FIGURE 1.

Structural and functional comparison between viral HA and eukaryotic SNARE in membrane fusion events. A key difference between these processes is that heterodimerization of the SNAREs is a prerequisite for the vesicular process whereas viral fusion proteins insert and destabilize the lipid bilayers to induce fusion in a more general manner. (A) Viral fusion events are mediated by the binding of fusion proteins to the membrane of the host cell. The proteins undergo a conformational change that allows the membranes to merge. (B) v-SNARE on the vesicle and the t-SNARE on the target membrane bind to one another leading to the formation of the trans-SNARE complex. A more detailed description of this process and its structural features can be found below.