Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae glycoprotein L and CMV UL130 originate from chemokines

• Published in: Virology journal Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 1
• Main Authors: Malkowska, Maja, Kokoszynska, Katarzyna, Dymecka, Magdalena, Rychlewski, Leszek, Wyrwicz, Lucjan S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Springer-Verlag 02.01.2013; BioMed Central Ltd; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Alphaherpesvirinae; Alphaherpesvirinae - chemistry; Alphaherpesvirinae - genetics; Amino Acid Sequence; beta chemokines; Betaherpesvirinae; Betaherpesvirinae - chemistry; Betaherpesvirinae - genetics; CC chemokines; Chemokine receptors; Chemokines; Chemokines - chemistry; Chemokines - genetics; Cytomegaloviruses; DNA viruses; Epstein-Barr virus; Evolution, Molecular; Gammaherpesvirinae; Gammaherpesvirinae - chemistry; Gammaherpesvirinae - genetics; Genetic aspects; Glycoproteins; Herpesviridae; Herpesviridae infections; Herpesvirus; Herpesviruses; Human cytomegalovirus; Human herpesvirus 2; Human herpesvirus 4; Human herpesvirus 5; Hypothesis; Infection; Models, Molecular; Molecular Sequence Data; Physiological aspects; Protein Conformation; Sequence Alignment; Viral Envelope Proteins - chemistry; Viral Envelope Proteins - genetics
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-10-1

Herpesviridae is a large family of DNA viruses divided into three subfamilies: Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaherpesvirinae. The process of herpesvirus transmission is mediated by a range of proteins, one of which is glycoprotein L (gL). Based on our analysis of the solved structures of HSV2 and EBV gH/gL complexes, we propose that Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae glycoprotein L and Betaherpesvirinae UL130 originate from chemokines. Herpes simplex virus type 2 gL and human cytomegalovirus homolog (UL130) adopt a novel C chemokine-like fold, while Epstein-Barr virus gL mimics a CC chemokine structure. Hence, it is possible that gL interface with specific chemokine receptors during the transmission of Herpesviridae. We conclude that the further understanding of the function of viral chemokine-like proteins in Herpesviridae infection may lead to development of novel prophylactic and therapeutic treatment.