西亚试剂：Hepatitis A virus and the origins of picornaviruses

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) remains enigmatic, despite 1.4 million cases worldwide annually1. It differs radically from other picornaviruses, existing in an enveloped form2 and being unusually stable, both genetically and physically3, but has proved difficult to study. Here we report high-resolution X-ray structures for the mature virus and the empty particle. The structures of the two particles are indistinguishable, apart from some disorder on the inside of the empty particle. The full virus contains the small viral protein VP4, wheras the empty particle harbours only the uncleaved precursor, VP0. The smooth particle surface is devoid of depressions that might correspond to receptor-binding sites. Peptide scanning data extend the previously reported VP3 antigenic site4, while structure-based predictions5 suggest further epitopes. HAV contains no pocket factor and can withstand remarkably high temperature and low pH, and empty particles are even more robust than full particles.

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