Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, May 2006, p. 4940-4948, Vol. 80, No. 10
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.80.10.4940-4948.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, New York 10461
Received 26 December 2005/ Accepted 22 February 2006
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
With the advent of HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) and replicating molecular clones, a significant body of data has been generated indicating that CD81 is necessary but not sufficient for viral entry into target cells (2, 13, 26, 43, 45, 47). Firstly, all nonhepatic, CD81-positive human cells tested to date are resistant to HCVpp (25). Moreover, most available human hepatoma cell lines are CD81 positive, but only three are susceptible to HCVpp entry (2, 3, 13, 22). One CD81-negative human hepatoma cell line, however, becomes susceptible to HCVpp when modified to express CD81. Murine and hamster cells of nonhepatic origin engineered to express human CD81 remain resistant to HCVpp, and transgenic mice expressing human CD81 do not become susceptible to HCV infection (2, 13, 27, 45). Finally, we previously showed that HCVpp entry is inhibited by an anti-CD81 monoclonal antibody (MAb) at a step following HCV attachment to target cells (13). Taken together, these observations led us to propose that CD81 functions as an entry coreceptor and that one or more human hepatocyte-specific molecules act as the primary attachment receptor that accounts for the restricted tropism of HCV. It is notable that CD81 internalization is extremely slow (32, 40) and therefore incompatible with the kinetics of viral entry (T. Dragic, unpublished results). HCV binding to CD81 as well as another receptor or CD81 interactions with other membrane proteins might therefore be necessary to shunt the HCV-receptor complex into a more efficient endocytic pathway.
The tetraspanin web, which is associated with CD81, is an amalgam of different tetraspanins, transmembrane proteins, and signaling enzymes that partition into detergent-resistant, cholesterol-rich regions of the plasma membrane (25). Different domains of CD81 appear to interact with different components of the tetraspanin web: the intracellular (ICL) domain of CD81 associates with signaling enzymes (5, 44, 46), palmitoylation of intracellular cysteine residues is essential for CD81 multimerization and partitioning into cholesterol-rich membrane domains (8-12), polar residues within the TM domain participate in inter- and intramolecular TM helix packing (38), and the large extracellular loop (LEL) plays a role in CD81 multimerization and the assembly of multiprotein complexes within the tetraspanin web (20, 38, 46). Moreover, the LEL is the binding site for HCV E2 (14, 16-18, 21, 28, 31-33, 35, 45). To date, the role of the CD81 transmembrane and intracellular domains in HCV entry has not been explored.
In this study, we investigated the determinants of CD81 receptor function. Our analyses indicate that sE2 binding correlates with CD81 expression only on cells that are not permissive to HCVpp entry and therefore do not express the putative entry receptor. Moreover, sE2 binding to these cells was almost completely inhibited by an anti-CD81 MAb, whereas complete inhibition of binding to permissive cells could not be achieved. Structural determinants of CD81 receptor function were also investigated, and we found that residues in LEL that are important for sE2 binding are also important for HCVpp entry. Surprisingly, mutagenesis of several transmembrane and intracellular residues impaired HCVpp entry while slightly increasing sE2 binding. Finally, we investigated two commercially available MAbs for their binding to CD81 and inhibition of HCVpp entry. Whereas the difference in half-maximal binding concentrations (EC50s) between the two MAbs was 70-fold, the difference in their half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) was 260-fold. This suggests that anti-CD81 MAbs inhibit HCVpp entry through different mechanisms. Experiments to determine the time course of inhibition of entry showed that the CD81-HCVpp binding step of entry occurs with a half-life (t1/2) of
17 min. Together, our results lead us to postulate that E2 binding to the LEL is followed by recruitment and oligomerization of CD81 or other cell surface molecules, which lead to internalization of HCV particles and subsequent stages of viral entry.
|
|
|---|
Binding of anti-CD81 MAbs to cell lines. Cells were detached with 2 mM EDTA in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), resuspended, and washed once in Dulbecco's medium-PBS supplemented with 1% bovine serum albumin and 0.05% sodium azide. Cells (2 x 105) were incubated for 1 h at 4°C with serially diluted anti-CD81 MAbs, washed twice, and labeled with PE-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG. After fixation with 1% formaldehyde, MAb binding was quantified by flow cytometry (mean fluorescence intensity [MFI]), using a FACSCalibur instrument (Becton Dickinson).
