A cyclic peptide mimic of an RNA recognition motif of human La protein is a potent inhibitor of hepatitis C virus

► Human La protein stimulates IRES dependent translation of HCV. ► The binding of La with HCV RNA occurs through a β-turn. ► A cyclic peptide mimicking the turn inhibits IRES mediated translation of HCV. ► The cyclic peptide also inhibits the growth of HCV replicon in a cell culture model. ► At 48 h, the inhibition is much more potent than the corresponding linear peptide.