Structural and functional characterisation of animal adenovirus capsid proteins

Abstract

Selection of the correct cell to infect is a crucial step in viral infection. For adenovirus, this initial recognition is performed by their fibre proteins. Therefore, determining the cristal strcutures of these proteins should shed light on their receptor-binding properties. With the structures in han, one might be able to introduce specific mutations to modulate the receptor-binding properties of the fibres, and thus potentially direct the viruses to alternative host cells. In the case of adenovirus especially dangerous cells such as tumour cells. Not many structures of fibrous proteins in general and of virus fibres in particular are known. The Atadenovirus and Siadenovirus fibre head domains are smaller and were thus at least to some degree expected to be different form the fibre head domains of other adenovirus fibres.