sE2 binding and inhibition. Cells (2 x 105) were incubated with 2 µg/ml of sE2 (Austral Biologicals) for 1 h at room temperature in Dulbecco's medium-PBS supplemented with 1% bovine serum albumin and 0.05% sodium azide and were then washed twice with PBS. Soluble E2 binding to cells was detected by flow cytometry after labeling with the anti-E2 MAb H53 (1:100) followed by a PE-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (1:100). For inhibition of sE2 binding, cells were incubated for 1 h at 4°C with a nonspecific murine IgG (5 µg/ml), JS81 (5 µg/ml), or 1D6 (100 µg/ml), followed by incubation with soluble E2 (2 µg/ml). Binding of soluble E2 was detected with H53-coated FluoSpheres (10 beads/cell) and measured by flow cytometry. The beads were generated by coupling 15 µl of NeutrAvidin-labeled FluoSpheres (505/515 nm, 1.0 µm; Molecular Probes) to 3 µg of biotin-SP-conjugated goat anti-mouse F(ab')2 (Jackson Immunoresearch) for 2 h at 37°C. Complexes were washed twice and incubated overnight at 4°C with H53 (1:100).
Production of HCVpp and entry into target cells. 293T cells (5 x 106) were collected in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium without antibiotics and transfected with 36 µl of Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) mixed with 4 µl of NLluc+ Env reporter vector and 8 µl of E1E2 expression vector according to the manufacturer's instructions. Cell culture supernatants were collected at 48 h posttransfection and clarified with 0.45-µm filters (Millipore). Target cells (4 x 104) were infected with 250 µl of supernatant containing HCVpp, and luciferase activity (in relative light units [RLU]) was measured in cell lysates 48 h after infection, using a luciferase assay system (Promega). For inhibition-of-entry studies, anti-CD81 MAbs JS81, 1.3.3.22, O.N.165, and 1D6 were serially diluted, starting with 2 µg/ml for JS81, 1.3.3.22, and O.N.165 and with 160 µg/ml for 1D6. MAbs were added to target cells immediately prior to infection with HCVpp. For experiments to determine the time course of inhibition, cold HCVpp were added to cells and prebound by spinning for 1 h at 2,000 rpm at 4°C. Cells were washed twice with cold PBS, and warm medium containing MAbs was added at different time points from 0 to 3 h. After the addition of MAbs, cells were kept at 37°C for the duration of the experiment.
CD81 mutagenesis. The human and murine CD81 proteins were subcloned into the pcDNA3.1 vector (Invitrogen) using BamHI and NotI restriction enzyme sites. Human CD81-encoding DNA was a kind gift of S. Levy (Stanford University, Calif.). Murine CD81 was amplified from NIH 3T3 mRNA extracts using the primers 5'GTTCGGTTGCTGGATCCATGGGGGTGGAGGGCTGCACCAAATGC3' and 5'TTCTGAGCATGGTGCTGTGCTGTGGCATCCGGAACAGCTCCGTGTACACCCCTACGACGTGCCCGACTACGCCTGAG CGGCCGCAGCAACCGAAC3'. Mutagenesis of LEL, transmembrane, and intracellular human CD81 residues was performed with a QuickChange kit from Stratagene according to the manufacturer's instructions. The primers used to delete the N terminus were 5'-GGGCTGGATCCATGGGCAGCGCCGGCAGCGCCATCAAGTACCTGCTCTTCGTCTTCAATTTCGTC3' and 5'GTACTATGACGTACCTGACTATGCTTCACTGTGAGCGGCCGCAGCCC3', and those used to delete the C terminus were 5'GGGCTGGATCCATGGGAGTGGAGGGCTGCACCAAGTGCATCAAG3' and 5'GAGATGATCCTGAGCATGTGCTGTGCTGTGGCGGCAGCGCCGGCAGCGCCTGAGCGGCCGC AGCCC3'. Nucleotide sequencing was performed to ascertain the presence of the appropriate mutations in the CD81 coding sequence.
