multifunctional nature of the arenavirus ring finger protein z多功能的沙粒病毒蛋白质z无名指.pdfVIP

Viruses 2012, 4, 2973-3011; doi:10.3390/v4 112973 OPEN ACCESS viruses ISSN 1999-4915 /journal/viruses Review Multifunctional Nature of the Arenavirus RING Finger Protein Z Sarah Katharina Fehling †, Frank Lennartz † and Thomas Strecker * Institut für Virologie der Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Str. 2, 35043 Marburg, Germany; E-Mails: fehling@staff.uni-marburg.de (S.K.F.), lennartz@students.uni-marburg.de (F.L.), strecker@staff.uni-marburg.de (T.S.) † These authors contributed equally to this work. * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: strecker@staff.uni-marburg.de; Tel.: +49-6421-28 66254, Fax: +49-6421-28 65182. Received: 4 October 2012; in revised form: 4 November 2012 / Accepted: 5 November 2012 / Published: 9 November 2012 Abstract: Arenaviruses are a family of enveloped negative-stranded RNA viruses that can cause severe human disease ranging from encephalitis symptoms to fulminant hemorrhagic fever. The bi-segmented RNA genome encodes four polypeptides: the nucleoprotein NP, the surface glycoprotein GP, the polymerase L, and the RING finger protein Z. Although it is the smallest arenavirus protein with a length of 90 to 99 amino acids and a molecular weight of approx. 11 kDa, the Z protein has multiple functions in the viral life cycle including (i) regulation of viral RNA synthesis, (ii) orchestration of viral assembly and budding, (iii) interaction with host cell proteins, and (iv) interferon antagoni