Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses. Research has shown that VSV has the potential to be genetically modified to serve as an anti-cancer agent - exercising high selectivity in killing cancer cells while sparing healthy cells - and as a vaccine against HIV. For such modifications to occur, however, scientists must have an accurate picture of the virus's structure. UCLA researchers have revealed the 3-D structure of the trunk section of VSV, and further deduced the architectural organization of the entire virion through cryo-electron microscopy and an integrated use of image- processing methods.
"The special shape of VSV — a bullet head with a short, helical trunk — has lent to its evasion from three-dimensional structural studies," said Z. Hong Zhou, professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. Based on their research into the structure of VSV, the team proposed a model for the assembly of the virus, with its origin at the bullet tip. Their data suggest that VSV assembles through the alternating use of several possible interaction interfaces coded in viral protein sequences to wind its protein and RNA chain into the characteristic bullet shape. The findings could help lead to advances in the development of VSV-based vaccines for HIV and other deadly viruses.
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