An increase in glycoprotein concentration on extracellular virions dramatically alters vaccinia virus infectivity and pathogenesis without impacting immunogenicity.

ABSTRACT: The extracellular virion (EV) form of Orthopoxviruses is required for cell-to-cell spread and pathogenesis, and is the target of neutralizing antibodies in the protective immune response. EV have a double envelope that contains several unique proteins that are involved in its intracellular envelopment and/or subsequent infectivity. One of these, F13, is involved in both EV formation and infectivity. Here, we report that replacement of vaccinia virus F13L with the molluscum contagiosum virus homolog, MC021L, results in the production of EV particles with significantly increased levels of EV glycoproteins, which correlate with a small plaque phenotype. Using a novel fluorescence-activated virion sorting assay to isolate EV populations based on glycoprotein content we determine that EV contai

SUBMITTER: Monticelli SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8746760 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature