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Valadés-Alcaraz A, Reinosa R, Holguín Á. HIV Transmembrane Glycoprotein Conserved Domains and Genetic Markers Across HIV-1 and HIV-2 Variants. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:855232. [PMID: 35694284 PMCID: PMC9184819 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.855232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV envelope transmembrane glycoproteins gp41 (HIV-1) and gp36 (HIV-2) present high variability and play a key role in the HIV-host cell membrane's fusion, as a target for human broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) and drugs. Thus, a better knowledge of amino acid (aa) conservation across structural domains and HIV variants can help to identify conserved targets to direct new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. All available gp41/gp36 nucleotide sequences were downloaded from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) HIV Sequence Database, selecting 17,078 sequences ascribed to HIV-1 and HIV-2 variants with ≥3 sequences. After aligning and translating into aa with MEGAv6.0, an in-house bioinformatics program (EpiMolBio) was used to identify the most conserved aa and the aa changes that were specific for each variant (V-markers) vs. HXB2/BEN (HIV-1/HIV-2) reference sequence. We analyzed the presence of specific aa changes among V-markers affecting infectivity, gp41 structure, function, or resistance to the enfuvirtide viral fusion inhibitor (T-20). We also inferred the consensus sequences per HIV variant, describing in each HIV-1 group (M, N, O, P) the conservation level along the complete gp41 per structural domain and locating in each binding site the anti-gp41 human Abs (bnAbs and non bnAbs) described in LANL. We found 38.3/59.7% highly conserved aa present in ≥90% of the 16,803/275 gp41/gp36 sequences ascribed to 105/3 HIV-1/HIV-2 variants, with 9/12.6% of them showing complete conservation across LANL sequences. The fusion peptide, its proximal region, the N-heptad repeat, and the membrane-proximal external region were the gp41 domains with ≥84% of conserved aa in the HIV-1 consensus sequence, the target of most Abs. No natural major resistance mutations to T-20 were observed. Our results show, for the first time, a complete conservation study of gp41/gp36 per variant in the largest panel of HIV variants analyzed to date, providing useful information for a more rational design of drugs, vaccines, and molecular detection tests targeting the HIV transmembrane glycoprotein.
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2
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Caillat C, Guilligay D, Torralba J, Friedrich N, Nieva JL, Trkola A, Chipot CJ, Dehez FL, Weissenhorn W. Structure of HIV-1 gp41 with its membrane anchors targeted by neutralizing antibodies. eLife 2021; 10:65005. [PMID: 33871352 PMCID: PMC8084527 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The HIV-1 gp120/gp41 trimer undergoes a series of conformational changes in order to catalyze gp41-induced fusion of viral and cellular membranes. Here, we present the crystal structure of gp41 locked in a fusion intermediate state by an MPER-specific neutralizing antibody. The structure illustrates the conformational plasticity of the six membrane anchors arranged asymmetrically with the fusion peptides and the transmembrane regions pointing into different directions. Hinge regions located adjacent to the fusion peptide and the transmembrane region facilitate the conformational flexibility that allows high-affinity binding of broadly neutralizing anti-MPER antibodies. Molecular dynamics simulation of the MPER Ab-stabilized gp41 conformation reveals a possible transition pathway into the final post-fusion conformation with the central fusion peptides forming a hydrophobic core with flanking transmembrane regions. This suggests that MPER-specific broadly neutralizing antibodies can block final steps of refolding of the fusion peptide and the transmembrane region, which is required for completing membrane fusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Caillat
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Grenoble, France
| | - Delphine Guilligay
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Grenoble, France
| | - Johana Torralba
- Instituto Biofisika (CSIC, UPV/EHU) and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Nikolas Friedrich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jose L Nieva
- Instituto Biofisika (CSIC, UPV/EHU) and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Alexandra Trkola
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christophe J Chipot
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Théoriques (LPCT), University of Lorraine, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.,Laboratoire International Associé, CNRS and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.,Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
| | - François L Dehez
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Théoriques (LPCT), University of Lorraine, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.,Laboratoire International Associé, CNRS and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Winfried Weissenhorn
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), Grenoble, France
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3
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Probing Structural Dynamics of Membrane Proteins Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Techniques. BIOPHYSICA 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/biophysica1020009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Membrane proteins are essential for the survival of living organisms. They are involved in important biological functions including transportation of ions and molecules across the cell membrane and triggering the signaling pathways. They are targets of more than half of the modern medical drugs. Despite their biological significance, information about the structural dynamics of membrane proteins is lagging when compared to that of globular proteins. The major challenges with these systems are low expression yields and lack of appropriate solubilizing medium required for biophysical techniques. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy coupled with site directed spin labeling (SDSL) is a rapidly growing powerful biophysical technique that can be used to obtain pertinent structural and dynamic information on membrane proteins. In this brief review, we will focus on the overview of the widely used EPR approaches and their emerging applications to answer structural and conformational dynamics related questions on important membrane protein systems.
