Poliovirus

Shelton S Bradrick, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
José R Romero, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Philip D Minor, National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Potters Bar, UK

Published online: March 2009

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001081.pub2

Poliovirus is a well-characterized member of the Picornavirus family. The picornaviruses are positive strand RNA (ribonucleic acid) viruses responsible for many human and animal diseases and the relationships between them have been greatly clarified by molecular data. The atomic structures of polio and several other picornaviruses were solved in the 1980s, and the sequence of many strains determined. The growth cycle involves attachment to a specific receptor found only in Old World monkeys and the higher primates and the viral proteins are synthesized using an internal ribosome entry site in the genome as a single large precursor later cleaved to give the functional viral proteins. The pathogenesis of poliovirus has been intensively studied although many aspects remain poorly understood. Vaccines developed in the 1950s and 1960s are likely to lead to the eradication of the disease in the near future.

Key concepts

  • Classification of viruses on the basis of sequence comparisons.
  • History of disease.
  • Positive strand RNA viruses: classification and recombination between related nonsegmented viruses.
  • Molecular structure of the picornaviruses.
  • Receptor site usage and host restriction.
  • Translation and replication strategies: the internal ribosome entry site.
  • Pathogenesis of the enteroviruses: localization of replication in different compartments.
  • Vaccine types, usage and effect in eradication and control programs.

Keywords: picornavirus; enterovirus; positive-stranded RNA viruses; poliomyelitis

Figure 1. The poliovirus genome and viral proteins (VPs). The RNA genome of poliovirus is at the top. Processing events for each region of the polyprotein (P1–P3) are indicated in descending order. NTR, nontranslated region.
Figure 2. Two-dimensional representation of the arrangement of three protomers in the poliovirus virion. The location of viral proteins VP1–VP3 within the protomer are indicated, together with the positions of 2-, 3- and 5-fold axes of symmetry.
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 References
    Andino R, Rieckhof GE and Baltimore D (1990) A functional ribonucleoprotein complex forms around the 5¢ end of poliovirus RNA. Cell 63: 369–380.
    Bodian D (1949) Histopathologic basis of clinical findings in poliomyelitis. American Journal of Medicine 6: 563–578.
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    Martin J, Dunn G, Hull R, Patel V and Minor PD (2000) Evolution of the Sabin type 3 poliovirus in an immunodeficient patient during the entire 637 period of virus excretion. Journal of Virology 74: 3001–3010.
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    book Rueckart R (1996) "Picornaviridae: the viruses and their replication". In: Fields BN, Knipe DM and Howley PM (eds) Fields Virology, 3rd edn, pp. 609–654. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven.
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    ePath www.polioeradication.org/
    Xiang W, Paul A and Wimmer E (1997) RNA signals in entero- and rhinovirus genome replication. Seminars in Virology 8: 256–273.
 Further Reading
    Andino R, Boddeker N, Silvera D and Gamarnik AV (1999) Intracellular determinants of picornavirus replication. Trends in Microbiology 7(2): 76–82.
    book Cherry JD (1998) "Enteroviruses: coxsackieviruses, enteroviruses and polioviruses". In: Feigin RD and Cherry JD (eds) Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, pp. 1787–1839. Philadelphia: WB Saunders.
    Gromeier M, Bossert B, Arita M, Nomoto A and Wimmer E (1999) Dual stem loops within the poliovirus internal ribosome entry site control neurovirulence. Journal of Virology 73(2): 958–964.
    book Rotbart HA (ed.) (1995) Human Enterovirus Infections. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology Press.
    book Sarnow P (ed.) (1995) Cap-Independent Translation. Berlin: Springer.

Related Sub-Topics:

Viruses Infecting Humans | RNA Viruses
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Article Title: Poliovirus
 
How to Cite close
Bradrick, Shelton S, Romero, José R, and Minor, Philip D(Mar 2009) Poliovirus. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001081.pub2]