Abstract
Hantaviruses infect a wide range of hosts including insectivores and rodents and can also cause zoonotic infections in humans, which can lead to severe disease with possible fatal outcomes. Hantavirus outbreaks are usually linked to the population dynamics of the host animals and their habitats being in close proximity to humans, which is becoming increasingly important in a globalized world. Currently there is neither an approved vaccine nor a specific and effective antiviral treatment available for use in humans. Hantaviruses belong to the order Bunyavirales with a tri-segmented negative-sense RNA genome. They encode only five viral proteins and replicate and transcribe their genome in the cytoplasm of infected cells. However, many details of the viral amplification cycle are still unknown. In recent years, structural biology methods such as cryo-electron tomography, cryo-electron microscopy, and crystallography have contributed essentially to our understanding of virus entry by membrane fusion as well as genome encapsidation by the nucleoprotein. In this review, we provide an update on the hantavirus replication cycle with a special focus on structural virology aspects.
Highlights
Published: 6 August 2021Bunyavirales is a large viral order that includes many emerging viruses with high epidemic potential [1]
Whereas Old World hantaviruses, such as Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Puumala virus (PUUV), which are prevalent in Europe and Asia, can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome [3], the New World hantaviruses, such as Andes virus (ANDV)
We summarize our current understanding of the molecular and structural biology of the hantavirus replication cycle, focusing on recent insights from structural virology studies
Summary
Bunyavirales is a large viral order that includes many emerging viruses with high epidemic potential [1]. Particles travel through the endocytosis pathway, and the low pH inside endosomes triggers a conformational change in the Gc glycoproteins [25] This leads to the insertion of the Gc fusion loop into the endosomal membrane, the fusion of the latter with the viral envelope, and the subsequent release of the virion content. Following the synthesis of virion components, the glycoproteins, which are specific for each hantavirus, play a key role in virus assembly and maturation (reviewed in [32]). View of the map of the TULV glycoprotein lattice (right), which was obtained by electron cryo-toA model of the prefusion tetrameric Gn/Gc spike complex (PDB: 6ZJM), presented as a cartoon, was fitted into the central mography and subvolume averaging (EMD-11236). Spike complex (PDB: 6ZJM), presented as a cartoon, was fitted into the central volume [24]
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