Filovirus assembly and budding

Abstract

Filoviridae are single-stranded, non-segmented, negative-sense RNA viruses. To date, only two members of this virus family have been identified: the Ebola and Marburg viruses. Both viruses possess lipid envelopes and have characteristic filamentous shapes. Filovirus infections are a growing concern because they can cause significant morbidity and mortality (30%-90%) and no vaccines or treatments are currently available. In addition, the potential use of filoviruses as biological weapons has prompted the need to develop countermeasures. Although many questions about filovirus pathogenicity remain unanswered, much has been learned in recent years about the filovirus lifecycle, particularly the roles of the viral and cellular components in assembly and budding. Such data have greatly increased our understanding of filovirus particle formation. This review summarizes our current knowledge of filovirus particle formation and the viral proteins believed to be critical for this process.