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Journal of Virology, October 2005, p. 12408-12415, Vol. 79, No. 19
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.19.12408-12415.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Amino Terminus of Epstein-Barr Virus Glycoprotein gH Is Important for Fusion with Epithelial and B Cells

Jasmina Omerovic, Lori Lev, and Richard Longnecker*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611

Received 30 April 2005/ Accepted 8 July 2005

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects B lymphocytes and epithelial cells. While the glycoproteins required for entry into these two cell types differ, the gH/gL glycoprotein complex is essential for entry into both epithelial and B cells. Analysis of gH protein sequences from three gammaherpesviruses (EBV, marmoset, and rhesus) revealed a potential coiled-coil domain in the N terminus. Four leucines located in this region in EBV gH were replaced by alanines by site-directed mutagenesis and analyzed for cell-cell membrane fusion with B cells and epithelial cells. Reduction in fusion activity was observed for mutants containing L65A and/or L69A mutations, while substitutions in L55 and L74 enhanced the fusion activity of the mutant gH/gL complexes with both cell types. All of the mutants displayed levels of cell surface expression similar to those of wild-type gH and interacted with gL and gp42. The observation that a conservative mutation of leucine to alanine in the N terminus of EBV gH results in fusion-defective mutant gH/gL complexes is striking and points to an important role for this region in EBV-mediated membrane fusion with B lymphocytes and epithelial cells.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Ward 6-231, 303 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. Phone: (312) 503-0467. Fax: (312) 503-1339. E-mail: r-longnecker{at}northwestern.edu.


Journal of Virology, October 2005, p. 12408-12415, Vol. 79, No. 19
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.19.12408-12415.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




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