CMMB 421 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Capsid, Bacteriophage, Cytosol
28 Dec 2019
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Main function of the capsid is to protect the genome during the extracellular phage of the virus life cycle. Capsid assists efficient cell-to-cell transmission, organ-to-organ spread, and host-to-host propagation. Some challenges the capsid has to face to protect the genome in different environments include: Factors of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Core structural proteins mediate many early host-pathogen interactions that occur during entry, such as receptor engagement, endocytic signalling, membrane penetration (for non- enveloped viruses), and intracellular capsid transport. Capsid proteins also mediate early effector functions to establish an intracellular environment to facilitate infection. Regardless of the architecture (helical, icosahedral, complex), all virus capsids possess a built-in capacity for disassembly. For some viruses the environment in which assembly and uncoating occur are homologous. Assembly-uncoating paradox: the ability of viruses to perform opposing processes in the same cell compartment. Priming: refers to the changes to the capsid that occur prior to productive genome deposition into the host cell.
