Arenavirus Budding

Abstract EN

Several arenaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever disease in humans and pose a significant public health concern in their endemic regions.

On the other hand, the prototypic arenavirus LCMV is a superb workhorse for the investigation of virus-host interactions and associated disease.

The arenavirus small RING finger protein called Z has been shown to be the main driving force of virus budding.

The budding activity of Z is mediated by late (L) domain motifs, PT/SAP, and PPXY, located at the C-terminus of Z.

This paper will present the current knowledge on arenavirus budding including the diversity of L domain motifs used by different arenaviruses.

We will also discuss how improved knowledge of arenavirus budding may facilitate the development of novel antiviral strategies to combat human pathogenic arenaviruses.