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Journal of Virology, December 2006, p. 12367-12376, Vol. 80, No. 24
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01343-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Max L. Nibert,2 and
Stephen C. Harrison1,3*
Department of Molecular Medicine,1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital, 320 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115,3 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 021152
Received 26 June 2006/ Accepted 20 September 2006
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3 is not sufficient to trigger rearrangement of free µ1 trimer and that free µ1 trimer undergoes conformational changes similar to those of particle-associated µ1 when induced by similar conditions. The µ1 rearrangements require separation of the µ1 trimer head domains but not the µ1N/C autocleavage. We have also obtained a relatively homogeneous form of the structurally rearranged µ1 (µ1*) in solution. It is an elongated monomer and retains substantial
-helix content. We have identified a protease-resistant
23-kDa fragment of µ1*, which contains the largely
-helical regions designated domains I and II in the conformation of µ1 prior to rearrangement. We propose that the µ1 conformational changes preceding membrane penetration or disruption during cell entry involve (i) separation of the ß-barrel head domains in the µ1 trimer, (ii) autolytic cleavage at the µ1N/C junction, associated with partial unfolding of µ1C and release of µ1N, and (iii) refolding of the N-terminal helical domains of µ1C, with which µ1N was previously complexed, accompanied by dissociation of the µ1 trimer. |
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1, and 12 pentameric turrets of the multidomain capping enzyme
2 (8, 26). In virions, proteins µ1 and
3, associated as heterohexamers (µ13
33), coat the outer surface of the core by forming a layer intercalated between the
2 turrets. The role of this outer layer is to mediate membrane penetration or disruption and to deposit cores into the cytoplasm (3, 13, 16, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25).
The initial step in reovirus penetration is proteolytic removal of
3 (2, 9, 21, 22, 27). The proteolysis, which primes µ1 for its role in membrane translocation of the core, can occur either in the intestinal lumen, prior to receptor binding, or in endocytic vesicles. It yields an infectious subviral particle (ISVP). ISVPs can also be produced in vitro by treatment of virions with chymotrypsin. A transient yet distinctive particle, designated ISVP*, appears to be an essential intermediate in the subsequent penetration process (3, 25). Its properties include release of the cell-attachment protein
1 (which projects from the
2 turrets on ISVPs), rearrangement of µ1 into a protease-sensitive conformation, release of the N-terminal myristoylated peptide µ1N (see below), and derepression of core-particle transcriptional activity.
Analysis of the molecular mechanism of reovirus core translocation requires an understanding of the structural details of µ1 in the various conformations that it adopts during cell entry. The µ1 protein itself is a 76-kDa polypeptide, myristoylated at its N terminus (24). An autolytic cleavage at some stage between viral assembly and entry creates fragments µ1N (residues 2 to 42, plus the myristoyl group) and µ1C (residues 43 to 708) (24). The fragments remain associated with each other and with the ISVP (15, 24). Mutations in µ1 that prevent autocleavage also block membrane penetration (25). The crystal structure of µ13
33 shows that µ1 is a tightly associated trimer, with the three
3 subunits projecting axially from its periphery (Fig. 1) (15). The central segment of each µ1 polypeptide chain folds into a jelly-roll ß-barrel; the N- and C-terminal parts of the chain fold together and associate with the corresponding parts of the other two chains to form a largely
-helical pedestal, which supports the apically clustered barrel domains (15). The myristoyl group at the N terminus of µ1N is probably tucked into an elongated, hydrophobic pocket on a lateral face of this pedestal; the autocleavage site at the C terminus of µ1N is buried within the pedestal interior (15, 29). It is necessary for infectivity (of cores recoated with µ13
33) that µ1N is cleaved from µ1C; it is therefore plausible to suppose that productive infection requires release of µ1N for membrane targeting through its myristoyl group, and such release of µ1N from the ISVP* has indeed been demonstrated (25). Proximity of the three myristoyl groups and the three autocleavage sites, in the conformation of µ1 found on the virion surface as well as in the crystal structure, further suggests that cleavage, release of µ1N, and membrane targeting of µ1N are all related events.
