Literature pertaining to the interactions between Marek's disease virus (MDV) entry-related glycoproteins and corresponding receptors is still limited. Results from a Western blot analysis of cellular proteins for virus receptors and co-immunoprecipitation suggest that heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is a potential cellular receptor for MDV glycoprotein gH. Plaque inhibition assays confirm the involvement of HSP70 in the early stages of MDV entry into chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF). The present work supports that HSP70 is implicated in the MDV entry process by binding to gH, and enhances the understanding of multifunctional HSP70 and the MDV infection process.
