1
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Zhao H, Syed AM, Khalid MM, Nguyen A, Ciling A, Wu D, Yau WM, Srinivasan S, Esposito D, Doudna J, Piszczek G, Ott M, Schuck P. Assembly of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein with nucleic acid. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:6647-6661. [PMID: 38587193 PMCID: PMC11194069 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The viral genome of SARS-CoV-2 is packaged by the nucleocapsid (N-)protein into ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), 38 ± 10 of which are contained in each virion. Their architecture has remained unclear due to the pleomorphism of RNPs, the high flexibility of N-protein intrinsically disordered regions, and highly multivalent interactions between viral RNA and N-protein binding sites in both N-terminal (NTD) and C-terminal domain (CTD). Here we explore critical interaction motifs of RNPs by applying a combination of biophysical techniques to ancestral and mutant proteins binding different nucleic acids in an in vitro assay for RNP formation, and by examining nucleocapsid protein variants in a viral assembly assay. We find that nucleic acid-bound N-protein dimers oligomerize via a recently described protein-protein interface presented by a transient helix in its long disordered linker region between NTD and CTD. The resulting hexameric complexes are stabilized by multivalent protein-nucleic acid interactions that establish crosslinks between dimeric subunits. Assemblies are stabilized by the dimeric CTD of N-protein offering more than one binding site for stem-loop RNA. Our study suggests a model for RNP assembly where N-protein scaffolding at high density on viral RNA is followed by cooperative multimerization through protein-protein interactions in the disordered linker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaying Zhao
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Abdullah M Syed
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Mir M Khalid
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Ai Nguyen
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Alison Ciling
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Di Wu
- Biophysics Core Facility, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Wai-Ming Yau
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Sanjana Srinivasan
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Dominic Esposito
- Protein Expression Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Jennifer A Doudna
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Grzegorz Piszczek
- Biophysics Core Facility, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Melanie Ott
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Peter Schuck
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Wang Y, Yan A, Song D, Duan M, Dong C, Chen J, Jiang Z, Gao Y, Rao M, Feng J, Zhang Z, Qi R, Ma X, Liu H, Yu B, Wang Q, Zong M, Jiao J, Xing P, Pan R, Li D, Xiao J, Sun J, Li Y, Zhang L, Shen Z, Sun B, Zhao Y, Zhang L, Dai J, Zhao J, Wang L, Dou C, Liu Z, Zhao J. Identification of a highly conserved neutralizing epitope within the RBD region of diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nat Commun 2024; 15:842. [PMID: 38287016 PMCID: PMC10825162 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45050-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
The constant emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants continues to impair the efficacy of existing neutralizing antibodies, especially XBB.1.5 and EG.5, which showed exceptional immune evasion properties. Here, we identify a highly conserved neutralizing epitope targeted by a broad-spectrum neutralizing antibody BA7535, which demonstrates high neutralization potency against not only previous variants, such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron BA.1-BA.5, but also more recently emerged Omicron subvariants, including BF.7, CH.1.1, XBB.1, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.9.1, EG.5. Structural analysis of the Omicron Spike trimer with BA7535-Fab using cryo-EM indicates that BA7535 recognizes a highly conserved cryptic receptor-binding domain (RBD) epitope, avoiding most of the mutational hot spots in RBD. Furthermore, structural simulation based on the interaction of BA7535-Fab/RBD complexes dissects the broadly neutralizing effect of BA7535 against latest variants. Therapeutic and prophylactic treatment with BA7535 alone or in combination with BA7208 protected female mice from the circulating Omicron BA.5 and XBB.1 variant infection, suggesting the highly conserved neutralizing epitope serves as a potential target for developing highly potent therapeutic antibodies and vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanqun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Clinical Laboratory Medicine Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- GMU-GIBH Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - An Yan
- Cryo-electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Deyong Song
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Maoqin Duan
- Division of Monoclonal Antibodies, Institute for Biological Product Control, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), Beijing, China
| | - Chuangchuang Dong
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Jiantao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zihe Jiang
- Cryo-electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuanzhu Gao
- Cryo-electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Muding Rao
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Jianxia Feng
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Zhaoyong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ruxi Qi
- Cryo-electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaomin Ma
- Cryo-electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hong Liu
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Beibei Yu
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Qiaoping Wang
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Mengqi Zong
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Jie Jiao
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Pingping Xing
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Rongrong Pan
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Dan Li
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Juxue Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junbo Sun
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Ying Li
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Linfeng Zhang
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Zhenduo Shen
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Baiping Sun
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Yanyan Zhao
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Health and Quarantine Laboratory, Guangzhou Customs District Technology Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Dai
- Health and Quarantine Laboratory, Guangzhou Customs District Technology Centre, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jingxian Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lan Wang
- Division of Monoclonal Antibodies, Institute for Biological Product Control, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), Beijing, China.
| | - Changlin Dou
- Antibody Research and Development Center, Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yantai, China.
| | - Zheng Liu
- Cryo-electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Jincun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
- Guangzhou National Laboratory, Bio-Island, Guangzhou, China.
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- Institute for Hepatology, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital; The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
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3
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Zhao H, Syed AM, Khalid MM, Nguyen A, Ciling A, Wu D, Yau WM, Srinivasan S, Esposito D, Doudna JA, Piszczek G, Ott M, Schuck P. Assembly reactions of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein with nucleic acid. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.22.568361. [PMID: 38045338 PMCID: PMC10690241 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.22.568361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
The viral genome of SARS-CoV-2 is packaged by the nucleocapsid (N-) protein into ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), 38±10 of which are contained in each virion. Their architecture has remained unclear due to the pleomorphism of RNPs, the high flexibility of N-protein intrinsically disordered regions, and highly multivalent interactions between viral RNA and N-protein binding sites in both N-terminal (NTD) and C-terminal domain (CTD). Here we explore critical interaction motifs of RNPs by applying a combination of biophysical techniques to mutant proteins binding different nucleic acids in an in vitro assay for RNP formation, and by examining mutant proteins in a viral assembly assay. We find that nucleic acid-bound N-protein dimers oligomerize via a recently described protein-protein interface presented by a transient helix in its long disordered linker region between NTD and CTD. The resulting hexameric complexes are stabilized by multi-valent protein-nucleic acid interactions that establish crosslinks between dimeric subunits. Assemblies are stabilized by the dimeric CTD of N-protein offering more than one binding site for stem-loop RNA. Our study suggests a model for RNP assembly where N-protein scaffolding at high density on viral RNA is followed by cooperative multimerization through protein-protein interactions in the disordered linker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaying Zhao
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Abdullah M. Syed
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | | | - Ai Nguyen
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Alison Ciling
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Di Wu
- Biophysics Core Facility, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Wai-Ming Yau
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Sanjana Srinivasan
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Dominic Esposito
- Protein Expression Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Jennifer A. Doudna
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
- HHMI, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Grzegorz Piszczek
- Biophysics Core Facility, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Melanie Ott
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158
| | - Peter Schuck
- Laboratory of Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
- Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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