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Abstract
The initial steps of viral infection involve the specific attachment of the viral particle to receptor(s) on the cell surface, followed by internalization of the virus into the cell and the subsequent uncoating of the virion to release the transcriptionally active particle. These events are essential for the successful initiation of a virus replication cycle and play an important role in tissue tropism and pathogenesis of viruses. Rotaviruses, the leading cause of severe childhood diarrhea, principally infect the mature enterocytes of the villi of the small intestine. Several cell-surface molecules have been implicated in the early interactions of rotavirus with its host cell, including sialic acid, various integrins, heat shock protein 70 and gangliosides. However, the mechanism by which rotaviruses enter cells is controversial, and both direct membrane penetration and endocytosis have been proposed. Recently developed molecular and biochemical tools have allowed the characterization of new endocytic pathways in mammalian cells. The description of these new pathways led us to review and discuss the available data on rotavirus cell entry.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Work on rotavirus cell entry in our laboratories is supported by grants 55005515 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 60025 from CONACyT and IN210807 from DGAPA/UNAM. MG is a recipient of a scholarship from the National Council for Science and Technology (Mexico). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.