Interaction between Poly (C)-Binding Protein 2 and Poliovirus Stem-loop IV RNA as the primary step in poliovirus IRES-dependent translation

Poliovirus hijacks the host cell’s machinery to produce its own proteins for further propagation in the infected cell. In doing this, the virus uses the human protein PCBP2. My project was to investigate, on a molecular level, how the 3D structures in the viral genome attracts PCBP2 and utilizes this protein-RNA hybrid system to recruit the ribosome that reads the viral genome. This work might lead to the development of new therapeutic ways to stop viruses.