Ebola Virus
“Ebola Virus: Glycoprotein Modification Study”
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Abstract Retroviruses are a family of enveloped RNA viruses that are defined by their common characteristics in structure, replication properties and composition. These viruses are important in research in many different areas of science, such as biology, genetics, medicine, cancer, and biotechnology. The process of pseudotyping for retroviruses, in particular, allows researchers to investigate the entry of these viruses into cells. One particular retrovirus, the Ebola virus, was investigated to illustrate how the virus glycoproteins are integrated into retroviruses that are defective and still enter the virus into other cells. Previous investigations into the role of glycoprotein have found that the glycoprotein plays a key role in the infection of the Ebola virus. The effects of covalent modifications in the glycoprotein, GP1 and GP2, were analyzed. It was hypothesized that the elimination of one of the cysteines in the cysteine pairs would cause elimination of the other cysteine, resulting in effects of the glycoprotein processing. The results of the study suggest a model for the cysteine bridge for the Ebola virus glycoprotein, which helps determine the specific domain for each cysteine’s. Overall, the study provided information in the understanding of the structure and function of the glycoprotein in the Ebola virus.
Introduction
Retroviruses are a family of enveloped RNA viruses that are defined by their common characteristics in structure, replication properties and composition. The viruses range from 80-100 nm in diameter and have an outer lipid envelope composed of viral glycoproteins. The structure and location of their inner protein core is a specific characteristic to the members in this family of viruses. In addition, the replication strategy, known as reverse transcription, of the RNA into a linear double
Name
Class
School
Date
Abstract Retroviruses are a family of enveloped RNA viruses that are defined by their common characteristics in structure, replication properties and composition. These viruses are important in research in many different areas of science, such as biology, genetics, medicine, cancer, and biotechnology. The process of pseudotyping for retroviruses, in particular, allows researchers to investigate the entry of these viruses into cells. One particular retrovirus, the Ebola virus, was investigated to illustrate how the virus glycoproteins are integrated into retroviruses that are defective and still enter the virus into other cells. Previous investigations into the role of glycoprotein have found that the glycoprotein plays a key role in the infection of the Ebola virus. The effects of covalent modifications in the glycoprotein, GP1 and GP2, were analyzed. It was hypothesized that the elimination of one of the cysteines in the cysteine pairs would cause elimination of the other cysteine, resulting in effects of the glycoprotein processing. The results of the study suggest a model for the cysteine bridge for the Ebola virus glycoprotein, which helps determine the specific domain for each cysteine’s. Overall, the study provided information in the understanding of the structure and function of the glycoprotein in the Ebola virus.
Introduction
Retroviruses are a family of enveloped RNA viruses that are defined by their common characteristics in structure, replication properties and composition. The viruses range from 80-100 nm in diameter and have an outer lipid envelope composed of viral glycoproteins. The structure and location of their inner protein core is a specific characteristic to the members in this family of viruses. In addition, the replication strategy, known as reverse transcription, of the RNA into a linear double
References: Chan, S. Y., C. J. Empig, F. J. Welte, R. F. Speck, A. Schmaljohn, J. F. Kreisberg, and M. A. Goldsmith. (2001) Hughes, C. and Varmus, H. (1997). . The Place of Retroviruses in Biology. Cold Spring Harbor (NY): Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Jeffers, S.A., Sanders, D.A., Sanchez, A. (2002). Covalent Modifications of the Ebola Virus Glycoprotein Sanchez, A., A. S. Khan, S. R. Zaki, G. J. Nabel, T. G. Ksiazek, and C. J. Peters. (2001). Filoviridae: Marburg and Ebola viruses, p. 1279-1304. In D Sanchez, A., Z. Yang, L. Xu, G. J. Nabel, T. Crews, and C. J. Peters. (1998). Biochemical analysis of the secreted and virion glycoproteins of Ebola virus. J Sullivan, N., Yang, Z., and Nabel, G.J. (2003). Ebola Virus Pathogenesis: Implications for Vaccines and Therapies Yang, Z.-Y., H. J. Duckers, N. J. Sullivan, A. Sanchez, E. G. Nabel, and G. J. Nabel. (2000). Identification of the Ebola virus glycoprotein as the main viral determinant of vascular cell cytotoxicity and injury. Nat David Sanders Lab. (2007). Putting Ebola Virus to Good Use-Gene Therapy. Retrieved from: http://bilbo.bio.purdue.edu/~viruswww/Sanders_home/research.html.