Uncovering Viral Protein-Protein Interactions and their Role in Arenavirus Life Cycle

Uncovering Viral Protein-Protein Interactions and their Role in Arenavirus Life Cycle

Blog Article

The Arenaviridae family includes widely distributed pathogens that cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans.Replication and packaging of their single-stranded RNA genome involve RNA recognition by viral proteins and a number of key protein-protein interactions.Viral RNA synthesis is directed by the virus-encoded RNA dependent-RNA polymerase (L protein) and requires viral RNA encapsidation by the Nucleoprotein.In addition to the role that the interaction between L and the Nucleoprotein may have in the replication process, polymerase activity appears to be modulated by 12VDC Power Supplies the association between L and the small Greeting Card multifunctional Z protein.

Z is also a structural component of the virions that plays an essential role in viral morphogenesis.Indeed, interaction of the Z protein with the Nucleoprotein is critical for genome packaging.Furthermore, current evidence suggests that binding between Z and the viral envelope glycoprotein complex is required for virion infectivity, and that Z homo-oligomerization is an essential step for particle assembly and budding.Efforts to understand the molecular basis of arenavirus life cycle have revealed important details on these viral protein-protein interactions that will be reviewed in this article.