Flavivirus structural heterogeneity: implications for cell entry.

ABSTRACT: The explosive spread of Zika virus is the most recent example of the threat imposed to human health by flaviviruses. High-resolution structures are available for several of these arthropod-borne viruses, revealing alternative icosahedral organizations of immature and mature virions. Incomplete proteolytic maturation, however, results in a cloud of highly heterogeneous mosaic particles. This heterogeneity is further expanded by a dynamic behavior of the viral envelope glycoproteins. The ensemble of heterogeneous and dynamic infectious particles circulating in infected hosts offers a range of alternative possible receptor interaction sites at their surfaces, potentially contributing to the broad flavivirus host-range and variation in tissue tropism. The potential synergy between heterogeneou

SUBMITTER: Rey FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6037290 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature