Abstract
Poxviruses replicate in the cytoplasm, where they acquire multiple lipoprotein membranes. Although a proposal that the initial membrane arises de novo has not been substantiated, there is no accepted explanation for its formation from cellular membranes. A subsequent membrane-wrapping step involving modified trans-Golgi or endosomal cisternae results in a particle with three membranes. These wrapped virions traverse the cytoplasm on microtubules; the outermost membrane is lost during exocytosis, the middle one is lost just prior to cell entry, and the remaining membrane fuses with the cell to allow the virus core to enter the cytoplasm and initiate a new infection.
Highlights
The Poxviridae is a family of large, complex, enveloped DNA viruses that infect a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts
Poxviruses are of significance both medically and scientifically due to their wide distribution, pathogenicity, and unique cytoplasmic replicative life cycle [1]
After completion of mature virion (MV) morphogenesis, some particles are actively transported along microtubules away from the viral factory to sites where wrapping [87,88] with modified cisternae of endosomal [89] or trans-Golgi [90,91] origin occurs
Summary
The Poxviridae is a family of large, complex, enveloped DNA viruses that infect a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. The most abundant and simplest infectious form of the poxvirus particle – the mature virion (MV; alternate name: intracellular mature virion [IMV]) – consists of the viral DNA genome encased in a proteinaceous core and an outer lipoprotein membrane with ~60 and ~25 associated viral proteins, respectively [5]. Following attachment to cell surfaces and fusion with the plasma or endosomal membrane, poxvirus replication is initiated by entry of the viral core into the cytoplasm where all subsequent steps of the life cycle take place [7]. Poxvirus cores harbor the viral DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and transcription factors necessary for expression of early genes, which constitute nearly half of the viral genome and encode proteins needed for DNA replication and intermediate gene transcription as well as a large number of immunomodulators [1]. This review highlights the role of lipoprotein membranes in poxvirus entry into cells and during the assembly, morphogenesis and egress of progeny virions
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