title: New member of the multigene family of complement control proteins in herpesvirus saimiri.
abstract: A number of glycoproteins are regulators of the complement cascade and prevent damage to cells by inappropriate activation of complement. In humans, all of them are encoded by a multigene family on chromosome I and share a characteristic structural feature, the short consensus repeats of about 61 amino acids with a constant framework of cysteine, proline, and tryptophan. We found the gene for glycoproteins of analogous structure in herpesvirus saimiri, a T-lymphotropic tumor virus of New World primates. Unspliced transcripts code for a membrane-bound 65- to 75-kDa virion surface component, while spliced mRNA instructs a secreted glycoprotein of 47 to 53 kDa. Expression of complement control proteins suggests a novel mechanism of counteracting host immune defense to prevent elimination of a virus that is capable of persisting in circulating lymphocytes.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Klinische und Molekulare Virologie Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fleckenstein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D006567:Herpesvirus 2, Saimiriine / Q000235:genetics*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; C074554:herpesvirus saimiri protein, Saimiriine herpesvirus 2; D003165:Complement System Proteins