A 21st Century Perspective of Poliovirus Replication

Poliovirus is the etiologic agent of poliomyelitis, an acute flaccid paralysis affecting 1%–2% of infected patients and, on rare occasions, causing death by paralyzing muscles that control the throat or breathing. A striking feature of infection is lifelong disabilities that may affect survivors of the acute disease. Transmitted by the fecal—oral and oral—oral route, this virus (three serotypes) was one of the most feared pathogens in industrialized countries during the 20th century affecting hundreds of thousands of children every year, via outbreaks during warm summer months. Although there are highly effective vaccines to control poliomyelitis, it remains endemic in a few countries, from which spread and outbreaks continue to occur throughout the world. Since its discovery in 1908, poliovirus has been intensively studied to better understand and control this formidable pathogen. The history of poliovirus is not, however, limited to the fight against the disease. Poliovirus replication studies also have played important roles in the development of modern virology since poliovirologists and, more generally, picornavirologists have been pioneers in many domains of molecular virology. Poliovirus was, for example, the first animal RNA virus to have its complete genome sequence determined, the first RNA animal virus for which an infectious clone was constructed, and, along with the related rhinovirus, the first human virus that had its three-dimensional structure solved by X-ray crystallography. Indeed, the history of over half a century of poliovirus replication studies is marked by major discoveries, many of which are summarized here and illustrated in Fig 1.