the coronavirus e protein assembly and beyond冠状病毒e蛋白组装.pdfVIP

Viruses 2012, 4, 363-382; doi:10.3390/v4030363 OPEN ACCESS viruses ISSN 1999-4915 /journal/viruses Review The Coronavirus E Protein: Assembly and Beyond Travis R. Ruch and Carolyn E. Machamer * Department of Cell Biology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; E-Mail: truch2@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: machamer@; Tel.: +1-410-955-1809; Fax: +1-410-955-4129. Received: 24 December 2011; in revised form: 18 February 2012 / Accepted: 27 February 2012 / Published: 8 March 2012 Abstract: The coronavirus E protein is a small membrane protein that has an important role in the assembly of virions. Recent studies have indicated that the E protein has functions during infection beyond assembly, including in virus egress and in the host stress response. Additionally, the E protein has ion channel activity, interacts with host proteins, and may have multiple membrane topologies. The goal of this review is to highlight the properties and functions of the E protein, and speculate on how they may be related. Keywords: envelope protein; coronavirus assembly; ion channel; Golgi complex; membrane protein topology 1. Introduction Coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped viruses with large positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes. CoVs infect a variety of mammalian and avian species, and can cause serious disease in hu