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Alphaviruses are infectious agents that replicate in humans and many animals; this viral genus includes Chikungunya virus, Semliki Forest virus and Sindbis virus. Alphaviruses are transmitted by arthropods, mainly mosquitoes, and thus are arboviruses.
The authors present that encephalitic Semliki Forest virus uses choroid plexus epithelial cells as neuroinvasion pathway in mice and show that entry is specifically dependent on expression of very low-density-lipoprotein receptor in these cells.
The role of alphavirus nsP3 protein is not entirely clear. Here, through structural analysis the authors show that CHIKV nsP3 polymerizes to form tubular scaffolds in both replication complexes and alpha-granules and that these scaffolds are important for virus RNA synthesis and infectivity.
Alphaviruses infect their host by binding to cellular receptors and fusing with cell membranes. New studies define the receptor-binding protein of these viruses and its regulation of the membrane-fusion reaction. See Lettersp.705 & p.709
