# RNA-ENVELOPE VIRUS FORMATION IN ANIMAL CELLS

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 1989 · $158,994

## Abstract

Enveloped RNA viruses are the etiological agents for many human
diseases-ranging from yellow fever, the first human disease
attributable to a virus (1902), to acquired immune deficiency
syndrome, caused by the retrovirus HTLVIII/LAV (1984).  Although
these two viruses, as well as other enveloped RNA viruses, differ
importantly in their genomic structure, composition and
mechanisms for gene expression, they have some activities in
common in their replication cycle and all synthesize virus-specific
transmembranal glycoproteins that interact with virus
nucleoprotein structures during virus assembly.  Experiments in
this proposal are focused on this common activity but employ a
simple "model" enveloped RNA virus-cell system, Sindbis virus
replication in tissue culture cells.  These projects constitute an
ongoing research program whose goal is the elucidation of critical
biochemical events in glycoprotein processing and assembly of
enveloped RNA viruses.  The work proposed here will utilize
recombinant DNA technology to obtain site-specific mutations in
a specific region of this virus' glycoprotein to determine what
factors are required to achieve the highly selective interaction
between the transmembranal virus "spike" proteins and
nucleocapsid of the virus.  Systems to measure binding between
nucleocapsids and glycoproteins will also be sought.  Of particular
interest is what role fatty acylation, a modification present in
many virus and cell glycoproteins, may play in virus assembly.  In
vitro mutagenesis will be used further to analyze a small region in
the Sindbis genome required for processing and insertion of
glycoprotein into the cell's membrane.  Our ability to detect
effects of directed glycoprotein changes on virus assembly are
now feasible because a cDNA capable of transcription into an
infectious RNA has been developed.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3128842
- **Project number:** 5R01AI019494-17
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** L6NFUM28LQM5
- **Principal Investigator:** MILTON J SCHLESINGER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $158,994
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1982-04-01 → 1989-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3128842

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3128842, RNA-ENVELOPE VIRUS FORMATION IN ANIMAL CELLS (5R01AI019494-17). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3128842. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*