Complex formation by glycoproteins M and N of human cytomegalovirus: structural and functional aspects.

ABSTRACT: The genomes of herpesviruses contain a number of genes which are conserved throughout the family of Herpesviridae, indicating that the proteins may serve important functions in the replication of these viruses. Among these are several envelope glycoproteins, including glycoprotein M (gM) and gN, which form a complex that is covalently linked via disulfide bonds in some herpesviruses. However, deletion of gM and/or gN from most alphaherpesviruses has limited effects on replication of the respective viruses in vitro. In contrast, insertional inactivation of the gM gene of the betaherpesvirus human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) results in a replication-incompetent virus. We have started to analyze the structural and functional aspects of the interaction between gM and gN of HCMV. We show that large

SUBMITTER: Mach M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC546557 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature