Morphogenesis and Ultrastructure of Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial (RS) virus was grown in Vero cells and fixed for electron microscopy at various stages of maturation. Both filamentous and round or kidney-shaped particles, either with (complete) or without (incomplete) internal structure, were observed. All four morphological forms were identical with respect to their reactivity with ferritin-labeled antibody to RS virus. Freezeetching revealed a structural feature apparently unique for RS virus, namely helical striations around the core on the internal aspect of the envelope. This specific configuration was already detectable during the early stages of viral differentiation of the host cell membrane. Concentration of free virus by zonal ultracentrifugation of culture fluids onto sucrose cushions yielded predominantly filamentous forms up to 10 um in length.

Rapid functionalisation and detection of viruses via a novel Ca2+-mediated virus-DNA interaction

“…Imaging and tracking of RSV gave a mean diffusion coefficient log(Dm) of 0.94, which provided a mean diameter (dst) of 195nm ( Fig. 4A-C and S8A-D), in good agreement with the size expected from the literature (17,18). Baculovirus particles could also be efficiently detected ( Fig.…”

Structural Analysis of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Reveals the Position of M2-1 between the Matrix Protein and the Ribonucleoprotein Complex

“…This may be an alternative infection method used by many viruses that remain cell associated. Our study and the report of Liljeroos et al (29) were examinations of hRSV virus purified from the supernatant of infected cell cultures, while the previous studies were of either budding hRSV or a purified sample that contained both supernatant and cell-associated viruses (18,(62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68). Additional studies of hRSV during an active infection of permissive cells will be required to determine whether the different virus morphologies may support a range of successful infection pathways.…”

“…(B) Graph representing the frequency of the different genome numbers in the three RSV morphologies. might be a larger number of filamentous viruses versus other virus morphologies (18,(62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68). One explanation for the difference between budding and purified virus samples could be that viral filaments are transformed to spherical viruses during the purification process through disruption of the extended M layer.…”

Host Cell Entry of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Involves Macropinocytosis Followed by Proteolytic Activation of the F Protein

“…RSV particles produced in tissue culture are heterogeneous in size and shape. Some are rounded with a diameter of 100-300 nm, others filamentous with a length up to 10 mm [2]. The nucleocapsid is helical and contains in addition to the RNA the nucleoprotein N, the viral polymerase L, its cofactor-phosphoprotein P, and the transcription processivity factor M2-1.…”