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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Local rule-based theory of virus shell assembly.

A local rule-based theory is developed which shows that the self-assembly of icosahedral virus shells may depend on only the lower-level interactions of a protein subunit with its neighbors--i.e., on local rules rather than on larger structural building blocks. The local rule theory provides a framework for understanding the assembly of icosahedral viruses. These include both viruses that fall in the quasiequivalence theory of Caspar and Klug and the polyoma virus structure, which violates quasi-equivalence and has puzzled researchers since it was first observed. Local rules are essentially templates for energetically favorable arrangements. The tolerance margins for these rules are investigated through computer simulations. When these tolerance margins are exceeded in a particular way, the result is a "spiraling" malformation that has been observed in nature.

Bacteriophage P22↗
PubMed2004

The last C-terminal residue of VP3, glutamic acid 257, controls capsid assembly of infectious bursal disease virus.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a nonenveloped virus with an icosahedral capsid composed of two proteins, VP2 and VP3, that derive from the processing of the polyprotein NH(2)-pVP2-VP4-VP3-COOH. The virion contains VP1, the viral polymerase, which is both free and covalently linked to the two double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) genomic segments. In this study, the virus assembly process was studied further with the baculovirus expression system. While expression of the wild-type polyprotein was not found to be self-sufficient to give rise to virus-like particles (VLPs), deletion or replacement of the five C-terminal residues of VP3 was observed to promote capsid assembly. Indeed, the single deletion of the C-terminal glutamic acid was sufficient to induce VLP formation. Moreover, fusion of various peptides or small proteins (a green fluorescent protein or a truncated form of ovalbumin) at the C terminus of VP3 also promoted capsid assembly, suggesting that assembly required screening of the negative charges at the C terminus of VP3. The fused polypeptides mimicked the effect of VP1, which interacts with VP3 to promote VLP assembly. The C-terminal segment of VP3 was found to contain two functional domains. While the very last five residues of VP3 mainly controlled both assembly and capsid architecture, the five preceding residues constituted the VP1 (and possibly the pVP2/VP2) binding domain. Finally, we showed that capsid formation is associated with VP2 maturation, demonstrating that the protease VP4 is involved in the virus assembly process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Antiviral protection by virus-immune cytotoxic T cells: infected target cells are lysed before infectious virus progeny is assembled.

Virus-immune cytotoxic T cells can inhibit effectively growth of vaccinia virus in acutely infected target cells in vitro by destroying infected target cells before infectious virus progeny is assembled. Together with the fact that virus-specific T cells are demonstrable after 3 days, very early during infection, and with strong circumstantial evidence from adoptive transfer models in vivo, these data suggest that in some virus infections T cells may in fact act cytolytically in vivo to prevent virus growth and spread and be an important early antiviral effector mechanism.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Identification of domains in bluetongue virus VP3 molecules essential for the assembly of virus cores.

Bluetongue virus (BTV) cores consist of the viral genome and five proteins, including two major components (VP3 and VP7) and three minor components (VP1, VP4, and VP6). VP3 proteins form an inner scaffold for the deposition on the core of the surface layer of VP7. VP3 also encapsidates and interacts with the three minor proteins. The BTV VP3 protein consists of 901 amino acids and has a sequence that is a highly conserved among BTV serotypes and other orbiviruses (e.g., epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus and African horse sickness virus). To locate sites of interaction between VP3 and the other structural proteins, we have analyzed the effects of a number of VP3 deletion mutants representing conserved regions of the protein, using as an assay the formation of core-like particles (CLPs) expressed by recombinant baculoviruses. Five of the VP3 deletion mutants interacted with the coexpressed VP7 and made CLPs. These CLPs also incorporated the three minor proteins. One mutant, lacking VP3 amino acid residues 499 to 508, failed to make CLPs. Further mutational analyses have demonstrated that a methionine at residue 500 of VP3 and an arginine at residue 502 were both required for CLP formation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2007

Reduced redox potential of the cytosol is important for African swine fever virus capsid assembly and maturation.

