Animal virus receptors

The term 'receptor' is generally accepted as the cell-surface component tha t participates in virus binding and facilitates subsequent viral infection. Recent advances in technology have permitted the identification of several virus receptors, increasing our understanding of the significance of this initial virus-cell and virus-host interaction. Virus binding was previously considered to involve simple recognition and attachment to a single cell s urface molecule by virus attachment proteins. The classical concept of thes e as single entities that participate in a lock-and-key-type process has be en superseded by new data indicating that binding can be a multistep proces s, often involving different virus-attachment proteins and more than one ho st-cell receptor.