Preferred Label : West Nile Virus Pathway;
NCIt related terms : West Nile Virus;
NCIt definition : A description of the life cycle of the West Nile virus.;
Alternative definition : BIOCARTA: West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the Flaviviridae, a plus-stranded virus
family that includes St. Louis encephalitis virus, Kunjin virus, yellow fever virus,
Dengue virus, and Japanese encephalitis virus. WNV was initially isolated in 1937
in the West Nile region of Uganda and has become prevalent in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
WNV has rapidly spread across the United States through its insect host and causes
neurological symptoms and encephalitis, which can result in paralysis or death. Since
1999 about 3700 cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection and 200 deaths have been
recorded in United States. The viral capsid protein likely contributes to the WNV-associated
deadly inflammation via apoptosis induced through the mitochondrial pathway. WNV particles
(50 nm in diameter) consist of a dense core (viral protein C encapsidated virus RNA
genome) surrounded by a membrane envelope (viral E and M proteins embedded in a lipid
bilayer). The virus binds to a specific cell surface protein (not yet identified),
an interaction thought to involve E protein with highly sulfated neperan sulfate (HSHS)
residues that are present on the surfaces of many cells and enters the cell by a process
similar to that of endocytosis. Once inside the cell, the genome RNA is released into
the cytoplasm via endosomal release, a fusion process involving acidic pH induced
conformation change in the E protein. The RNA genome serves as mRNA and is translated
by ribosomes into ten mature viral proteins are produced via proteolytic cleavage,
which include three structural components and seven different nonstructural components
of the virus. These proteins assemble and transcribe complimentary minus strand RNAs
from the genomic RNA. The complimentary minus strand RNA in turns serves as template
for the synthesis of positive-stranded genomic RNAs. Once viral E, preM and C proteins
have accumulated to sufficient level, they assemble with the genomic RNA to form progeny
virions, which migrate to the cell surface where they are surrounded with lipid envelop
and released. (This definition may be outdated - see the DesignNote.);
NCIt note : The BIOCARTA Definition (ALT_DEFINITION) for this pathway concept was provided by
BioCarta. This property was not created by, nor is it maintained by the NCI Thesaurus
staff. Additionally, BioCarta is no longer updating its pathway data; thus, the BIOCARTA
Definition might be outdated or inaccurate. Please see the Terms and Conditions for
Use at http://www.biocarta.com/.;
Biocarta ID : h_WNVpathway;
Origin ID : C39271;
UMLS CUI : C1704408;
Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- See also inter- (CISMeF)
- Semantic type(s)
- has_gene_product_element
- pathway_has_gene_element