HCVpp entry mediated by CD81 mutants. CD81-negative HepG2 hepatoma cells (5 x 104) were transfected with the pcDNA3.1 vector expressing wild-type or mutant CD81, using Lipofectamine 2000 according to the manufacturer's instructions for this cell line. After 48 h, transfected HepG2 cells were infected with HCVpp and incubated for another 48 h before measurements of luciferase activity. CD81 mutant expression levels were quantified by flow cytometry analyses (results are reported as percent wild-type CD81 expression) after labeling of cells with JS81-fluorescein isothiocyanate (1:100) or 1D6 (10 µg/ml) and PE-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (1:100). Mouse CD81 was detected after labeling of cells with PE-conjugated Eat2. To calculate HCVpp entry mediated by CD81 mutants, the following formula was used: (RLUmutant/MFImutant)/(RLUwild type/MFIwild type) x 100.
|
|
|---|
![]() ![]() View larger version (34K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Expression of CD81 on the cell surface and sE2 binding. (A) CD81 expression was determined with different cell lines, including human hepatoma cells permissive to HCVpp (checkered bars), human cells nonpermissive to HCVpp (solid bars), and murine cells (hatched bars), as indicated along the x axis. CD81 was quantified by flow cytometry (MFI) after labeling with an anti-CD81 MAb (JS81). Results are means of three independent experiments ± standard deviations (SD). Permissivity (+, 104 to 105 RLU; ++, 105 to 106 RLU) or resistance () of cells to HCVpp is indicated under the bar graph. (B) sE2 binding to cells from panel A, as indicated along the x axis, was quantified by flow cytometry (MFI) after labeling of cells with the anti-E2 MAb H53 followed by a PE-conjugated anti-mouse IgG antibody. Results are means of three independent experiments ± SD. (C) Anti-CD81 MAbs JS81 (black bars) and 1D6 (hatched bars) were used to inhibit sE2 binding to a subset of cells from panel A. Residual sE2 on cells was quantified by flow cytometry (MFI) after labeling with H53-coupled fluorescent beads. The percentage of inhibition of sE2 binding is indicated for each cell line and was calculated relative to sE2 binding in the presence of a nonspecific isotype-matched murine IgG. Values are means of three independent experiments ± standard deviations.
|
To further confirm that sE2 binding to permissive cells is mediated by CD81 as well as other factors, we investigated the inhibition of sE2 binding by anti-CD81 MAbs JS81 and 1D6, which inhibit HCVpp entry (13). sE2 binding to CD81-positive, non-HCVpp-permissive cells, such as U87-CD81 or 293T cells, was inhibited approximately 80% by JS81 (Fig. 1C). In contrast, binding of sE2 to permissive cells, such as Huh-7 and HepG2-CD81 cells, was inhibited approximately 50% (Fig. 1C). Finally, binding to HepG2 cells was not inhibited by JS81 (<10%). The differences in binding inhibition between the three sets of cells were statistically significant (P
0.02; P values depended on the cell lines compared in a two-tailed t test), but those between cells belonging to the same group were not (P
0.4). Similar results were observed with the MAb 1D6, using Huh-7 and 293T cells (Fig. 1C). We therefore concluded that E2 binding to nonpermissive cells is mediated solely by CD81, whereas binding to permissive cells is mediated by CD81 and another molecule.
Residues in LEL are required for HCVpp entry and sE2 binding to target cells. The species specificity of viral infection is often determined by envelope glycoprotein interactions with cellular receptors. Since CD81 proteins of several uninfectable species nonetheless bind sE2, it is unlikely that CD81 is the determinant of HCV species specificity. Even so, sequence comparisons of different CD81 proteins have provided insights into the structural requirements for HCV receptor function. Murine CD81 was previously shown not to bind sE2 (1), and here we demonstrate that it also does not mediate HCVpp entry when transfected into HepG2 cells (see Fig. 3A). The murine and human CD81 proteins are homologous except for 3 residues in the small extracellular loop and 17 residues in the LEL (Fig. 2). Since the LEL is the sE2 binding component of CD81, we generated mutants with substitutions in human CD81 at all 17 positions that differ in murine CD81. We also generated mutants with substitutions at two positions that differ in rat CD81, which also does not mediate sE2 binding (Fig. 2) (16). Mutant CD81 proteins were characterized for expression as well as the ability to mediate HCVpp entry and sE2 binding. Notably, all of the mutants were expressed at levels similar to that of the wild-type protein (Fig. 3A).
