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. 2016 Dec 16;32(1):44–50. doi: 10.1007/s12250-016-3858-6

Entry of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus

Fei Yuan 1,✉, Aihua Zheng 2
PMCID: PMC6598886  PMID: 27995422

Abstract

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a globe-shaped virus covered by a dense icosahedral array of glycoproteins Gn/Gc that mediate the attachment of the virus to host cells and the fusion of viral and cellular membranes. Several membrane factors are involved in virus entry, including C-type lectins and nonmuscle myosin heavy chain IIA. The post-fusion crystal structure of the Gc protein suggests that it is a class II membrane fusion protein, similar to the E/E1 protein of flaviviruses and alphaviruses. The virus particles are internalized into host cell endosomes through the clathrin-dependent pathway, where the low pH activates the fusion of the virus with the cell membrane. With information from studies on other bunyaviruses, herein we will review our knowledge of the entry process of SFTSV. graphic file with name 12250_2016_3858_Fig1_HTML.jpg

Keywords: severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), bunyavirus, entry, fusion, receptor

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Key Plan for Scientific Research and Development of China (2016YFD0500300), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (XDB11030800), and the Natural Science Foundation of China (L1524009).

Footnotes

ORCID: 0000-0003-3053-7063

ORCID: 0000-0002-2184-227X

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Contributor Information

Fei Yuan, Email: yuanf@im.ac.cn.

Aihua Zheng, Email: zhengaihua@ioz.ac.cn.

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