Precise Photoremovable Perturbation of a Virus–Host Interaction

AbstractViruses utilize distinct binding interactions with a variety of host factors to gain entry into host cells. A chemical strategy is described to precisely perturb a specific molecular interaction between adeno‐associated virus and its host cell, which can be rapidly reversed by light. This strategy enables pausing the virus entry process at a specific stage and then restart it rapidly with a non‐invasive stimulus. The ability to synchronize the invading virus population at a discrete step in its entry pathway will be highly valuable for enabling facile experimental characterization of the molecular processes underlying this process. Additionally, adeno‐associated virus has demonstrated outstanding potential for human gene therapy. This work further provides a potential approach to create therapeutic vectors that can be photoactivated in vivo with high spatial and temporal control.