Dengue virus is the causative agent of dengue virus fever. It infects about 400 million people per year and leads to about 21,000 deaths annually. There is available neither a fully successful vaccine nor a successful drug therapy. Some dengue virus serotypes undergo a temperature dependent conformational change from a 'smooth' form at lower temperatures to a 'bumpy' form at temperatures approaching 37°C, the human body temperature. The bumpy structure is less stable and is probably an intermediate in the formation of a fusogenic virus particle.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.