Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are small viruses that infect humans and some other primate species. They belong to the genus Dependoparvovirus, which in turn belongs to the family Parvoviridae. They are small (approximately 26 nm in diameter) replication-defective, nonenveloped viruses and have linear single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genome of approximately 4.8 kilobases (kb). Several features make AAV an attractive candidate for creating viral vectors for gene therapy, and for the creation of isogenic human disease models. Gene therapy vectors using AAV can infect both dividing and quiescent cells and persist in an extrachromosomal state without integrating into the genome of the host cell. In the native virus, however, integration of virally carried genes into the host genome does occur. Integration can be important for certain applications, but can also have unwanted consequences. Recent human clinical trials using AAV for gene therapy in the retina have shown promis. Here is a recent cryoEM structure of the empty capsid of the adenovirus AAV2 (PDB code: 8FZ0)

#molecularart ... #immolecular ..: #virus ... #adenovirus ... #vector ... #capsid ... #cryoem

Structure rendered with @proteinimaging and depicted with @corelphotopaint