Optimal cytoplasmic transport in viral infections.

ABSTRACT: For many viruses, the ability to infect eukaryotic cells depends on their transport through the cytoplasm and across the nuclear membrane of the host cell. During this journey, viral contents are biochemically processed into complexes capable of both nuclear penetration and genomic integration. We develop a stochastic model of viral entry that incorporates all relevant aspects of transport, including convection along microtubules, biochemical conversion, degradation, and nuclear entry. Analysis of the nuclear infection probabilities in terms of the transport velocity, degradation, and biochemical conversion rates shows how certain values of key parameters can maximize the nuclear entry probability of the viral material. The existence of such "optimal" infection scenarios depends on the det

SUBMITTER: D'Orsogna MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2797302 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature