Cellular and extracellular levels of retrovirus-host interactions on the example of the bovine leukose virus. 1. Cell penetration and integration into the host genome

Diagnosis and prevention of the retroviral infection spread among farm animals still remain poorly developed primarily due to the fact that a hierarchic cascade of the events which underlie the retrovirus-host interactions involves molecular, intracellular levels, including cell organelles, and extracellular levels associated with the function of cellular immune networks. This paper presents an overview of own and literature data on the interaction of retroviral pathogen on the example of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) with intracellular structures of target cells. Here we consider four stages of the cascade of the events promoting pathogen, including i) introduction into the cell cytoplasm, ii) the synthesis of DNA copies of the viral genome RNA, iii) their transport into the cell nucleus, and iv) provirus DNA introduction into the host genome. The host genes interacting with viral structures are revealed at each stage. Two key processes contribute to genetic variability of retrovirus genome during infectious cycle: two viral RNAs dimerization needed for reverse transcription increases the frequency of recombination between RNA chains (N...