This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nelson, G. E.
Right arrow Articles by Moss, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nelson, G. E.
Right arrow Articles by Moss, B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, July 2008, p. 6244-6250, Vol. 82, No. 13
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.00434-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Conserved Sequence within the H2 Subunit of the Vaccinia Virus Entry/Fusion Complex Is Important for Interaction with the A28 Subunit and Infectivity{triangledown}

Gretchen E. Nelson, Timothy R. Wagenaar, and Bernard Moss*

Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-3210

Received 27 February 2008/ Accepted 8 April 2008

The recently described vaccinia virus entry/fusion complex (EFC) comprises at least eight polypeptides that are conserved in all poxviruses. Neither the structure of the complex nor the roles of individual subunits are known. Here we provide evidence for an interaction between the H2 and A28 subunits in the context of a virus infection as well as in uninfected cells transfected with plasmids expressing the corresponding genes. We focused on a highly conserved 21-amino acid-segment in H2 that is flanked by cysteine residues. The effect of amino acid substitutions within the 21-amino-acid segment was determined by an infectivity complementation assay using a conditional H2-null mutant of vaccinia virus. Mutations that had no, moderate, or large negative effects on complementation were found. The latter group included glutamic acid substitutions of leucine and individual glycines and alanine substitution of both glycines within a LGYSG sequence. Mutations with the most pronounced effect on infectivity disrupted the interaction of H2 with A28 to the greatest extent in both infected and uninfected cells. These data indicate that the LGYSG sequence is important for the interaction of H2 with A28 and suggest that this sequence is buried within the EFC complex.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Viral Diseases, NIAID, NIH, 33 North Drive, MSC 3210, Bethesda, MD 20892-3210. Phone: (301) 496-9869. Fax: (301) 480-1535. E-mail: bmoss{at}nih.gov

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 16 April 2008.


Journal of Virology, July 2008, p. 6244-6250, Vol. 82, No. 13
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.00434-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Satheshkumar, P. S., Moss, B. (2009). Characterization of a Newly Identified 35-Amino-Acid Component of the Vaccinia Virus Entry/Fusion Complex Conserved in All Chordopoxviruses. J. Virol. 83: 12822-12832 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wagenaar, T. R., Moss, B. (2009). Expression of the A56 and K2 Proteins Is Sufficient To Inhibit Vaccinia Virus Entry and Cell Fusion. J. Virol. 83: 1546-1554 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nichols, R. J., Stanitsa, E., Unger, B., Traktman, P. (2008). The Vaccinia Virus Gene I2L Encodes a Membrane Protein with an Essential Role in Virion Entry. J. Virol. 82: 10247-10261 [Abstract] [Full Text]