![]() View larger version (45K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Role of specific CD81 LEL residues in HCVpp entry and sE2 binding. (A) HCVpp entry was tested in HepG2 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1, human wild-type CD81, murine wild-type CD81 (all in white bars), and human CD81 mutants, as indicated along the x axis. Human residues were replaced by alanine (black bars) or by corresponding murine (shaded bars) or rat (hatched bars) CD81 residues. HCVpp entry was calculated as a percentage of the entry level into cells expressing human wild-type CD81. The expression of CD81 mutants was quantified by flow cytometry after labeling of cells with JS81 (or 1D6 for the A164T mutant) and was expressed as a percentage of human wild-type CD81 expression. The percentage of HCVpp entry was further normalized for CD81 expression. Values are means of three independent experiments ± SD. (B) Binding of sE2 to CD81 mutants with significantly decreased HCVpp entry was quantified by flow cytometry. HepG2 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1, human wild-type CD81, murine CD81, and CD81 mutants. Transfected cells were incubated with sE2, followed by labeling with H53 and a PE-conjugated anti-mouse IgG. Binding was analyzed by flow cytometry and expressed as a percentage of sE2 binding to HepG2 cells expressing human wild-type CD81. The percentage of sE2 binding was further normalized for mutant expression levels. Values are averages of three independent experiments ± SD.
|
![]() View larger version (21K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. CD81 sequence and structure. (A) Comparison of human, mouse, and rat CD81 LEL sequences. Residues differing between human and mouse CD81 proteins are shaded in gray. Most of these residues are also different in rat CD81 and are therefore not indicated. The two additional residues that differ in rat CD81 are shaded in black. (B) Predicted two-dimensional structure of CD81, including the two extracellular loops, four transmembrane helices, and the intracellular loop along with the intracellular N-terminal and C-terminal tails. LEL residues that were mutagenized in this study are shown using the same color code as that in panel A. Polar transmembrane residues and intracellular cysteines that were mutagenized are indicated in white circles and squares, respectively.
|
0.0006; the P value depended on the mutant tested and was determined by a two-tailed t test), with the greatest effect being exerted by the F-to-A substitution at position 186 (Fig. 3A). The I181A mutation decreased entry by approximately 30% (P = 0.002). Substitutions of these four residues also significantly decreased sE2 binding to CD81 compared to the wild-type receptor (P
0.0006) (Fig. 3B). Surprisingly, the K171A mutant bound sE2 as poorly as the F186A mutant, even though it was more efficient at mediating HCVpp entry. We also substituted human residues for corresponding murine or rat CD81 residues at these four critical positions. The K171R, I181S, I182L, and F186L mutants were all more efficient than the alanine mutants at mediating HCVpp entry and sE2 binding (Fig. 3A and B), indicating that conservation of the side chain charge and bulk at these positions is important for receptor activity. Finally, alanine substitutions and human-to-mouse and human-to-rat substitutions at all other positions, including positions 184, 188, and 196, which were reported by others to affect CD81-E2 binding, had no major effect on entry. Based on our observations, we concluded that at least four LEL residues are required for the E2-CD81 interaction and that effects on E2 binding always translate into effects on HCVpp entry. CD81 transmembrane and intracellular residues are required for HCVpp entry but not sE2 binding. CD81 homo- and heterooligomerization as well as its association with cholesterol contribute to the assembly of multiprotein complexes in detergent-resistant membrane domains. Different components of CD81 are involved in these interactions (Fig. 2B). Palmitoylation of intracellular cysteine residues is essential for multimerization as well as for partitioning into cholesterol-rich domains (8, 10, 12). Highly conserved polar residues within the TM domain participate in inter- and intramolecular TM helix packing (38). The intracellular domain of CD81 associates with the signaling enzymes protein kinase C (PKC) and phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (5, 44, 46). We therefore mutated residues within these domains in order to test their roles in HCVpp entry and sE2 binding (Fig. 2B). Notably, all of the mutants were expressed at levels similar to that of the wild-type protein (Fig. 4A).
![]() View larger version (14K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. Role of specific CD81 transmembrane and intracytoplasmic residues in HCVpp entry and sE2 binding. (A) HCVpp entry was tested in HepG2 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1 (white bars), human wild-type CD81 (white bars), or CD81 mutants (black bars), as indicated along the x axis. HCVpp entry was calculated as a percentage of the entry level into cells expressing human wild-type CD81. The expression of CD81 mutants was quantified by flow cytometry after labeling of cells with JS81 and was expressed as a percentage of human wild-type CD81 expression. The percentage of HCVpp entry was further normalized for CD81 expression. Values are means of three independent experiments ± SD. (B) Binding of sE2 to CD81 mutants with significantly decreased HCVpp entry was quantified by flow cytometry. HepG2 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1, human wild-type CD81, and CD81 mutants. Transfected cells were incubated with sE2, followed by labeling with H53 and PE-conjugated anti-mouse IgG. Binding was analyzed by flow cytometry and expressed as a percentage of E2 binding to HepG2 cells expressing human wild-type CD81. The percentage of sE2 binding was further normalized for mutant expression levels. Values are means of three independent experiments ± SD.
