MXRA8 and infection: Several lines of evidence support Mxra8 as an alphavirus receptor: (1) ectopic expression of Mxra8 enhances alphavirus infection; (2) transfection of viral RNA into cells bypasses a requirement for Mxra8 expression; (3) CHIKV binding to and infection of cells is blocked with antibodies against Mxra8 or a soluble Mxra8-Fc decoy protein; and (4) Mxra8 binds directly to CHIKV viruses or virus-like particles by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance.