Javascript is disabled in your browser. This site will not operate unless you enable javascript.In Netscape 4, pull down the Edit menu at the upper left (top row), and select Preferences. Then highlight Advanced, check Enable Javascript, and click OK.Then click Reload.

Structure of Simian Virus 40

by Stefan A Welte

a Graduate Biochemistry Exchange student from the University of Tuebingen, Germany, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Introduction

Simian Virus 40 (SV 40) and the murine polyoma viruses belong to the polyomaviridae family and are the simplest of double- stranded DNA viruses. SV 40 was discovered in the early 1960s as a frequent contamitant of the rhesus macaque kidney cell cultures which were used to grow poliomyelitis vaccines. SV 40 was found in hamster tumors and has been studied extensively as a model of tumor-causing viruses. But SV 40 is genarally not considered as a human pathogen, but it was recently shown that SV 40 DNA is present in tumors of people. Although many people were vaccinated with the contaminated vaccines, no SV-40-related tumors have ever been reported [1]. Viruses enter a cell by binding to their specific receptor on a surface of a host cell. The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I molecules are the specific receptor for SV 40 [2].

The main issue of this presentation is the stucture of the SV 40 capsid: the building blocks the virial particle is made off and how the subunits and the capsid are hold together. Some scripts will need some time until they are displayed on the screen. Please have patience and do not press further buttons until the image appears.

In order to view this presentation you Chime version 2 must be installed on your system.

Start Presentation on SV 40

Literature citations:

Structure of simian virus 40 at 3.8-A resolution. Nature 1991 Nov 28;354(6351):278-84.
Class I major histocompatibility proteins as cell surface receptors for simian virus 40. J Virol 1989 Oct; 63(10):4474-7.
Simian virus 40 infection via MHC class I molecules and caveolae. Immunol Rev 1999 Apr;168:13-22.
Introduction to Protein Structure by Carl-Ivar Branden, John Tooze, 2nd edition (December 1998), Garland Publishing, Inc. NewYork, NY .
Medical Microbiology, 3rd ed. by Patrick R. Murray et al., Mosby, Inc. St. Louis, 1998.
Virology, 3rd ed. by Jay A. Levy et al., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1994.

I used following PDB files for this presentation:

the Protein Data Bank (PDB) file 1sva.pdb at the site of the Protein Data Bank, Brookhaven, which contains the cooridinates for one viral pentamer.
and the Probable Quaternary Structures can be downloaded at the European Bioinformatics Institute as the following files

Download help

Download the Protein Explorer for local installation.
Chime version 2 must be installed on your system. SGI, Windows 3.1, Mac68K users: Chime 2.0 is not available for your platforms. Try the Chime 1 version of the Protein Explorer.

Acknowledgements:

This presentation was developed with the technical guidance of Eric Martz in his class Macromolecular Visualization Laboratory.
Development of the template used to construct this presentation was supported by a grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation. When released, the template will be available as part of the Protein Explorer.
Thanks to Len Norkin for further information about SV 40.
My year at the University of Massachusetts is possible because of the exchange program between the University of Tübingen, Baden Württemberg and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

This and other Chime-based tutorials are indexed at the World Index: BioMolecular Tutorials in Chime by Subject (linked to the Animated Tutorials Page at the RasMol Home Page, and the UMass Chime Resources Site).

If you like this presentation, please let the author know! If you want to be able to download a copy of this presentation to facilitate classroom use, please contact Eric Martz, specifying the title and author of the presentation.

Start Presentation on SV 40