N.B. Binding of DNA virus nuclear proteins to cellular tumour suppressors is a shared mechanism of cell transformation found in several virus families. Together, these observations indicate that Adenoviruses, in the course of sequestering cellular machinery and altering the intracellular environment to favour viral replication, have profound effects on cellular functions. There is cis-acting control of this switch, i.e. only newly replicated DNA is used for late gene transcription, but the mechanism controlling this is not understood. Assembly occurs in the nucleus, but begins in the cytoplasm when individual monomers form into hexon and penton capsomers. Most Adenovirus infections involve either the respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts or the eye.
Adenovirus infections are very common, most are asymptomatic.
Most people have been infected with at least 1 type at age 15. It is known that virus is reactivated during immunosuppression, e.g. in AIDS patients. This is because adolescents and others in close daily contact are at risk for epidemic spread of respiratory infections - risk to general population is so low that vaccination is not a viable proposition. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in developing Adenoviruses as defective vectors to carry and express foreign genes for therapeutic purposes .