|
0.0001) (Fig. 4A). Alanine substitutions for C97, C104, N18, E105, and E219, however, had no significant effects on viral entry. Surprisingly, all of the TM and ICL domain mutants with decreased HCVpp entry exhibited increased sE2 binding compared to wild-type CD81 (P
0.0007; the P value depended on the mutant examined) (Fig. 4B). We therefore propose that the observed decrease in HCVpp entry is due to indirect mechanisms, such as the disruption of CD81 oligomerization or interactions with other proteins, and not to a direct disruption of CD81-E2 binding. Anti-CD81 MAbs inhibit HCVpp entry by different mechanisms. Four commercially available anti-CD81 MAbs were compared for the abilities to bind cell surface-associated CD81 and to inhibit HCVpp entry. Three of the four MAbs, JS81, O.N.165, and 1.3.3.22, exhibited very similar binding profiles for Huh-7 cells, with half-maximal binding concentrations (EC50s) around 0.21 µg/ml (Fig. 5A and C; data not shown). Moreover, these MAbs exhibited similar binding patterns for several other human cell lines, suggesting the absence of cell type-specific CD81 isoforms and conformations (data not shown). MAb 1D6, however, exhibited significantly less binding to Huh-7 cells (Fig. 5A and C), with an EC50 of 13.9 µg/ml.
![]() View larger version (10K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Binding to cells and inhibition of HCVpp entry by anti-CD81 MAbs. (A) Different concentrations of MAbs JS81 (squares) and 1D6 (triangles) ranging over 2 orders of magnitude were added to Huh-7 cells, and binding was quantified by flow cytometry (MFI) after cell labeling with a PE-conjugated anti-mouse IgG. Binding is expressed as a percentage of the MFI at the highest, saturating concentration of MAb, beyond which no further effect was observed. Values are means of three independent experiments ± SD. (B) Different concentrations of MAbs JS81 (squares) and 1D6 (triangles) were added to Huh-7 cells, which were then infected with HCVpp. Luciferase activity was measured in cell lysates 48 h after infection. The percentage of HCVpp entry was calculated relative to entry in the absence of anti-CD81 MAbs. A 100% inhibition of HCVpp entry was set at the MAb concentration beyond which no further effect was observed. Values are means of three independent experiments ± SD. (C) Calculated EC50 and IC50 values for JS81 and 1D6 after nonlinear curve fitting using GraphPad Prism 4 software.
|
Time course of CD81-mediated stages of entry.
In order to determine the duration of CD81-mediated HCVpp entry, we performed experiments to examine the time course of inhibition. After prebinding of HCVpp to cells at 4°C, synchronized viral entry was allowed to proceed at 37°C. Anti-CD81 MAbs were added at different time points postattachment at concentrations of >EC90. Note that under these assay conditions, wherein 100% of CD81 was occupied by the MAbs, we were only measuring the time course of E2 binding inhibition. The duration of subsequent CD81-mediated stages of HCVpp entry cannot be measured by this assay. The half-maximal times (t1/2) required for 1D6 and JS81 to exert their inhibitory effects were found to be 14 and 19 min, respectively (Fig. 6). The differences between the two time courses were not statistically significant (P
0.1; the P value depended on the time point and was determined by a two-tailed t test), and we therefore concluded that the t1/2 of CD81-mediated HCVpp binding is approximately 17 min.
![]() View larger version (12K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Time course of inhibition of HCVpp entry. Anti-CD81 MAbs were added to cells that were prebound to viral particles by centrifugation at 4°C. Luciferase activities were measured at 48 h postinfection and expressed relative to entry in the absence of antibody. Values are means of three independent experiments ± SD.
|
|
|
|---|
Before the advent of experimental models of HCV entry and replication, numerous studies relied on sE2 to probe viral interactions with CD81. CD81 proteins of other species variably bind HCV sE2. For example, tamarin and chimpanzee CD81 proteins bind sE2 as well as human CD81 does, but rat and mouse CD81 proteins do not bind HCV sE2 (1, 16, 29). These comparative studies identified the LEL as the major E2 binding site on CD81. In particular, it was shown that residues L162, I182, N184, and F186 are required for sE2 binding to CD81 (14). More recent studies demonstrated that CD81 F186L, E188K, and D196E mutants are impaired for sE2 binding but, nonetheless, mediate wild-type levels of HCVpp entry (28, 45). Our mutagenesis data, based on sequence differences between human and mouse (as well as rat) CD81 proteins, confirm the importance of K171, I181, I182, and F186 in sE2 binding as well as HCVpp entry. However, in our experimental system, mutants with substitutions of residues N184, E188, and D196 all exhibited wild-type receptor phenotypes. We did not test the role of residue L162. Moreover, for LEL mutants, impairment of HCVpp entry always translated into impairment of sE2 binding. We therefore concluded that the LEL is the major E2 binding site and does not appear to play additional roles in HCV entry and CD81 receptor function.
