Advances in functional studies of nonstructural proteins and development of antiviral agents for enterovirus 71

Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the major etiological agents for the hand, foot, and month disease (HFMD) and is causing frequent, widespread occurrence in the mainland of China.  The single positive- stranded RNA genome of EV71 is translated into a single polyprotein which is autocleavaged into structural and nonstructural proteins.  The functions of many nonstructural proteins characterized in the life cycle of virus are potential targets for blocking viral replication.  This article reviews the studies of the structures and functions of nonstructural proteins of EV71 and the anti-enterovirus 71 drugs targeting on these nonstructural proteins.