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FIG. 1. µ1 prior to structural rearrangement. (A) Side view of a µ1 trimer (as in the crystal structure of the µ13 33 heterohexamer) without bound 3, with one subunit highlighted (domain I, blue; domain II, green; domain III, red; domain IV, yellow). The other two µ1 subunits are in gray. One 3 binding site is indicated by an arrow. (B) Side view of an isolated µ1 subunit, colored as described for panel A. (C) Top view of an isolated µ1 subunit, colored as described for panel A. (D) Amino acid sequence and secondary structure elements of reovirus µ1. The amino acid sequence of µ1 from reovirus serotype T1L is shown (5). Secondary structure elements, derived from the crystal structure of the µ13 33 heterohexamer (15), are presented as tubes for -helices and arrows for ß-stands. The four domains of µ1 are colored as described above. The black arrow indicates the position of the autolytic cleavage, and the gray triangles indicate the starting and ending positions of the proteolysis-resistant fragment of µ1*.
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ISVP* transition (3). We find that µ1 treated in this manner has properties similar to those of ISVP*-associated µ1 and that the rearrangement requires separation of the ß-barrel head domains but not the µ1N/C autocleavage. We have, moreover, obtained a relatively homogeneous form of the rearranged µ1 for biophysical characterization in solution. |
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33 heterohexamers.
Wild-type µ13
33 heterohexamer was prepared by coexpression of the type 1 Lang (T1L) µ1 protein and
3 protein in insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus carrying the T1L M2 and S4 genes, which encode µ1 and
3 proteins, respectively, as previously described (5, 15). In brief, sf21 cells were grown in Hink's TNM-FH insect medium (JRH) supplemented with 10% (vol/vol) fetal bovine serum (Sigma), infected at one PFU per cell, and harvested at 72 h postinfection. The cells were resuspended by lysis buffer (20 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.5, 2 mM MgCl2, 150 mM KCl, 5 mM dithiothreitol [DTT], 2 mM benzamidine, 2 µg/ml pepstatin A, 2 µg/ml leupeptin, and 0.2 mg/ml ethanolic phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride [PMSF], supplemented with complete EDTA-free protease inhibitor cocktail [Roche]) at 1 x 108 cells/ml lysis buffer and disrupted by sonication on ice. Cell debris was removed by ultracentrifugation (180 kg; 1 h at 4°C). The supernatant was applied to a Q-Sepharose high-performance (HP) column (Amersham Biosciences) that was equilibrated with buffer A (20 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.5, 2 mM MgCl2, 5 mM DTT) and 150 mM NaCl. µ13
33 heterohexamer was eluted with a linear salt gradient from 150 mM to 450 mM NaCl. Then, 3 M (NH4)2SO4 was added dropwise to the fractions containing µ13
33 to achieve a final concentration of 0.7 M. The sample was loaded onto a phenyl-Sepharose HP column (Amersham Biosciences) equilibrated in buffer A and 0.7 M (NH4)2SO4, and eluted with a linear gradient from 0.7 M to 0 M (NH4)2SO4. The eluted protein was diluted 1:3 with buffer A, applied to a Mono Q column (Amersham Biosciences) equilibrated with buffer A and 200 mM NaCl, and eluted with a linear salt gradient from 200 mM to 350 mM NaCl. The protein complex was further purified by gel filtration chromatography using a Superdex 200 column (Amersham Biosciences) in a buffer containing 20 mM Bicine-HCl, pH 9.0, 2 mM MgCl2, 10 mM DTT, 100 mM NaCl, and 0.02% NaN3. The purified protein can be concentrated to 3 mg/ml and stored at 80°C. The (µ1-N42A)3
33 heterohexamer was also prepared as described above.
Amino acid changes of µ1 Ser385
Cys and Ser436
Cys for mutant DS1, as well as Thr325
Cys and Thr445
Cys for mutant DS2, were introduced into cDNA copies of the T1L M2 gene by site-directed mutagenesis using the QuickChange method, according to the manufacturer's instructions (Stratagene). Bsu36I-MluI restriction fragments conferring the desired mutations were subcloned into the shuttle plasmid pFastbacDUAL-M2L-S4L for recombinant baculovirus production using the Bac-to-Bac system (Invitrogen) (5, 6). The disulfide mutant (µ1-DS1)3
33 and (µ1-DS2)3
33 heterohexamers were purified similarly to the method described above except that DTT was absent from all the buffers.
Conformational changes of µ1 in solution.
