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Journal of Virology, April 2005, p. 4782-4792, Vol. 79, No. 8
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.8.4782-4792.2005

Inhibition of Murine Leukemia Virus Envelope Protein (Env) Processing by Intracellular Expression of the Env N-Terminal Heptad Repeat Region

Wu Ou and Jonathan Silver*

Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Received 19 October 2004/ Accepted 3 December 2004

A conserved structural motif in the envelope proteins of several viruses consists of an N-terminal, alpha-helical, trimerization domain and a C-terminal region that refolds during fusion to bind the N-helix trimer. Interaction between the N and C regions is believed to pull viral and target membranes together in a crucial step during membrane fusion. For several viruses with type I fusion proteins, C regions pack as alpha-helices in the grooves between N-helix monomers, and exogenously added N- and C-region peptides block fusion by inhibiting the formation of the six-helix bundle. For other viruses, including influenza virus and murine leukemia virus (MLV), there is no evidence for comparably extended C-region alpha-helices, although a short, non-alpha-helical interaction structure has been reported for influenza virus. We tested candidate N-helix and C-region peptides from MLV for their ability to inhibit cell fusion but found no inhibitory activity. In contrast, intracellular expression of the MLV N-helix inhibited fusion by efficiently blocking proteolytic processing and intracellular transport of the envelope protein. The results highlight another mechanism by which the N-helix peptides can inhibit fusion.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Building 4, Room 336, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-3653. Fax: (301) 402-0226. E-mail: jsilver{at}nih.gov.

Journal of Virology, April 2005, p. 4782-4792, Vol. 79, No. 8
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.8.4782-4792.2005




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