Structure of hepatitis E viral particle

Hepatitis E is acute hepatitis caused by infection of hepatitis E virus (HEV) via a fecal-to-oral or zoonotic route. HEV is a small, non-enveloped virus containing positive strand RNA as a genome. Recently, the three-dimensional structures of the HEV-like particles and spike domain protruded from the surface of the particle expressed by recombinant baculovirus or bacteria have been revealed. Based on these reports, the structural features of the HEV capsid subunit and viral particle are reviewed to give insights to the mechanisms underlying the particle assembly, antigenicity, host cell attachment and native virion packaging. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.