期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1994
卷号：91
期号：5
页码：1796-1800
DOI：10.1073/pnas.91.5.1796
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Theiler murine encephalomyelitis virus designates a number of picornavirus strains that are classified into two subgroups on the basis of their different biological activities. DA strain and other members of the TO subgroup produce a chronic demyelinating disease in which the virus persists and manifests a restricted expression. Mutagenesis studies of the DA strain leader (L) coding region, which is located at the 5' end of the polyprotein coding region, demonstrate that L is completely dispensable for infection of some cells; in addition, nucleotides can be inserted into the L coding region with no loss in infectivity, indicating that Theiler murine encephalomyelitis virus may be used as a vector for delivering foreign sequences. In other cells, L is critical for plaque formation and efficient viral multiplication. These findings raise the possibility that L may play a role in the DA-induced demyelinating restricted infection. The functions of L, and even its presence within the genome, vary among picornaviruses, reflecting the various requirements for viral growth among different host cells.
