Human rhinovirus subviral a particle binds to lipid membranes over a twofold axis of icosahedral symmetry.

Minor group human rhinoviruses bind low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors for endocytosis. Once they are inside endosomes, the acidic pH triggers their dissociation from the receptors and conversion into hydrophobic subviral A particles; these attach to the membrane and transfer their single-strand, positive-sense RNA genome into the cytosol. Here, we allowed human rhinovirus 2 (HRV2) A particles, produced in vitro by incubation at pH 5.4, to attach to liposomes; cryo-electron microscopy 3-dimensional single-particle image reconstruction revealed that they bind to the membrane around a 2-fold icosahedral symmetry axis.