Virus factories

Also called: virus inclusions, virosomes, viroplasm, or viral factories.

Viral factories are intracellular compartments (inclusions) where viral components and some host proteins concentrate to increase the efficiency of replication and assembly. They can be either cytoplasmic or nuclear and often arise from extensive rearrangement of host cell cytoskeletal and/or cell membrane compartments, such as the ER, Golgi, endosomes, lysosomes, plant vacuole, or chloroplast. The formation of the virus factory involves a number of complex interactions and signaling events between viral and cell factors.