Amantadine: Difference between revisions

The [[Influenza]] A virus viral envelope is dotted with various [[ion channels]] including [[M2 Proton Channel|M2 Proton Channels]]. The M2 protein plays a critical role in the life cycle of the Influenza virus. It enables hydrogen ions to enter the virion form the endosome. The result of this is a more acidic environment within the virus, causing dissociation of the viral matrix protein M1 from the ribonucleoprotein RNP. Dissociation of the viral matrix protein is a crucial step in uncoating of the virus and exposing its contents to the cytoplasm of the host cell, allowing the virus to hijack the cellular machinery to replicate. Amantadine binds to the M2 protein, effectively disabling the protein from transferring protons into the viral particle.