Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: How nonenveloped viruses cross host membranes without causing cell lysis remains a central biophysical paradox. A recent cryogenic electron tomography study by de Sautu et al. proposed that rhesus rotavirus double-layered particles (DLPs) escape endocytic vesicles through a large, VP7-stabilized membrane pore. However, a static pore model is difficult to reconcile with live-cell single-particle tracking data showing multi-minute lags between VP7 dissociation and DLP release. Here, I show that these structural snapshots map onto the vesicle budding-and-collapse (VBC) framework, a recently discovered mechanism shared by a growing number of biological and synthetic membrane-translocation systems. Re-interpreting rotavirus entry through VBC resolves kinetic discrepancies in the literature and provides a unified physical paradigm for viral entry and drug delivery.
Source: ChemRxiv
Author: Dehua Pei
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Cell Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7215109099