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4
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Sahu ID, Lorigan GA. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance as a Tool for Studying Membrane Proteins. Biomolecules 2020; 10:E763. [PMID: 32414134 PMCID: PMC7278021 DOI: 10.3390/biom10050763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Membrane proteins possess a variety of functions essential to the survival of organisms. However, due to their inherent hydrophobic nature, it is extremely difficult to probe the structure and dynamic properties of membrane proteins using traditional biophysical techniques, particularly in their native environments. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in combination with site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) is a very powerful and rapidly growing biophysical technique to study pertinent structural and dynamic properties of membrane proteins with no size restrictions. In this review, we will briefly discuss the most commonly used EPR techniques and their recent applications for answering structure and conformational dynamics related questions of important membrane protein systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indra D. Sahu
- Natural Science Division, Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, KY 42718, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
| | - Gary A. Lorigan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA
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5
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Liu N, Girvin ME, Brenowitz M, Lai JR. Conformational and lipid bilayer-perturbing properties of Marburg virus GP2 segments containing the fusion loop and membrane-proximal external region/transmembrane domain. Heliyon 2019; 5:e03018. [PMID: 31890962 PMCID: PMC6926192 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusion of host and viral membranes is a crucial step during infection by enveloped viruses. In the structurally-defined "class I″ viral glycoproteins, the formation of a highly stable α-helical bundle by the ectodomain of the fusion subunit (e.g., GP2 for Marburg virus, MARV) is postulated to provide the energetic driving force to overcome barriers associated with membrane fusion. Upon cell binding, the fusion subunit is proposed to form an extended intermediate that bridges both the viral and host membranes, and collapse of this extended intermediate brings the two membranes into proximity. While there is much high-resolution structural data available for prefusion and post-fusion structures of viral glycoproteins, little information is available about intermediate conformations especially in the context of the fusion loop/peptide (FL or FP) and membrane-proximal external region (MPER)/transmembrane (TM) segments. We present structural and functional studies on segments of MARV GP2 that encompass the FL and MPER/TM in detergent micelles and lipid bicelles. A protein that contains most elements of GP2 ("MGP2-full") is α-helical in membrane-mimicking environments and has pH-dependent membrane lytic activity. MGP2-full is monomeric under such conditions, contrasting with the trimeric species that has been described previously for MARV GP2 ectodomain in aqueous buffer. Variants of MARV GP2 containing the N- and C-terminal halves ("MGP2-FNL" and "MGP2-CMT", respectively) have similar properties. This work provides novel insight into conformational and membrane-perturbing properties of the MARV fusion subunit and how they may relate to viral membrane fusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA
| | - Mark E Girvin
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA
| | - Michael Brenowitz
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.,Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA
| | - Jonathan R Lai
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA
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6
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Afrose F, McKay MJ, Mortazavi A, Suresh Kumar V, Greathouse DV, Koeppe RE. Transmembrane Helix Integrity versus Fraying To Expose Hydrogen Bonds at a Membrane-Water Interface. Biochemistry 2019; 58:633-645. [PMID: 30565458 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b01119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Transmembrane helices dominate the landscape for many membrane proteins. Often flanked by interfacial aromatic residues, these transmembrane helices also contain loops and interhelix segments, which could help in stabilizing a transmembrane orientation. Using 2H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to monitor bilayer-incorporated model GWALP23 family peptides, we address systematically the issue of helix fraying in relation to the dynamics and orientation of highly similar individual transmembrane helices. We inserted aromatic (Phe, Trp, Tyr, and His) or non-aromatic residues (Ala and Gly) into positions 4 and 5 adjacent to a core transmembrane helix to examine the side-chain dependency of the transmembrane orientation, dynamics, and helix integrity (extent and location of unraveling). Incorporation of [2H]alanine labels enables one to assess the helicity of the core sequence and the peptide termini. For most of the helices, we observed substantial unwinding involving at least three residues at both ends. For the unique case of histidine at positions 4 and 5, an extended N-terminal unwinding was observed up to residue 7. For further investigation of the onset of fraying, we employed A4,5GWALP23 with 2H labels at residues 4 and 5 and found that the number of terminal residues involved in the unwinding depends on bilayer thicknesses and helps to govern the helix dynamics. The combined results enable us to compare and contrast the extent of fraying for each related helix, as reflected by the deviation of experimental 2H quadrupolar splitting magnitudes of juxta-terminal alanines A3 and A21 from those represented by an ideal helix geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahmida Afrose
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville , Arkansas 72701 , United States
| | - Matthew J McKay
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville , Arkansas 72701 , United States
| | - Armin Mortazavi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville , Arkansas 72701 , United States
| | - Vasupradha Suresh Kumar
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville , Arkansas 72701 , United States
