HIV-1 diverts cortical actin for particle assembly and release

Enhanced Quantitative Wavefront Imaging for Nano-Object Characterization

Quantitative phase imaging enables precise and label-free characterizations of individual nano-objects within a large volume, without a priori knowledge of the sample or imaging system. While emerging common path implementations are simple enough to promise a broad dissemination, their phase sensitivity still falls short of precisely estimating the mass or polarizability of vesicles, viruses, or nanoparticles in single-shot acquisitions. In this paper, we revisit the Zernike filtering concept, originally crafted for intensity-only detectors, with the aim of adapting it to wavefront imaging. We demonstrate, through numerical simulation and experiments based on high-resolution wavefront sensing, that a simple Fourier-plane add-on can significantly enhance phase sensitivity for subdiffraction objects─achieving over an order of magnitude increase (×12)─while allowing the quantitative retrieval of both intensity and phase. This advancement allows for more precise nano-object detection and metrology.

Distinct chikungunya virus polymerase palm subdomains contribute to virus replication and virion assembly

Alphaviruses encode an error-prone RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), nsP4, required for genome synthesis, yet how the RdRp functions in the complete alphavirus life cycle is not well-defined. Previous work using chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has established the importance of the nsP4 residue cysteine 483 in maintaining viral genetic fidelity. Given the location of residue C483 in the nsP4 palm domain, we hypothesized that other residues within this domain and surrounding subdomains would also contribute to polymerase function. To test this hypothesis, we designed a panel of nsP4 variants via homology modeling based on the Coxsackievirus B3 3 polymerase. We rescued each variant in both mammalian and mosquito cells and discovered that the palm domain and ring finger subdomain contribute to polymerase host-specific replication and genetic stability. Surprisingly, in mosquito cells, these variants in the ring finger and palm domain were replication competent and produced viral structural proteins, but they were unable to produce infectious progeny, indicating a yet uncharacterized role for the polymerase in viral assembly. Finally, we have identified additional residues in the nsP4 palm domain that influence the genetic diversity of the viral progeny, potentially via an alteration in NTP binding and/or discrimination by the polymerase. Taken together, these studies highlight that distinct nsP4 subdomains regulate multiple processes of the alphavirus life cycle, placing nsP4 in a central role during the switch from RNA synthesis to packaging and assembly.

Visualizing HIV-1 Assembly at the T-Cell Plasma Membrane Using Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy

The 20-year revolution in optical fluorescence microscopy, supported by the optimization of both spatial resolution and timely acquisition, allows the visualization of nanoscaled objects in cell biology. Currently, the use of a recent generation of super-resolution fluorescence microscope coupled with improved fluorescent probes gives the possibility to study the replicative cycle of viruses in living cells, at the single-virus particle or protein level. Here, we highlight the protocol for visualizing HIV-1 Gag assembly at the host T-cell plasma membrane using super-resolution light microscopy. Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF-M) coupled with single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) enables the detection and characterization of the assembly of viral proteins at the plasma membrane of infected host cells at the single protein level. Here, we describe the TIRF equipment, the T-cell culture for HIV-1, the sample preparation for single-molecule localization microscopies such as PALM and STORM, acquisition protocols, and Gag assembling cluster analysis.