Nsp1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the mRNA export machinery to inhibit host gene expression

The nonstructural protein 1 (Nsp1) of SARS-CoV-2 is a multifunctional protein that inhibits host translation by interacting with ribosomal subunit, leading to mRNA degradation through cleavage near their 5'UTR. In this report, the authors demonstrated that the Nsp1 interacts with nuclear export machinery of cellular mRNA, causing the inhibition of mRNA translocation from nucleus to cytoplasm. This leads to the inhibition of cellular gene expression.