Pixuna virus modifies host cell cytoskeleton to secure infection

MLEWSKI, ESTELA CECILIA; CUFFINI, CECILIA; PAGLINI, MARÍA GABRIELA; GIL, PEDRO IGNACIO; MONETTI, MARINA; FERNÁNDEZ ROMERO, JOSÉ; ALBRIEU-LLINÁS, GUILLERMO; FOZZATTI, LAURA; KUNDA, PATRICIA

Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports

Lugar: boston; Año: 2017 vol. 7

Pixuna virus (PIXV) is an enzootic member of the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus complex andbelongs to the New World cluster of alphaviruses. Herein we explore the role of the cellular cytoskeletonduring PIXV replication. We first identified that PIXV undergoes an eclipse phase consisting of 4hfollowed by 20h of an exponential phase in Vero cells. The infected cells showed morphological changesdue to structural modifications in actin microfilaments (MFs) and microtubules (MTs). Cytoskeletonbindingagents, that alter the architecture and dynamics of MFs and MTs, were used to study the roleof cytoskeleton on PIXV replication. The virus production was significantly affected (p