2Dengue virus (DENV) is a member of the Flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family of enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses. The Flavivirus genus includes viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks, as well as zoonotic agents with no known arthropod vector. In addition to DENV, flaviviruses that are significant threats to human health include yellow fever virus, West Nile virus (WNV), Japanese encephalitis virus, and tickborne encephalitis virus. The dengue viruses are comprised of four distinct serotypes, DENV1 through DENV4, which are transmitted to humans through the bites of two mosquito species: Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus.DENV causes a wide range of diseases in humans, from the acute febrile illness dengue fever (DF) to life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). DF is a self-limited though debilitating illness characterized by fever, headache, retro-orbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, and rash. DHF is marked by increased vascular permeability ("plasma leakage"), thrombocytopenia, and hemorrhagic manifestations; DSS occurs when fluid leakage into the interstitial spaces results in shock, which without appropriate treatment may lead to death. Dengue has spread throughout tropical and subtropical regions worldwide over the past several decades, with an estimated 100 million infections and tens of millions of cases occurring annually. DHF/DSS is one of the leading causes of pediatric hospitalization in Southeast Asia, where the syndrome first emerged 50 years ago, and has become endemic to many Latin American countries over the last 25 years (reviewed in references 64 and 184).
DENGUE VIRUS REPLICATIONThe intracellular life cycles of the flaviviruses are very similar (Fig. 1). Infection with one of the arthropod-borne flaviviruses begins when the vector takes a blood meal and the virus is introduced into the host. The virus binds to and enters a permissive host cell via receptor-mediated endocytosis. Upon internalization and acidification of the endosome, fusion of viral and vesicular membranes allows entry of the nucleocapsid into the cytoplasm and genome uncoating. Translation of the input strand takes place; then the virus switches from translation to synthesis of a negative-strand intermediate, which serves as a template for the production of multiple copies of positive-strand viral RNA (vRNA). Successive rounds of translation produce high levels of viral proteins; the structural protein capsid or core (C), premembrane (prM), and envelope (E) proteins, along with vRNA, are assembled into progeny virions, which are transported through the Golgi compartment and secreted (reviewed in reference 56). While much that is assumed about DENV has been characterized for related flaviviruses such as yellow fever virus, WNV, Japanese encephalitis virus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus, for the purposes of this review we will focus on recent research that has concentrated specifically on the four serotypes of DENV.
CELLULAR TROPISM, BINDING, AND ENTRYThe replication cycle of DENV ...