Assembly of African swine fever virus (ASFV) involves the transfer of the major capsid protein, p73, from the cytosol onto the cytoplasmic face of endoplasmic reticulum-derived membranes. During this process, the folding of p73 is dependent upon transient association with a specific viral chaperone, CAP80. The cell cytoplasm maintains high concentrations of reduced glutathione, leading to a reducing environment. Here, the effects of redox environment on the assembly of ASFV have been studied. Diamide, which oxidizes the cell cytosol, slowed the folding of p73 and prevented release from CAP80 and subsequent binding of p73 to membranes. Similarly, cell oxidation slowed the assembly of p73 molecules already bound to membranes into virus capsid precursors. Interestingly, addition of oxidized glutathione to newly assembled virus capsid precursors in vitro led to disassembly; however, virus particles released from cells were resistant to oxidized glutathione. These data show that assembly of ASFV requires the reducing environment that prevails in the cytosol, but as the virus matures, it becomes resistant to oxidation, possibly indicating preparation for release from the cell.

African Swine Fever Virus↗
PubMed1990

Myristoylation-dependent replication and assembly of human immunodeficiency virus 1.

Covalent linkage of myristic acid to the N-terminal glycine residue of Pr55gag, the precursor of the major structural proteins of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), facilitates an essential step in virus assembly and propagation. Substitution of the myristoyl-acceptor glycine with alanine, in a functional clone of HIV-1, eliminates virus replication. Complementation of this defect, in trans, restores infectious particle production. The nonmyristoylated (myr-) gag precursor accumulates in infected cells and is not processed into the mature capsid components of the intact virion. However, myr- Pr55gag can be processed by purified HIV protease in vitro, demonstrating that the myristoyl moiety is not required for cleavage by the protease. Myristoylation of Pr55gag is not necessary for localization but is required for stable membrane association and assembly of HIV-1.

Alanine↗
PubMed2003

Virus entry, assembly, budding, and membrane rafts.

As intracellular parasites, viruses rely heavily on the use of numerous cellular machineries for completion of their replication cycle. The recent discovery of the heterogeneous distribution of the various lipids within cell membranes has led to the proposal that sphingolipids and cholesterol tend to segregate in microdomains called membrane rafts. The involvement of membrane rafts in biosynthetic traffic, signal transduction, and endocytosis has suggested that viruses may also take advantage of rafts for completion of some steps of their replication cycle, such as entry into their cell host, assembly, and budding. In this review, we have attempted to delineate all the reliable data sustaining this hypothesis and to build some models of how rafts are used as platforms for assembly of some viruses. Indeed, if in many cases a formal proof of raft involvement in a virus replication cycle is still lacking, one can reasonably suggest that, owing to their ability to specifically attract some proteins, lipid microdomains provide a particular milieu suitable for increasing the efficiency of many protein-protein interactions which are crucial for virus infection and growth.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Folding and assembly of hepatitis B virus core protein: a new model proposal.

Hepatitis B core antigen has been intensively studied. Recently, cryoelectron microscopy studies have determined the structure of human and duck hepatitis B virus nucleocapsids at low resolution. Both viruses assemble into core particles of two sizes with icosahedral dimer-clustered T = 3 and T = 4 symmetries. Both capsids present tightly clustered dimers composed of a shell and a protruding domain. The present work introduces a model for HBc folding, dimer formation, and assembly. The model is based in multiple alignments of HBc sequences from 20 mammalian and avian isolates and secondary structure predictions. The 54% alpha-helical conformation predicted is in good agreement with CD results reporting 53-71% content of alpha-helices. Despite the sequence divergence of mammalian and avian proteins, the secondary structure prediction of both shows a high degree of coincidence, according to the multiple sequence alignment. The proposed fold of HBc monomers is built from five alpha-helices. In dimers, pairs of two of those helices conform the protruding domain. The model also suggests the convergence of the region preceding the protamine domain around the sixfold symmetry axes. The model gives answers to most of the standing questions concerning the nucleocapsid assembly and antigenic behavior of HBc protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Assembly functions of vesicular stomatitis virus matrix protein are not disrupted by mutations at major sites of phosphorylation.

The matrix (M) protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) plays a central role in virus assembly by binding the nucleocapsid core to the viral envelope during the budding process. A small percentage of M protein molecules are phosphorylated in vivo, but the role of phosphorylation in M protein function is unknown. Using limited proteolysis, we previously determined the sites of in vivo phosphorylation for VSV M protein to be Thr 31 (and possibly Ser 32) and a site N-terminal to position 19 (Ser 2, Ser 3, or Ser 17) (P. E. Kaptur et al., J. Virol. 66, 5384-5392, 1992). M protein mutants were constructed using site-directed mutagenesis by substituting Ala for Ser or Thr at these sites in the M gene of the San Juan strain of VSV. One mutant had substitutions at the major in vivo phosphorylation site(s) at positions 31 and 32 (M31.32) while two others had additional substitutions at positions 2 and 3 (M2.3.31.32) or at position 17 (M17.31.32). Mutant M proteins were expressed in BHK cells using the vaccinia/T7 system, radiolabeled with 32Pi, and then analyzed for 32P content by PAGE and autoradiography. The data show that the site of phosphorylation near the N-terminus is at Ser 2 or 3 and not Ser 17. Further, Ser 38 was not phosphorylated. Mutation of the major phosphorylation site enhanced phosphorylation at alternative sites in the M protein C-terminal to amino acid 43 and at Ser residues 2 and 3. Mutant M proteins were tested for their ability to complement growth of the temperature-sensitive M protein mutant virus tsO23 at the nonpermissive temperature. Mutant M2.3.31.32 was further tested for its ability to assemble into VSV-defective interfering (DI) particles, using a replication system in which the DI genome and all five VSV proteins were expressed from plasmid DNA. Assembly of tsO23 virions or DI particles in the presence of mutant M proteins was similar to that observed for wild-type M proteins. These data indicate that phosphorylation of M protein at the major in vivo sites is not essential for virus assembly.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Inside-out model for self-assembly of tobacco mosaic virus.

Incompletely reconstituted particles of tobacco mosaic virus treated with moderate concentrations of dimethylsulfoxide prior to electron microscopy have two visible tails of unencapsidated RNA, a long one and a short one. The short tail has a constant length of 720 +/- 80 nucleotides in incomplete particles of diverse size and probably corresponds to the 3'OH end of the RNA. The length of the long 5' tail is inversely related to the length of the unfinished rod. Surprisingly, both tails appear to protrude from the same end of the particle. These observations suggest that the strand of RNA coming out of one end of the particle loops back along the length of the rod so as to appear at the opposite end. The "looped-back" tail almost certainly passes down the empty central channel of the incomplete rod. The findings are compatible with a model of tobacco mosaic virus assembly in which the RNA inserts itself beneath layers of incoming protein from within the central channel.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2000

Assembly of infectious Herpes simplex virus type 1 virions in the absence of full-length VP22.

VP22, the 301-amino-acid phosphoprotein product of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) U(L)49 gene, is incorporated into the tegument during virus assembly. We previously showed that highly modified forms of VP22 are restricted to infected cell nuclei (L. E. Pomeranz and J. A. Blaho, J. Virol. 73:6769-6781, 1999). VP22 packaged into infectious virions appears undermodified, and nuclear- and virion-associated forms are easily differentiated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (J. A. Blaho, C. Mitchell, and B. Roizman, J. Biol. Chem. 269:17401-17410, 1994). As VP22 packaging-associated undermodification is unique among HSV-1 tegument proteins, we sought to determine the role of VP22 during viral replication. We now show the following. (i) VP22 modification occurs in the absence of other viral factors in cell lines which stably express its gene. (ii) RF177, a recombinant HSV-1 strain generated for this study, synthesizes only the amino-terminal 212 amino acids of VP22 (Delta212). (iii) Delta212 localizes to the nucleus and incorporates into virions during RF177 infection of Vero cells. Thus, the carboxy-terminal region is not required for nuclear localization of VP22. (iv) RF177 synthesizes the tegument proteins VP13/14, VP16, and VHS (virus host shutoff) and incorporates them into infectious virions as efficiently as wild-type virus. However, (v) the loss of VP22 in RF177 virus particles is compensated for by a redistribution of minor virion components. (vi) Mature RF177 virions are identical to wild-type particles based on electron microscopic analyses. (vii) Single-step growth kinetics of RF177 in Vero cells are essentially identical to those of wild-type virus. (viii) RF177 plaque size is reduced by nearly 40% compared to wild-type virus. Based on these results, we conclude that VP22 is not required for tegument formation, virion assembly/maturation, or productive HSV-1 replication, while the presence of full-length VP22 in the tegument is needed for efficient virus spread in Vero cell monolayers.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Encapsidation and transduction of cellular genes by retroviruses.

Retroviruses normally package their genomic RNA with high fidelity. However, the fidelity is apparently imperfect, since some cellular mRNA is present in standard retrovirus particles. Further, transcripts originating in the 5' LTR of the integrated provirus sometimes extend beyond the 3' end of the provirus, resulting in the production of chimeric RNAs containing both viral and cellular sequences. These RNAs can be exported to the cytoplasm and packaged into assembling virus particles. When such particles infect a new host cell, reverse transcriptase may copy the cellular sequences, as well as viral sequences, into DNA. In turn, recombinational events during reverse transcription can result in the incorporation of cellular sequences into retroviral genomes. If the cellular sequences encode proteins involved in the control of cell growth, then the high or inappropriate expression of these sequences as part of the retroviral genome may cause the malignant transformation of the infected cell. Viruses of this type, that transduce cellular transforming genes, are known as acute transforming viruses. They can only arise in animals infected with replication-competent retroviruses, and in general cannot produce progeny viruses without replication-competent "helper" viruses. Since they are produced by a complex, multi-step pathway, acute transforming viruses are only generated at very low frequencies.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Synthesis of bluetongue virus chimeric VP3 molecules and their interactions with VP7 protein to assemble into virus core-like particles.

Bluetongue virus (BTV) core-like particles (CLPs) are formed in the cytoplasm of insect cells when only two major proteins (VP3 and VP7) of the BTV core are expressed by baculovirus vectors (T. J. French and P. Roy, 1990, J. Virol. 64, 1530-1536). We have recently reported that five small internal deletion mutants of VP3 form CLPs when provided with unmodified VP7 protein (D1-5; S. Tanaka and P. Roy, 1994, J. Virol. 68, 2795-2802). To investigate whether foreign sequences can be inserted into VP3 and to determine their effect on CLP formation, three of these internal regions (D1, D2, and D5), as well as the carboxy terminus, were modified to create unique restriction enzyme sites, thereby replacing VP3 coding regions with shorter synthetic sequences. Each modified VP3 gene was used to generate baculovirus expression vectors (D1I, D2I, D5I, and VP3C, respectively). Other than the D5I mutant, the mutants formed CLPs when expressed in the presence of VP7. Subsequently, T7 tag epitopes were inserted into the D1I, D2I, and VP3C restriction sites and recombinant baculoviruses were generated to express chimeric VP3 proteins (VP3D1IT, VP3D2IT, and VP3CT). Each chimeric protein retained the ability to form CLPs when VP7 protein was provided. In another construction an immunogenic sequence representing a bovine leukemia virus (BLV) glycoprotein peptide was incorporated into the carboxy terminus of VP3 and the derived CLPs were used to raise antibodies that reacted with the BLV antigen. The results suggest that the VP3 molecule can accommodate foreign sequences at certain sites without perturbing their ability to form CLPs with VP7.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Molecular organization of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus capsids assembled from Gag polyprotein in Escherichia coli.

We describe the results of a study by electron microscopy and image processing of Gag protein shells-immature capsids--of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus assembled in Escherichia coli from two truncated forms of the Gag precursor: Deltap4Gag, in which the C-terminal p4Gag was deleted, and Pro(-)CA.NC, in which the N-terminal peptides and proline 1 of the CA domain were deleted. Negative staining of capsids revealed small patches of holes forming a trigonal or hexagonal pattern most clearly visible on occasional tubular forms. The center-to-center spacing of holes in the network was 7.1 nm in Deltap4Gag capsids and 7.4 nm in Pro(-)CA.NC capsids. Image processing of Deltap4Gag tubes revealed a hexagonal network of holes formed by six subunits with a single subunit shared between rings. This organization suggests that the six subunits are contributed by three trimers of the truncated Gag precursor. Similar molecular organization was observed in negatively stained Pro(-)CA.NC capsids. Shadowed replicas of freeze-etched capsids produced by either construct confirmed the presence of a hexagonal network of holes with a similar center-to-center spacing. We conclude that the basic building block of the cage-like network is a trimer of the Deltap4Gag or Pro(-)CA.NC domains. In addition, our results point to a key role of structurally constrained CA domain in the trimeric interaction of the Gag polyprotein.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Structural transitions in the scaffolding and coat proteins of P22 virus during assembly and disassembly.

