Virology Test Two Sample Questions #15 1) Considering that membranes are made of phospholipid bilayers, other lipids

and proteins. Would you expect that membrane fusion is spontaneous? What barriers are there? a. Not spontaneous. Viral attachment proteins are needed, as well as other proteins and peptides that aids in fusion. In bacterial cells, there are two membranes and a cell wall that serves as barriers. 2) List and describe three major mechanisms for mammalian viruses to enter their hosts. a. Uncoating at the plasma membrane (Envelope Fusion) i. Fusion with membrane -> releases contents b. Uncoating within endosomes (Endocytosis/ Fusion) i. Occurs in the endosome ii. Uncoating c. Uncoating at the nuclear membrane (Endocytosis) i. Endosome ii. Lysis iii. Docking into nuclear membrane iv. Uncoating 3) What roles do the Influenza Virus HA spikes have in the infection process, both initially and later? Describe the changes it undergoes. a. HA spike is used as an attachment protein for attachment to the cell. Lter, the HA spike changes conformation when the pH drops due to the fusion of the endosome. This conformational change causes proteolysis in the stalk of HA. It opens up and exposes fusion peptide. The fusion peptide then embeds in the host membrane, inducing membrane fusion. 4) What is a fusion peptide and what does it do? a. A fusion peptide induces membrane fusion. 5) Outline the model for HIV attachment to CD4 and the subsequent attachment protein conformational changes that lead to the fusion peptide embedding into the host cell membrane. 6) Considering the baove model for HIV, explain how this accounts for the requirements for a coreceptor. Sample Questions #16 1) Would you expect that Polio Virus to emply a fusion peptide to gain entry into its host? Explain. 2) Plrticles engulfed by mammalian cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis are often fated to reach a lysosome. These particles are typically destroyed due to the degradative actions of proteases, nucleases, other enzymes, low pH and the generally hostile environment within the lysosome. Describe how some viruses escape vesicles prior to fusing with lysozymes? Give an example. 3) Experimentally, drugs can be used to block host cell acidification of vesicles; what effect would such a drug have on the infection by influenza virus? 4) Describe how Reovirus actually depend upon the degradive effects of lysosomal proteases.

5) Follow Polio Virus attachment, the apex of the capsid which is contacting the membrane will not imbed into the host membrane until a lipid molecule is removed from the apex. What is that lipid and what mechanistically occurs following the removal of this lipid? How can therapies be developed to capitalize this system? Sample Questions #17 1) How does the nucleus acquire only specific proteins fo all the different types that are synthesized in the cytoplasm? Conversely why dont proteins fated to act in the cytoplasm sneak into the nucleus? 2) Some viruses genetic material need to be transported to the nucleus before its genes can be expressed. Predict what kind of virsues would most likely require nuclear gene expression. Conversly, what kind of viruses do not? Explain. 3) Outline the path that Adenoviruses take to transport its genetic material to the right part of the cell. 4) What directions foes nucleic acid biosynthesis proceed? 5) Describe the stragey that some prokaryotic viruses (e.g., T4) use to introduce its genetic material into a host cell. Explain the requirements for such aggressive uncoating mechanisms. 6) Describe RNA processing of a primary transtript that occurs in eukaryotic cells. Contrast the structural differences between the primary transcript and mature message. 7) What is the basis for hypermutageniesis in an RNA virus?