title: Hypothesis: spring-loaded boomerang mechanism of influenza hemagglutinin-mediated membrane fusion.
abstract: Substantial progress has been made in recent years to augment the current understanding of structures and interactions that promote viral membrane fusion. This progress is reviewed with a particular emphasis on recently determined structures of viral fusion domains and their interactions with lipid membranes. The results from the different structural and thermodynamic experimental approaches are synthesized into a new proposed mechanism, termed the "spring-loaded boomerang" mechanism of membrane fusion, which is presented here as a hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, 1300 Jefferson Park Avenue, P.O. Box 800736, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0736, USA. lkt2e@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Lukas K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Tamm
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D017510:Protein Folding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D010455:Peptides; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins