[Research progress on baculovirus encoded inner nuclear membrane sorting motif--a review].

Baculoviruses are a family of arthropod-specific viruses that mainly affect insects of the orders Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera. During baculovirus infection, an amplified pulse of integral membrane proteins was synthesized. The proteins use continuous membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum, outer nuclear membrane and inner nuclear membrane during their transport to the viral envelope of the occlusion-derived virus. The baculovirus encoded inner nuclear membrane sorting motif (INM-SM) functions as a sorting signal and plays pivotal roles in these processes. This review focuses on recent advances in understanding of baculovirus encoded INM-SM, including the molecular mechanisms underlining protein sorting and trafficking by INM-SM, the possible model of INM-SM involvement in integral membrane proteins trafficking and the role of INM-SM in baculovirus per os infection. These achievements and advances should help to expand the molecular understanding of protein trafficking, baculovirus molecular biology and its application in the future.