An in vitro system for investigating the assembly of the Salmonella phage P22 has been exploited to elucidate the structural basis of recognition between scaffolding protein (gp8) and coat protein (gp5) subunits of the viral procapsid. Raman spectroscopy and circular dichroism have been employed to examine structural thermostabilities of both gp8 and gp5 in native procapsids, and to characterize structural changes accompanying scaffolding exit, procapsid expansion, and shell disassembly. It is found that the secondary structure of the isolated gp8 subunit is rich in alpha-helix (approximately 40%), is highly thermolabile, and is characterized by noncooperative unfolding (Tm approximately 49 degrees C). Conversely, the procapsid-bound gp8 subunit exhibits stabilization of its alpha-helical secondary structure, characterized by cooperative unfolding. Because cooperative unfolding of gp8 coincides with exit from the procapsid, the present results suggest that unfolding and release are coupled processes. Structural differences between procapsid-free and procapsid-bound gp8 subunits are also apparent in Raman markers which monitor environments of tyrosine and tryptophan side chains. Temperature-resolved Raman spectroscopy of the empty procapsid shell reveals three distinct structural transitions for the gp5 subunits. The first, which occurs between 50 and 65 degrees C, is attributed to shell expansion and results in an increase in beta-strand secondary structure. The two higher temperature transitions, occurring within intervals of 70-80 and 80-95 degrees C, respectively, are attributed to partial unfolding of the shell subunit and subsequent shell disassembly. The same gp5 structure transitions are detected for procapsids which contain scaffolding protein. On the basis of the observed thermodynamic coupling between gp8 unfolding and its release from the procapsid, we propose a model for P22 procapsid assembly. Implications of the model for in vivo assembly of dsDNA viruses are discussed.

Bacteriophage P22↗
PubMed2005

N-terminal Gag domain required for foamy virus particle assembly and export.

Among the Retroviridae, foamy viruses (FVs) exhibit an unusual way of particle assembly and a highly specific incorporation of envelope protein into progeny virions. We have analyzed deletions and point mutants of the prototypic FV gag gene for capsid assembly and egress, envelope protein incorporation, infectivity, and ultrastructure. Deletions introduced at the 3' end of gag revealed the first 297 amino acids (aa) to be sufficient for specific Env incorporation and export of particulate material. Deletions introduced at the 5' end showed the region between aa 6 and 200 to be dispensable for virus capsid assembly but required for the incorporation of Env and particle egress. Point mutations were introduced in the 5' region of gag to target residues conserved among FVs from different species. Alanine substitutions of residues in a region between aa 40 and 60 resulted in severe alterations in particle morphology. Furthermore, at position 50, this region harbors the conserved arginine that is presumably at the center of a signal sequence directing FV Gag proteins to a cytoplasmic assembly site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

A functional role for intermediate filaments in the formation of frog virus 3 assembly sites.

During the course of frog virus 3 (FV3) infection in baby hamster kidney 21 (BHK) cells, vimentin-type intermediate filaments reorganize to surround the virus's cytoplasmic assembly sites. To determine whether the association between vimentin filaments and viral assembly sites has a functional role in the virus life-cycle, we treated cells with the antimicrotubule drugs taxol or colchicine, or injected them with monoclonal antivimentin antibodies prior to FV3 infection. Each of these reagents caused the collapse of the normally extended BHK intermediate filament system. In the case of taxol-treated or antivimentin-injected cells, the collapsed vimentin filaments were unable to reorganize around the newly forming viral assembly sites. The viral assembly sites that did form were aberrant and there was a significant reduction in the number of mature virions present. Colchicine, which also caused the collapse of vimentin filament organization, did not block the reorganization of vimentin filaments in response to viral infection and viral assembly sites appeared normal. These results suggest that intermediate filaments play an important role in maintaining the structural and functional integrity of FV3 assembly sites.

Alkaloids↗