Adenovirus fiber protein (Fiber)

The Adenovirus fiber protein is a major structural component of the non-enveloped adenovirus capsid, extending as a spike-like projection from the penton base at each of the twelve vertices of the icosahedron (UniProt, Accession P03276). Its primary biological role is to mediate the initial high-affinity attachment of the virus to specific host cell surface receptors, such as the Coxsackievirus and Adenovirus Receptor (CAR), CD46, or desmoglein-2, depending on the viral serotype (NCBI Bookshelf, Medical Microbiology, Ch. 67; Journal of Virology, 2011). This binding event is the critical first step in the viral infection cycle, followed by secondary interactions between the penton base and cellular integrins that trigger receptor-mediated endocytosis (Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2005). In the context of human disease, these interactions facilitate infections of the respiratory tract, eyes, and gastrointestinal system (StatPearls, Adenovirus). Therapeutically, the fiber protein is a major target for the development of neutralizing antibodies and entry inhibitors designed to block viral infection (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2019). Furthermore, in gene therapy, the fiber protein is frequently engineered or knob-swapped to retarget adenoviral vectors to specific tissues or to evade pre-existing host immunity (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2019).

Other names

Fiber proteinCapsid protein IVFiber knob proteinL5 proteinAdenovirus attachment proteinFiber glycoprotein

Neutralization of viral entry by blocking the interaction between the viral fiber knob domain and host cell surface receptors.