glycoprotein D

Glycoprotein D is a **viral envelope protein** found on the surface of herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2). It is an essential mediator of **viral entry** into host cells by binding to specific host cell surface receptors including **nectin-1, nectin-2, and herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM)**. This interaction triggers membrane fusion and allows the virus to infect the cell. Glycoprotein D is also a principal target for vaccine development because antibodies against it can neutralize the virus. Subunit vaccines using recombinant or synthetic forms of glycoprotein D have been evaluated but have exhibited limited clinical success in humans. In addition to vaccine strategies, glycoprotein D has been explored as a component to improve immunogenicity of other vaccines (e.g., acting as a local checkpoint inhibitor for T-cell activation in fusion constructs)[1][2][3][5][6][7][8].

Other names

HSV glycoprotein Dherpes simplex virus glycoprotein Dglycoprotein D of HSVgD-1gD1gD 1gD-2gD2gD 2