2025/01/22 by Richard J. Sugrue, Boon Huan Tan
Medicine · #Respiratory viral infections research #Viral Infections and Vectors #Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Studies
paper · doi:10.1016/j.virol.2025.110413
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) particle assembly occurs on the surface of infected cells at specialized membrane domain called lipid rafts. The mature RSV particles assemble as filamentous projections called virus filaments, and these structures form on the surface of many permissive cell types indicating that this is a robust feature of the RSV particle assembly. The virus filaments also form on nasal airway organoids systems providing evidence that these structures also have a clinical relevance. Virus filaments also form on cells infected with the closely related human metapneumovirus, suggesting that virus filament formation may be a common feature of assembly process for viruses within the Pneumoviridae family. During RSV infection these virus filaments mediate the localized cell-to-cell spread of virus infection, suggesting that they play an important role in virus transmission. The current understanding of the connection between virus filament formation and virus transmission during RSV infection is presented. • RSV particles assemble into morphological distinct filamentous structures. • These virus filaments mediate localised cell-to-cell virus transmission. • The virus filaments also generate low levels of cell-free virus infectivity. • The cell-free virus infectivity mediates widespread (long range) virus transmission. • Cellular processes that lead to virus filament formation have been identified.