| | - Denise V Greathouse
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville , Arkansas 72701 , United States
| | - Roger E Koeppe
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville , Arkansas 72701 , United States
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7
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Kwon B, Lee M, Waring AJ, Hong M. Oligomeric Structure and Three-Dimensional Fold of the HIV gp41 Membrane-Proximal External Region and Transmembrane Domain in Phospholipid Bilayers. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:8246-8259. [PMID: 29888593 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b04010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The HIV-1 glycoprotein, gp41, mediates fusion of the virus lipid envelope with the target cell membrane during virus entry into cells. Despite extensive studies of this protein, inconsistent and contradictory structural information abounds in the literature about the C-terminal membrane-interacting region of gp41. This C-terminal region contains the membrane-proximal external region (MPER), which harbors the epitopes for four broadly neutralizing antibodies, and the transmembrane domain (TMD), which anchors the protein to the virus lipid envelope. Due to the difficulty of crystallizing and solubilizing the MPER-TMD, most structural studies of this functionally important domain were carried out using truncated peptides either in the absence of membrane-mimetic solvents or bound to detergents and lipid bicelles. To determine the structural architecture of the MPER-TMD in the native environment of lipid membranes, we have now carried out a solid-state NMR study of the full MPER-TMD segment bound to cholesterol-containing phospholipid bilayers. 13C chemical shifts indicate that the majority of the peptide is α-helical, except for the C-terminus of the TMD, which has moderate β-sheet character. Intermolecular 19F-19F distance measurements of singly fluorinated peptides indicate that the MPER-TMD is trimerized in the virus-envelope mimetic lipid membrane. Intramolecular 13C-19F distance measurements indicate the presence of a turn between the MPER helix and the TMD helix. This is supported by lipid-peptide and water-peptide 2D 1H-13C correlation spectra, which indicate that the MPER binds to the membrane surface whereas the TMD spans the bilayer. Together, these data indicate that full-length MPER-TMD assembles into a trimeric helix-turn-helix structure in lipid membranes. We propose that the turn between the MPER and TMD may be important for inducing membrane defects in concert with negative-curvature lipid components such as cholesterol and phosphatidylethanolamine, while the surface-bound MPER helix may interact with N-terminal segments of the protein during late stages of membrane fusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byungsu Kwon
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 170 Albany Street , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Myungwoon Lee
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 170 Albany Street , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
| | - Alan J Waring
- Department of Medicine , Harbor-UCLA Medical Center , 1000 West Carson Street, Building RB2 , Torrance , California 90502 , United States
| | - Mei Hong
- Department of Chemistry , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 170 Albany Street , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States
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8
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Schroeder S, Kaufman JD, Grunwald M, Walla PJ, Lakomek NA, Wingfield PT. HIV-1 gp41 transmembrane oligomerization monitored by FRET and FCS. FEBS Lett 2018; 592:939-948. [PMID: 29453892 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The HIV-1 envelope gp120/gp41 trimer mediates viral membrane fusion. After cluster of differentiation-4 recognition, gp120 detaches from the virus, exposing gp41 which triggers fusion. During the fusion process, gp41 may not remain trimeric, which could have functional importance. Here, we probe the reversible association of full length gp41 (minus the cytoplasmic domain) in detergent micelles (with probes attached to transmembrane domain) by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with a μm dissociation constant. This is compared with other methods. A gp41-targeted fusion inhibitor must interfere with this transition, and monomeric, partially monomeric or trimeric states all present potential binding epitopes. The gp41 self-association is a valid drug target model and FRET, a potential high-throughput assay system, could be used to screen drug libraries.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joshua D Kaufman
- Protein Expression Laboratory, NIAMS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Peter J Walla
- Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Technical University Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Nils-Alexander Lakomek
- Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany.,Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (D-CHAB), ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Paul T Wingfield
- Protein Expression Laboratory, NIAMS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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9
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Liang S, Ratnayake PU, Keinath C, Jia L, Wolfe R, Ranaweera A, Weliky DP. Efficient Fusion at Neutral pH by Human Immunodeficiency Virus gp41 Trimers Containing the Fusion Peptide and Transmembrane Domains. Biochemistry 2018; 57:1219-1235. [PMID: 29345922 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is membrane-enveloped, and an initial infection step is joining/fusion of viral and cell membranes. This step is catalyzed by gp41, which is a single-pass integral viral membrane protein. The protein contains an ∼170-residue ectodomain located outside the virus that is important for fusion and includes the fusion peptide (FP), N-helix, loop, C-helix, and viral membrane-proximal external region (MPER). The virion initially has noncovalent complexes between three gp41 ectodomains and three gp120 proteins. A gp120 contains ∼500 residues and functions to identify target T-cells and macrophages via binding to specific protein receptors of the target cell membrane. gp120 moves away from the gp41 ectodomain, and the ectodomain is thought to bind to the target