Virus strategies for passing the nuclear envelope barrier

Abstract

Viruses that replicate in the nucleus need to pass the nuclear envelope barrier during infection. Research in recent years indicates that the nuclear envelope is a major hurdle for many viruses. This review describes strategies to overcome this obstacle developed by seven virus families: herpesviridae, adenoviridae, orthomyxoviridae, lentiviruses (which are part of retroviridae), Hepadnaviridae, parvoviridae and polyomaviridae. Most viruses use the canonical nuclear pore complex (NPC) in order to get their genome into the nucleus. Viral capsids that are larger than the nuclear pore disassemble before or during passing through the NPC, thus allowing genome nuclear entry. Surprisingly, increasing evidence suggest that parvoviruses and polyomaviruses may bypass the nuclear pore by trafficking directly through the nuclear membrane. Additional studies are required for better understanding these processes. Since nuclear entry emerges as the limiting step in infection for many viruses, it may serve as an ideal target for antiviral drug development.

Keywords: :

• disassembly
• nuclear entry
• nuclear transport
• virus entry
• viruses

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

We thank Adam Zlotnick for his valuable input, Amos Panet for helpful comments and David Kobiler for critical reading of the manuscript. Apologies are extended to colleagues whose studies were not included because of space limitation.