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Group-specific Antigen
Group-specific antigen, or gag, is the polyprotein that contains the core structural proteins of an Ortervirus (except ''Caulimoviridae''). It was named as such because scientists used to believe it was antigenic. Now it is known that it makes up the inner shell, not the envelope exposed outside. It makes up all the structural units of viral conformation and provides supportive framework for mature virion. All orthoretroviral ''gag'' proteins are processed by the protease (PR or ''pro'') into MA (matrix), CA (capsid), NC (nucleocapsid) parts, and sometimes more. If Gag fails to cleave into its subunits, virion fails to mature and remains uninfective. It comprises part of the ''gag-onc'' fusion protein. Gag in HIV Numbering system By convention, the HIV genome is numbered according to HIV-1 group M subtype B reference strain HXB2. Transcription and mRNA processing After a virus enters a target cell, the viral genome is integrated into the host cell chromatin. RNA polymer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyprotein
Proteolysis is the breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids. Uncatalysed, the hydrolysis of peptide bonds is extremely slow, taking hundreds of years. Proteolysis is typically catalysed by cellular enzymes called proteases, but may also occur by intra-molecular digestion. Proteolysis in organisms serves many purposes; for example, digestive enzymes break down proteins in food to provide amino acids for the organism, while proteolytic processing of a polypeptide chain after its synthesis may be necessary for the production of an active protein. It is also important in the regulation of some physiological and cellular processes including apoptosis, as well as preventing the accumulation of unwanted or misfolded proteins in cells. Consequently, abnormality in the regulation of proteolysis can cause disease. Proteolysis can also be used as an analytical tool for studying proteins in the laboratory, and it may also be used in industry, for example in food proc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capsid
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The proteins making up the capsid are called capsid proteins or viral coat proteins (VCP). The capsid and inner genome is called the nucleocapsid. Capsids are broadly classified according to their structure. The majority of the viruses have capsids with either helical or icosahedral structure. Some viruses, such as bacteriophages, have developed more complicated structures due to constraints of elasticity and electrostatics. The icosahedral shape, which has 20 equilateral triangular faces, approximates a sphere, while the helical shape resembles the shape of a spring, taking the space of a cylinder but not being a cylinder itself. The capsid faces may consist of one or more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metaviridae
''Metaviridae'' is a family of viruses which exist as Ty3-gypsy LTR retrotransposons in a eukaryotic host's genome. They are closely related to retroviruses: members of the family ''Metaviridae'' share many genomic elements with retroviruses, including length, organization, and genes themselves. This includes genes that encode reverse transcriptase, integrase, and capsid proteins. The reverse transcriptase and integrase proteins are needed for the retrotransposon activity of the virus. In some cases, virus-like particles can be formed from capsid proteins. Some assembled virus-like particles of members of the family ''Metaviridae'' can penetrate and infect previously uninfected cells. An example of this is the gypsy, a retroelement found in the ''Drosophila melanogaster'' genome. The ability to infect other cells is determined by the presence of the retroviral ''env'' genes which encode coat proteins. ''Metaviridae'' is a family of retrotransposons found in all eukaryotes known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spumaretrovirinae
''Spumaretrovirinae'', commonly called spumaviruses (, Latin for "foam") or foamyviruses, is a subfamily of the ''Retroviridae'' family. ICTVMaster Species List 2018a v1MSL including all taxa updates since the 2017 release. Fall 2018 (MSL #33) Spumaviruses are exogenous viruses that have specific morphology with prominent surface spikes. The virions contain significant amounts of double-stranded full-length DNA, and assembly is rather unusual in these viruses. Spumaviruses are unlike most enveloped viruses in that the envelope membrane is acquired by budding through the endoplasmic reticulum instead of the cytoplasmic membrane. Some spumaviruses, including the equine foamy virus (EFV), bud from the cytoplasmic membrane. Some examples of these viruses are simian foamy virus and the human foamy virus Human foamy virus (HFV) is a retrovirus and specifically belongs to the genus ''Spumavirus''. The spumaviruses are complex and significantly different from the other six genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to transmit signals, resulting in a range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental, and sometimes psychiatric problems. Specific symptoms can include double vision, blindness in one eye, muscle weakness, and trouble with sensation or coordination. MS takes several forms, with new symptoms either occurring in isolated attacks (relapsing forms) or building up over time (progressive forms). In the relapsing forms of MS, between attacks, symptoms may disappear completely, although some permanent neurological problems often remain, especially as the disease advances. While the cause is unclear, the underlying mechanism is thought to be either destruction by the immune system ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Endogenous Retrovirus-W
Human Endogenous Retrovirus-W (HERV-W) is the coding for a protein that would normally be part of the envelope of one family of Human Endogenous Retro-Viruses, or HERVs. HERV-W encoding sequences makes up about 1% of the human genome and are part of a superfamily of repetitive and transposable elements. There are 31 different families of HERVs that together make up about 8% of the human genome, this is four times more DNA than is devoted to protein coding genes. Most HERVs in the genome today are not replication-competent due to frame shifts, premature stop codons and recombination in their long terminal repeats (LTRs). Each HERV family is derived from a single infection of the germline by an exogenous retrovirus that, once integrated, expanded and evolved. A complete HERV contains U3RU5- gag- pro- pol- env –U3RU5, where U3RU5 are long terminal repeats (LTRs) and gag, pro, pol and env are genes. Phylogeny It is common for viruses to take pieces of their host's ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Endogenous Retrovirus K
Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) or Human teratocarcinoma-derived virus (HDTV) is a family of human endogenous retroviruses associated with malignant tumors of the testes. Phylogenetically, the HERV-K group belongs to the ERV2 or Class II or Betaretrovirus-like supergroup. Over the past several years, it has been found that this group of ERVs play an important role in embryogenesis, but their expression is silenced in most cell types in healthy adults. The HERV-K family, and particularly its subgroup HML-2, is the youngest and most transcriptionally active group and hence, it is the best studied among other ERVs. Reactivation of it or anomalous expression of HML-2 in adult tissues has been associated with various types of cancer and with neurodegenerative diseases such as amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) is related to mammary tumor virus in mice. It exists in the human and cercopithecoid genomes. Human genome contains hundreds of copi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PDCD6IP
Programmed cell death 6-interacting protein also known as ALIX is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''PDCD6IP'' gene. This gene encodes a protein thought to participate in programmed cell death. Studies using mouse cells have shown that overexpression of this protein can block apoptosis. In addition, the product of this gene binds to the product of the PDCD6 gene, a protein required for apoptosis, in a calcium-dependent manner. This gene product also binds to endophilins, proteins that regulate membrane shape during endocytosis. Overexpression of this gene product and endophilins results in cytoplasmic vacuolization which may be partly responsible for the protection against cell death. Function PDCD6IP protein is part of ESCRT pathway. It participates in the membrane scission of the revers topology budding and participates in multivesicular body formation. It is also vital at the later stages and for successful completion of cytokinesis. Interactions PDCD6IP has been sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ESCRT
The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) machinery is made up of cytosolic protein complexes, known as ESCRT-0, ESCRT-I, ESCRT-II, and ESCRT-III. Together with a number of accessory proteins, these ESCRT complexes enable a unique mode of membrane remodeling that results in membranes bending/budding away from the cytoplasm. These ESCRT components have been isolated and studied in a number of organisms including yeast and humans. A eukaryotic signature protein, the machinery is found in all eukaryotes and some archaea. The ESCRT machinery plays a vital role in a number of cellular processes including multivesicular body (MVB) biogenesis, cellular abscission, and viral budding. Multivesicular body (MVB) biogenesis is a process in which ubiquitin tagged proteins enter organelles called endosomes via the formation of vesicles. This process is essential for cells to destroy misfolded and damaged proteins. Without ESCRT machinery, these proteins can build up and lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TSG101
Tumor susceptibility gene 101, also known as TSG101, is a human gene that encodes for a cellular protein of the same name. Function The protein encoded by this gene belongs to a group of apparently inactive homologs of ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes. The gene product contains a coiled-coil domain that interacts with stathmin, a cytosolic phosphoprotein implicated in tumorigenesis. The protein may play a role in cell growth and differentiation and act as a negative growth regulator. In vitro steady-state expression of this tumor susceptibility gene appears to be important for maintenance of genomic stability and cell cycle regulation. Mutations and alternative splicing in this gene occur in high frequency in breast cancer and suggest that defects occur during breast cancer tumorigenesis and/or progression. The main role of TSG101 is to participate in ESCRT pathway. This pathway facilitates reverse topology budding and formation of multivesicular bodies (MVB) which delivers cargo d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Helix
The alpha helix (α-helix) is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues earlier along the protein sequence. The alpha helix is also called a classic Pauling–Corey–Branson α-helix. The name 3.613-helix is also used for this type of helix, denoting the average number of residues per helical turn, with 13 atoms being involved in the ring formed by the hydrogen bond. Among types of local structure in proteins, the α-helix is the most extreme and the most predictable from sequence, as well as the most prevalent. Discovery In the early 1930s, William Astbury showed that there were drastic changes in the X-ray fiber diffraction of moist wool or hair fibers upon significant stretching. The data suggested that the unstretched fibers had a coiled molecular structure with a characteristic repeat of ≈. Astb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lentiviral Vector In Gene Therapy
Lentiviral vectors in gene therapy is a method by which genes can be inserted, modified, or deleted in organisms using lentiviruses. Lentiviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for diseases like AIDS, which infect by inserting DNA into their host cells' genome. Many such viruses have been the basis of research using viruses in gene therapy, but the lentivirus is unique in its ability to infect non-dividing cells, and therefore has a wider range of potential applications. Lentiviruses can become endogenous (ERV), integrating their genome into the host germline genome, so that the virus is henceforth inherited by the host's descendants. To be effective in gene therapy, there must be insertion, alteration and/or removal of host cell genes. To do this, scientists use the lentivirus' mechanisms of infection to achieve a desired outcome to gene therapy. To understand the capabilities of a lentiviral vector, one has to consider the biology of the infection process. The l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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