cell membrane and mediate membrane fusion. The secondary and tertiary structures of the ectodomain are different in the initial complex with gp120 and the final state without gp120. There is not yet imaging of gp41 during fusion, so the temporal relationship between the gp41 and membrane structures is not known. This study describes biophysical and functional characterization of large gp41 constructs that include the ectodomain and transmembrane domain (TM). Significant fusion is observed of both neutral and anionic vesicles at neutral pH, which reflects the expected conditions of HIV/cell fusion. Fusion is enhanced by the FP, which in HIV/cell fusion likely contacts the host membrane, and the MPER and TM, which respectively interfacially contact and traverse the HIV membrane. Initial contact with vesicles is made by protein trimers that are in a native oligomeric state that reflects the initial complex with gp120 and also is commonly observed for the ectodomain without gp120. Circular dichroism data support helical structure for the N-helix, C-helix, and MPER and nonhelical structure for the FP and loop. Distributions of monomer, trimer, and hexamer states are observed by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), with dependences on solubilizing detergent and construct. These SEC and other data are integrated into a refined working model of HIV/cell fusion that includes dissociation of the ectodomain into gp41 monomers followed by folding into hairpins that appose the two membranes, and subsequent fusion catalysis by trimers and hexamers of hairpins. The monomer and oligomer gp41 states may therefore satisfy dual requirements for HIV entry of membrane apposition and fusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Liang
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - P U Ratnayake
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - C Keinath
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - L Jia
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - R Wolfe
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - A Ranaweera
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - D P Weliky
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
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10
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Chiliveri SC, Louis JM, Ghirlando R, Baber JL, Bax A. Tilted, Uninterrupted, Monomeric HIV-1 gp41 Transmembrane Helix from Residual Dipolar Couplings. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 140:34-37. [PMID: 29277995 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b10245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography have shown that the pre- and postfusion states of the HIV-1 gp41 viral coat protein, although very different from one another, each adopt C3 symmetric structures. A stable homotrimeric structure for the transmembrane domain (TM) also was modeled and supported by experimental data. For a C3 symmetric structure, alignment in an anisotropic medium must be axially symmetric, with the unique axis of the alignment tensor coinciding with the C3 axis. However, NMR residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) measured under three different alignment conditions were found to be incompatible with C3 symmetry. Subsequent measurements by paramagnetic relaxation enhancement, analytical ultracentrifugation, and DEER EPR, indicate that the transmembrane domain is monomeric. 15N NMR relaxation data and RDCs show that TM is highly ordered and uninterrupted for a total length of 32 residues, extending well into the membrane proximal external region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai Chaitanya Chiliveri
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics and ‡Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - John M Louis
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics and ‡Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Rodolfo Ghirlando
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics and ‡Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - James L Baber
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics and ‡Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Ad Bax
- Laboratory of Chemical Physics and ‡Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
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11
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Structure of the Ebola virus envelope protein MPER/TM domain and its interaction with the fusion loop explains their fusion activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E7987-E7996. [PMID: 28874543 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1708052114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Ebolavirus (EBOV), an enveloped filamentous RNA virus causing severe hemorrhagic fever, enters cells by macropinocytosis and membrane fusion in a late endosomal compartment. Fusion is mediated by the EBOV envelope glycoprotein GP, which consists of subunits GP1 and GP2. GP1 binds to cellular receptors, including Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) protein, and GP2 is responsible for low pH-induced membrane fusion. Proteolytic cleavage and NPC1 binding at endosomal pH lead to conformational rearrangements of GP2 that include exposing the hydrophobic fusion loop (FL) for insertion into the cellular target membrane and forming a six-helix bundle structure. Although major portions of the GP2 structure have been solved in pre- and postfusion states and although current models place the transmembrane (TM) and FL domains of GP2 in close proximity at critical steps of membrane fusion, their structures in membrane environments, and especially interactions between them, have not yet been characterized. Here, we present the structure of the membrane proximal external region (MPER) connected to the TM domain: i.e., the missing parts of the EBOV GP2 structure. The structure, solved by solution NMR and EPR spectroscopy in membrane-mimetic environments, consists of a helix-turn-helix architecture that is independent of pH. Moreover, the MPER region is shown to interact in the membrane interface with the previously determined structure of the EBOV FL through several critical aromatic residues. Mutation of aromatic and neighboring residues in both binding partners decreases fusion and viral entry, highlighting the functional importance of the MPER/TM-FL interaction in EBOV entry and fusion.
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