To remove
3 protein from µ13
33 heterohexamer, the purified wild-type or mutant protein complex (0.3 mg/ml) was incubated with various amounts of chymotrypsin in a 20-µl reaction mix containing 20 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.5, and 100 mM NaCl or CsCl, at room temperature for 30 min. The protease digestions were quenched with the addition of 5 mM PMSF (final concentration). To trigger conformational changes in µ1, the reaction mixes were incubated at 42°C for 30 min and moved onto ice. For the trypsin sensitivity assay, the reaction mixes were divided into two parts, and one part (10 µl) was treated with trypsin at 0.1 mg/ml on ice for 1 h and quenched with the addition of 0.3 mg/ml soybean trypsin inhibitor (Worthington). The samples were disrupted by boiling for 2 to 5 min in gel loading buffer and subjected to analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).
Immunoprecipitation. Monoclonal antibody (MAb) 4A3, specific for structurally rearranged µ1, was expressed and purified as described previously (28). Protein A-conjugated beads (100 µl) (Pierce) were incubated with 10 µg antibody 4A3 and 200 µl immunoprecipitation (IP) buffer (containing 10 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl, and 1% NP-40) at room temperature for 2 h and washed with 500 µl IP buffer three times. Then, 20-µl samples were added to the antibody-bound beads with 180 µl ice-cold IP buffer. The reaction mixes were incubated with rotary mixing at 4°C for 1 h and washed with 500 µl ice-cold IP buffer six times. Proteins were released from the beads by boiling in gel loading buffer for 2 to 5 min and then subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis.
Generation of recoated cores containing WT µ1 and µ1-DS1.
Recoated cores containing wild-type (WT) or µ1-DS1 together with the wild-type
3 protein were generated from purified T1L cores and insect cell lysates containing recombinant baculovirus-expressed µ13
33 as described previously (5, 6). Recoated cores (µ1-DS1) containing Cys385-Cys436 disulfide bonds were purified from insect cell lysates by centrifugation on CsCl gradients and dialysis against virion buffer (10 mM Tris-Cl, pH 7.5, 140 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM MgCl2) as described previously (5, 6). Recoated cores (µ1-DS1) lacking Cys385-Cys436 disulfide bonds were purified in a similar manner, except that CsCl gradients and dialysis buffer were supplemented to contain 40 mM ß-mercaptoethanol immediately before use. Recoated cores (WT µ1) used in the experiments whose results can be seen in Fig. 3 were purified in parallel with recoated cores (µ1-DS1) as described above.
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FIG. 3. An engineered interchain disulfide bond arrests µ1 conformational change and virus-induced hemolysis. (A) Surface representation of µ1 trimer, viewed from the outside relative to the orientation in virus particles. Black bars represent approximate positions of residues 385 and 436, which form an interchain disulfide bond in µ1-DS1. (B) Disulfide bond formation in µ1-DS1. ISVP-like particles generated by chymotryptic digestion of recoated cores and containing either wild-type µ1 (µ1-WT) or µ1-DS1 (5 x 1010 particles per lane) were subjected to nonreducing SDS-PAGE. Positions of viral proteins are marked. (C) Disulfide-bond-dependent arrest of hemolysis mediated by ISVP-like particles (µ1-DS1). Recoated cores of (µ1-WT) or (µ1-DS1), purified in the absence or presence of 40 mM ß-mercaptoethanol (ß-ME), were converted to ISVP-like particles by treatment with chymotrypsin. The ISVP-like particles (5 x 1012 particles per ml) were then incubated with bovine RBCs (3% [vol/vol]) at 37°C for 20 min in the absence or presence of 40 mM ß-ME). The extent of hemolysis was determined as described in Materials and Methods. (D) Status of µ1 conformational change in hemolysis reactions described for panel C. Trypsin sensitivity assays were carried out to test whether wild-type or mutant µ1 had undergone a conformational change; 10-µl aliquots from each sample were left untreated or incubated with trypsin (100 µg/ml) for 30 min on ice and then subjected to reducing SDS-PAGE.
