MULTIPLE ADENOVIRUS SEROTYPES USE ALPHA-V INTEGRINS FOR INFECTION

The nucleotide sequence encoding the penton base integrin-binding doma ins of several human adenoviruses was obtained by homology PCR. Each o f the penton base proteins contains a conserved Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequ ence that is predicted to lie at the apex of two extended alpha helice s. The penton base RGD domain promotes efficient infection of host cel ls by multiple adenovirus serotypes via interaction with cuv integrins , thus indicating that alpha v integrins play a central role in the en try of adenoviruses into host cells.