Virus entry: molecular mechanisms and biomedical applications

• Published in: Nature reviews. Microbiology Vol. 2; no. 2; pp. 109 - 122
• Main Author: Dimitrov, Dimiter S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.02.2004; Nature Publishing Group UK
• Subjects: Acids; Adenoviruses; Animals; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; Bacteria; Blood groups; Cancer; Disease; Ebola virus; Encephalitis; Fever; Gastroenteritis; Genomes; Hepatitis; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Influenza; Lipids; Membrane Fusion; Protein Conformation; Proteins; Rabies; Receptors, Virus - chemistry; Receptors, Virus - physiology; Vaccines; Viral Vaccines - immunology; Viruses; Viruses - pathogenicity; Viruses - ultrastructure

Viruses have evolved to enter cells from all three domains of life--Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryotes. Of more than 3,600 known viruses, hundreds can infect human cells and most of those are associated with disease. To gain access to the cell interior, animal viruses attach to host-cell receptors. Ad...