Molecular biology of host - influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) interactions and their relevance in the pathogenesis of influenza virus.

Influenza A virus (IAV) proteins interact with an array of cellular proteins and hijack host pathways which are at the helm of cellular responses to facilitate virus invasion. This thesis identifies host protein, RING finger protein 43 (RNF43), a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, as a novel interactor of nucleoprotein (NP) of IAV and an essential partner to induce NP-driven p53-mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in IAV-infected cells. This thesis describes a novel strategy adopted by IAV for utilizing the much conserved ubiquitin proteasomal pathway and also unravels a promising host target for antiviral intervention.