Human adenoviruses are large (150 MDa) nonenveloped double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses that cause acute respiratory, gastrointestinal and ocular infections. Despite these disease associations, adenovirus has aided basic and clinical research efforts through studies of its association with cells and as a target of host antiviral responses. This review highlights the knowledge of adenovirus disassembly and nuclear transport gleaned from structural, biophysical and functional analyses of adenovirus interactions with soluble and membrane-associated host molecules.
Keywords: AFM; adenovirus; adenovirus receptors; antibody; capsid disassembly; cryoelectron microscopy; cysteine protease; defensins; dynein; hexon; integrins; microtubules; neutralization; nuclear pore; nuclear porins; penton base; protein VI; ts1.