Progress in research on mechanism of syncytium formation of respiratory syncytial virus

Respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) belongs to Pneumovirus in the family of Paramyxoviridae,which is an important pathogen that can cause severe and life-threatening respiratory infections in infants,the elderly,and immunocompromised adults.The major cytopathic effect of RSV infection is membrane fusion-induced syncytium formation.Research shows that the receptor-binding and fusion-promoting activities mainly rely on two different spike structures,i.e.attachment glycoprotein(G) promoting the attachment of RST to target cells and fusion glycoprotein(F) promoting the fusion between cells or virus and cells.This paper reviews the progress in research on mechanism of syncytium formation of respiratory syncytial virus in recent years.