Mechanisms of viral entry: sneaking in the front door

Recent developments in methods to study virus internalisation are providing clearer insights into mechanisms used by viruses to enter host cells. The use of dominant negative constructs, specific inhibitory drugs and RNAi to selectively prevent entry through particular pathways has provided evidence for the clathrin-mediated entry of hepatitis C virus (HCV) as well as the caveolar entry of Simian Virus 40. Moreover, the ability to image and track fluorescent-labelled virus particles in real-time has begun to challenge the classical plasma membrane entry mechanisms described for poliovirus and human immunodeficiency virus. This review will cover both well-documented entry mechanisms as well as more recent discoveries in the entry pathways of enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. This will include viruses which enter the cytosol directly at the plasma membrane and those which enter via endocytosis and traversal of internal membrane barrier(s). Recent developments in imaging and inhibition of entry pathways have provided insights into the ill-defined entry mechanism of HCV, bringing it to the forefront of viral entry research. Finally, as high-affinity receptors often define viral internalisation pathways, and tropism in vivo, host membrane proteins to which viral particles specifically bind will be discussed throughout

An application of the dust grain charging model to determination of secondary electron spectra

Dust grains – objects of different shapes with a size distribution from micro to nanometers – are generally considered as a part of many space as well as laboratory plasmas. Among various dust charging processes, electron-induced secondary emission plays an important role in plasmas containing a noteworthy portion of high-energy electrons. Since a part of secondary electrons has not the energy high enough to overcome the surface potential barrier, the resulting grain charge is determined not only by the secondary emission yield (related to the grain material and size) but also by the secondary electron spectrum. We have developed a model of secondary electron emission from small dust grains. In the present contribution, we discuss the profile of a secondary emission yield that can be received from the model and the measured equilibrium grain charge, both as functions of an incident electron beam energy. A comparison of these quantities leads to an estimation of secondary electron spectra. We have found that: (1) the energy spectrum of secondary electrons does not change with the energy of primary electrons and (2) the energy spectrum depends on the target material being harder for gold and silver than for glass grains

Secondary electron emission from highly charged carbon grains

Surfaces in contact with a plasma can influence its characteristics and, on the other hand, the impact of plasma particles can change surface properties of materials immersed in a plasma. Carbon is often present in plasma systems either as a building material or a product of technological processes, thus its behavior is an important factor of these applications. The paper deals with investigations of secondary emission of 1–6 μm spherical grains from amorphous carbon under the electric field of the order of 108 V/m. We have found that the secondary emission yield increases with the electric field at the sample surface nearly linearly and does not depend on the grain diameter. Long-lasting (hours) electron irradiation of the sample surface leads to a significant decrease of the yield that was attributed to the removal of an absorbed layer from the grain surface. This conclusion is supported by the fact that a similar effect was achieved after several minutes of simultaneous electron and ion treatments