We also investigated the possible role in HCV entry of CD81 transmembrane and intracellular residues that are involved in multimerization, intra- and intermolecular packing, and partitioning into cholesterol-rich membrane domains. Several of these mutants, including a C-terminal deletion mutant, a palmitoylation mutant (with all five intracellular C residues replaced with A residues), and polar transmembrane residue mutants, were impaired for entry but exhibited increased sE2 binding. The mechanism of entry impairment still remains to be determined, but we propose that CD81 multimerization and partitioning into cholesterol-rich membrane domains participate in HCV entry, probably by influencing receptor recruitment to the site of virus binding as well as internalization of the receptor-virus complex. Note that McKeating et al. (28) demonstrated that a CD9 chimera comprising only the LEL of CD81 mediates HCVpp entry, implying that whatever accessory functions may be required for entry are not specific for the transmembrane and intracellular domains of CD81. However, CD81 and CD9 are among the most closely related tetraspanins and are often found in association with the same proteins (4, 7, 19, 20, 37, 46). CD81 chimeras with other tetraspanins may therefore yield different results.
In attempting to further elucidate the receptor function of CD81, we also studied the binding and inhibitory properties of several commercially available anti-CD81 MAbs. We thus identified two types of antibodies with very different properties. For MAb 1D6, the EC50 for CD81 binding equals the IC50 for HCVpp entry inhibition. In other words, there is a one-to-one molar ratio between receptor occupancy by the MAb and inhibition of entry. In contrast, the EC50 of JS81 (as well as those of O.N.165 and 1.3.3.22) is fourfold higher than the IC50, translating into a one-to-four molar ratio between receptor occupancy and inhibition of entry. This means that for 100% of viral entry to be inhibited, only 25% of CD81 molecules need to be occupied by JS81. Put differently, there is a 70-fold difference in half-maximal binding concentrations between the two MAbs but a 260-fold difference in half-maximal inhibitory concentrations. These observations imply that, unlike 1D6, JS81 inhibits more than just E2-CD81 binding. We propose that this antibody additionally inhibits CD81 recruitment and oligomerization into the HCV-receptor entry complex, the very same functions that may be mediated by residues in the TM and intracellular domains of CD81.
The half-maximal time for HCVpp to undergo CD81-mediated entry was determined to be approximately 17 min. Because of our assay conditions, this is in fact the time required for HCVpp binding mediated by E2-CD81 interactions. We predict that this is preceded by receptor-induced E1E2 conformational changes and followed by assembly of CD81 into a virus-receptor complex. This entry complex then undergoes endocytosis and pH-dependent fusion (3, 22). It is notable that the internalization rate of CD81 is exceptionally slow (>12 h) (32, 40) and therefore incompatible with the rapid kinetics of HCV internalization and fusion (T. Dragic, unpublished results). This suggests that other molecules associated with the HCV entry complex must divert CD81 into a more efficient endocytic pathway. Alternatively, the interaction with CD81 may be transient, simply priming the virus for downstream entry events.
The CD81 tetraspanin was first identified as an HCV envelope glycoprotein E2-binding receptor and was more recently shown to be required for HCV entry into target cells. E2 proteins derived from a variety of isolates bind differently to CD81. Nonetheless, all isolates tested to date require CD81 for entry into target cells. This is true for both HCVpp and the newly discovered HCV replicating molecular clones. CD81 does not determine the species specificity of HCV, since CD81 proteins from some, but not all, uninfectable species can bind sE2. Moreover, CD81 cannot be the determinant of HCV liver tropism because it is expressed on a wide variety of human tissues. Our data further support the notion that human hepatocyte-specific molecules act together with CD81 to mediate viral entry into target cells. The effect of these molecules may be exerted before or after E2-CD81 binding (though we favor the latter) and may be necessary for HCV internalization and routing to fusion-permissive intracellular compartments.
This work was supported by NIH grant AI060390 and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases. This work was also supported in part by the NIAID Centers for AIDS Research grant AI051519 to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»