title: Nipah virus matrix protein: expert hacker of cellular machines.
abstract: Nipah virus (NiV, Henipavirus) is a highly lethal emergent zoonotic paramyxovirus responsible for repeated human outbreaks of encephalitis in South East Asia. There are no approved vaccines or treatments, thus improved understanding of NiV biology is imperative. NiV matrix protein recruits a plethora of cellular machinery to scaffold and coordinate virion budding. Intriguingly, matrix also hijacks cellular trafficking and ubiquitination pathways to facilitate transient nuclear localization. While the biological significance of matrix nuclear localization for an otherwise cytoplasmic virus remains enigmatic, the molecular details have begun to be characterized, and are conserved among matrix proteins from divergent paramyxoviruses. Matrix protein appropriation of cellular machinery will be discussed in terms of its early nuclear targeting and later role in virion assembly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6218-6785
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Watkinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Benhur
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D045405:Nipah Virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014771:Virion / Q000235:genetics*; D019065:Virus Assembly / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins
keywords: Henipavirus; matrix; paramyxovirus