Glycoprotein H & Glycoprotein L/gH & gL (VZV)

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is the alphaherpesvirus that causes chicken pox (varicella) and shingles (zoster). As for all herpesviruses, VZV relies on a fusion complex comprised of three core glycoproteins, gB, gH and gL, required for entry of virions into host cells. VZV ORFs 37 and 60 encode gH (841aa; 118 kDa) and gL (160aa; 20 kDa), respectively, which are N- and O-linked glycosylated and form a heterodimer that is necessary for the activation of gB.