title: A retrovirus uses a cationic amino acid transporter as a cell surface receptor.
abstract: New studies have indicated that the cell membrane receptor for the ecotropic murine leukemia virus is the classic membrane amino acid transporter y+, the principal transporter of cationic L-acids in mammalian cells. This finding has been hailed as a landmark in cell physiology which may reveal new mechanisms of viral pathogenesis. These studies represent the first amino acid transporter to be cloned, as well as the first example of a virus subverting a transmembrane protein as a receptor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla 92093.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine / Q000378:metabolism*; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems; D000596:Amino Acids; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D011991:Receptors, Virus