Cell Entry of Enveloped Viruses

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Richard Karl Plemper, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-08-01
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.coviro.2011.06.002
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Current Opinion in Virology
• ISSN: 1879-6257
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 92
• End Page: 100
• Grant/Funding Information: The work of the author was supported, in part, by U.S. Public Health Service grants AI071002 and AI083402 from the NIH/NIAID and a seed grant from the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Vaccines & Immunology Center.
• Research Categories: Biology, Virology

Abstract

Infection of cells by enveloped viruses requires merger of the viral envelope membrane with target cell membranes, resulting in the formation of fusion pores through which the viral genome is released. Since lipid membranes do not mix spontaneously, the fusion process is energy-dependent and mediated by viral envelope glycoprotein complexes. Based on their structural and mechanistic properties, three distinct classes of viral fusion proteins have been identified to date. Despite their diversity, basic principles of viral membrane fusion, simultaneous engagement of both donor and target membrane and refolding into hairpin-like structures, have emerged as universally conserved. This article provides an overview of the basic principles of viral membrane fusion common to all enveloped viruses and discusses the specific structural and functional features of the different fusion protein classes by example of the paramyxovirus, flavivirus and rhabdovirus families.