Virus Proteins Prevent Cell Suicide Long Enough to Establish Latent Infection

Abstract

Little more than a small genome encased in protein, a virus can’t reproduce without help from the cell it may ultimately destroy. After attaching to the cell membrane, a virus slips inside the cell, then co-opts its transcription and replication machinery to reproduce. Some viruses, such as the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), enter a latent stage before they start to reproduce. During latency, the virus expresses its own genes, which help maintain the viral genome until replication begins.