title: Comparative analysis of the envelope glycoproteins of foamy viruses.
abstract: One of the most fascinating findings in retrovirology is the construction of viral vectors based on foamy viruses (FVs) for gene therapy. The envelope glycoprotein (Env), one of the structural proteins of FV, is an important antigen in the immunoassays, as it is highly specific. To compare the characteristics of all 15 available FV Envs, the phylogenesis, hydrophobicity, modifications, and conserved motifs were analyzed based on the Env sequences. Meanwhile, the secondary structures of transmembrane (TM) domains of FV Envs were predicted. The results of phylogenetic analyses based on Envs indicated that the foamy viruses from different hosts could form three groups. The hydrophobicity analysis revealed that FV Envs had two prominent hydrophobic regions, which was similar to other retroviruses. Though the glycosylation, ubiquitination, and the secondary structures of TM domains of FV Envs were in line with other retroviruses, the roles were distinctly different. Interestingly, the analyses of conserved motifs suggested that FV Envs possessed several specific functional motifs.
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Di-Di
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Qing-Mei
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao-Fang
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Ting-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lin-Lan
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wan-Hong
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D016092:Spumavirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins