page_title: VP40
section_title: Significance of VP40
hierarchical_section_title: VP40 / Significance of VP40
caption_attribution_description: English: Genome of Ebola virus Italiano: Genoma del virus Ebola
context_page_description: In molecular biology, VP40 is the name of a viral matrix protein. Most commonly it is found in the Ebola virus, a type of non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus. Ebola virus causes a severe and often fatal haemorrhagic fever in humans, known as Ebola virus disease. The virus matrix protein VP40 is a major structural protein that plays a central role in virus assembly and budding at the plasma membrane of infected cells. VP40 proteins work by associating with cellular membranes, interacting with the cytoplasmic tails of glycoproteins and binding to the ribonucleoprotein complex.
context_section_description: Study of the matrix protein VP40 is important due to the high mortality rate of the Ebola virus, which is listed as a WHO Risk Group 4 Pathogen, an HHS Select Agent, an NIH/NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen, a CDC Category A Bioterrorism Agent, and a Biological Agent for Export Control by the Australia Group.
  Expression of the matrix protein VP40 is sufficient to generate virus-like particles (no viral genetic material) in a mammalian host that are remarkably indistinguishable from live virus, from a morphological standpoint.
caption: VP40 position in the Ebola virus genome
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