Structure of Foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype A10 61 alone and complexed with oligosaccharide receptor: receptor conservation in the face of antigenic variation.

Foot-and-mouth disease viruses (FMDVs) target epithelial cells via integrin receptors, but can acquire the capacity to bind cell-surface heparan sulphate (or alternative receptors) on passage in cell culture. Vaccine viruses must be propagated in cell culture and, hence, some rationale for the selection of variants in this process is important. Crystal structures are available for type O, A and C viruses and also for a complex of type O strain O(1)BFS with heparin.