Arenaviruses and hantaviruses cause severe human disease. Little is known regarding host proteins required for their propagation. We identified human proteins that interact with the glycoproteins (GPs) of a prototypic arenavirus and hantavirus and show that the lectin endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi intermediate compartment 53 kDa protein (ERGIC-53), a cargo receptor required for glycoprotein trafficking within the early exocytic pathway, associates with arenavirus, hantavirus, coronavirus, orthomyxovirus, and filovirus GPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith an estimated 40% of the world population at risk, dengue poses a significant threat to human health, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Preventative and curative efforts, such as vaccine development and drug discovery, face additional challenges due to the occurrence of four antigenically distinct serotypes of the causative dengue virus (DEN1 to -4). Complex immune responses resulting from repeat assaults by the different serotypes necessitate simultaneous targeting of all forms of the virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) generates 16 nonstructural proteins (nsp's) through proteolytic cleavage of a large precursor protein. Although several nsp's exhibit catalytic activities that are important for viral replication and transcription, other nsp's have less clearly defined roles during an infection. In order to gain a better understanding of their functions, we attempted to identify host proteins that interact with nsp's during SARS-CoV infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis delta virus (HDV) expresses two essential proteins with distinct functions. The small hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg-S) is expressed throughout replication and is needed to promote that process. The large form (HDAg-L) is farnesylated, is expressed only at later times via RNA editing of the amber/W site, and is required for virion assembly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis delta virus expresses two essential proteins, the small and large delta antigens, and both are required for viral propagation. Proper function of each protein depends on the presence of a common amino-terminal multimerization domain. A crystal structure, solved using a peptide fragment that contained residues 12 to 60, depicts the formation of an octameric ring composed of antiparallel coiled-coil dimers.
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