Enter the kill zone: Initiation of death signaling during virus entry
Infection of host cells by a variety of viruses results in programmed cell death or apoptosis. In many cases,
early events in virus replication that occur prior to synthesis of viral proteins and replication of viral genomes
directly or indirectly activate signaling pathways that culminate in cell death. Using examples of viruses for
which prodeath signaling is better defined, this review will describe how cell entry steps including virus
attachment to receptors, virus uncoating in endosomes, and events that occur following membrane
penetration lead to apoptosis. The relevance and physiologic consequences of early induction of prodeath
signaling to viral pathogenesis also will be discussed.