. Overexpression of these DAP5 truncates demonstrated that DAP5-N retained the capability of initiating IRES-driven translation of apoptosis-associated p53, but not the prosurvival Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) when compared with the full-length DAP5. Similarly, DAP5-N expression promoted CVB3 replication and progeny release; on the other hand, DAP5-C exerted a dominant-negative effect on cap-dependent translation. Taken together, viral protease 2A-mediated cleavage of DAP5 results in the production of two truncates that exert differential effects on protein translation of the IRES-containing genes, leading to enhanced host cell death. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), a primary cause of viral myocarditis, is associated with sudden, unexpected death, 1 dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure. 2 The CVB3 genome consists of a single open reading frame, which is translated to a polyprotein, and subsequently processed by viral proteases 2A and 3C. Similar to other picornaviruses, the CVB3 genome is linked to a small viral peptide, Vpg, rather than a 7-methyl guanosine cap structure at its 5′ terminus. Thus, CVB3 RNA is translated by a cap-independent mechanism and is driven by an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) harbored in the 5′ untranslated region (5′-UTR). 3,4 Viral proteases actively suppress multiple host cell activities that help the virus evade host defense mechanisms, promote viral replication and promote host cell apoptosis. For example, enterovirus proteases can cleave eukaryotic translation initiation factors 4GI (eIF4GI) 5-7 and eIF4GII. 8,9 Picornavirus proteases have also been reported to cleave other canonical translation initiation factors in the cap-dependent translation initiation complex, such as eIF5B 10 and ...