MECHANISMS OF ENVELOPED VIRUS ENTRY INTO ANIMAL-CELLS

The ability of viruses to transfer macromolecules between cells makes them attractive starting points for the design of biological delivery vehicles. Virus-based vectors and sub-viral systems are already findin g biotechnological and medical applications for gene, peptide, vaccine and drug delivery. Progress has been made in understanding the cellul ar and molecular mechanisms underlying virus entry, particularly in id entifying virus receptors. However, receptor binding is only a first s tep and we now have to understand how these molecules facilitate entry , how enveloped viruses fuse with cells or non-enveloped viruses penet rate the cell membrane, and what happens following penetration. Only t hrough these detailed analyses will the full potential of viruses as v ectors and delivery vehicles be realised. Here we discuss aspects of t he entry mechanisms for several well-characterised viral systems. We d o not attempt to provide a fully comprehensive review of virus entry b ut focus primarily on enveloped viruses. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V . All rights reserved.