Identification of LDL B/E Receptor Ligand Analogues in Viral Proteins

Date/Time: 03 August 2011, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Speaker: Juan Guevara, Jr., Ph.D.
Speaker Affiliation: Research Associate Professor, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX
Venue: John A. Burns School of Medicine, Kaka’ako, MEB Auditorium (Room 315)

For more info: Cori Watanabe (808) 692-1654
Description: Flaviviridae viruses and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) share many properties. Elements of both include lipids and proteins with capacities to enclose, protect, transport and deliver nucleic acids. Functional similarities in these distinctly separate groups of proteins are suggested by analogous sequences, including the apo E receptor ligand motif. These analogues occur in apo B100 of LDL and in proteins of flaviviruses, influenza virus hemagglutinins and human poliovirus. Results from our synthetic peptide studies suggest that some viruses have the capacity for direct interaction with the B/E receptor or a member of the LDL superfamily of receptors to achieve cell entry.