Virus Membrane-fusion Proteins: More Than One Way to Make a Hairpin

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Microbiol

Specialties Infectious Diseases
Microbiology

Date 2005 Dec 17

PMID 16357862

Citations 295

Authors

Margaret Kielian

Felix A Rey

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Structure-function studies have defined two classes of viral membrane-fusion proteins that have radically different architectures but adopt a similar overall 'hairpin' conformation to induce fusion of the viral and cellular membranes and therefore initiate infection. In both classes, the hairpin conformation is achieved after a conformational change is triggered by interaction with the target cell. This review will focus in particular on the properties of the more recently described class II proteins.

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