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-p-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone-treated chymotrypsin (200 µg/ml) for 10 to 20 min at 37°C. Digestion was stopped by the addition of PMSF (2 to 5 mM) at 4°C. Hemolysis assay. The capacities of nonpurified ISVP-like particles obtained from recoated cores to mediate hemolysis were determined as described previously (4). Briefly, washed citrated bovine calf red blood cells (RBCs; 3% [vol/vol]) were incubated with viral particles at the indicated concentrations in virion buffer containing 300 mM CsCl for 1 h at 37°C, and the extent of hemoglobin release into the supernatant was measured relative to that of controls containing only virion buffer and RBCs (0%) or water and RBCs (100%).
Purification of µ1*.
To ensure complete digestion of
3 and minimal cleavage of µ1, µ13
33 heterohexamer was incubated with chymotrypsin at a mass ratio of 1:4 (chymotrypsin to µ13
33 heterohexamer) in a 3-ml reaction mix containing 20 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.5, 100 mM CsCl, and 5% foscholine-16 (Anatrace) on ice for 30 min, and protease digestion was quenched by the addition of 5 mM PMSF. Conformational rearrangement of µ1 was triggered by incubation of the reaction mix at 42°C for 30 min. The sample was immediately applied to a size exclusion column (Superdex 200; Amersham Biosciences) in a buffer containing 50 mM Bicine-HCl, pH 9.0, 10 mM DTT, 100 mM NaCl, and 0.01% foscholine-16. The purified protein can be concentrated up to 10 mg/ml and stored at 80°C. The purified protein was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MS) and N-terminal sequencing (HHMI mass spectrometry laboratory).
Light scattering. The static light=scattering system consists of an 18-angle light-scattering detector (Dawn EOS; Wyatt Technology) in combination with a refractive index detector (Optilab Rex; Wyatt Technology). Light-scattering data were collected from about 50 µg of purified µ1* at room temperature using a Superdex 200 column (Amersham Biosciences) in a running buffer containing 50 mM Bicine-HCl, pH 9.0, 10 mM DTT, 100 mM NaCl, and 0.01% foscholine-16. Data analysis was carried out using ASTRA 5 software (Wyatt Technology) (11) after calibration and normalization with monomeric bovine serum albumin (Sigma) in the same running buffer.
CD spectrometry. The circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of purified µ1* at a 0.5-mg/ml concentration was measured between wavelengths of 200 and 260 nm at 25°C in a buffer containing 20 mM sodium phosphate, pH 8.0, 100 mM NaCl, 0.5 mM TCEP [Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride], and 0.01% foscholine-16. A secondary-structure prediction program was used to estimate the amounts of different secondary-structure motifs (1). For the melting experiments, the CD spectrum of µ1* at wavelength 222 nm was collected from 25°C to 95°C.
Limited proteolysis. For limited proteolysis of structurally rearranged µ1, we incubated 10 µg of purified µ1* with various amounts of trypsin in a 20-µl reaction mix containing 50 mM Bicine-HCl, pH 9.0, 10 mM DTT, 100 mM NaCl, and 0.01% foscholine-16 on ice for 1 h. The reactions were quenched with the addition of 1 mg/ml soybean trypsin inhibitor and divided in two parts. One set of samples was subjected to SDS-PAGE followed by standard GelCode Blue (Pierce) staining and visual inspection. Another set of samples was applied to an SDS-PAGE gel and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membrane in a buffer containing 50 mM CAPS, pH 10.0, and 10% methanol (MeOH). The polyvinylidene difluoride membrane was stained with 0.025% Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 (Sigma) in 40% MeOH until samples were seen and then destained with 50% MeOH and air dried. Protein bands were cut from the dried membrane and sent for N-terminal sequencing (Tufts Core Facility). Limited proteolysis samples were also applied to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (Tufts Core Facility).
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3 is necessary but not sufficient to trigger µ1 rearrangement in solution.
To enable in vitro analysis of µ1 structural rearrangements and the ensuing membrane penetration, we sought to acquire the penetration-inducing form of µ1 (rearranged µ1, or µ1*) free of a reovirus particle. To obtain soluble protein from insect cells using a recombinant baculovirus vector, µ1 must be coexpressed with
3, and the resulting free heterohexamer (µ13
33, µ1 trimer plus three
3 monomers) is then stable in solution (5, 15). Although
3 functions as a "molecular clamp" to inhibit conformational change in the µ1 trimer (15), it appears that removal of
3 does not directly induce µ1 rearrangements on a virus particle but rather renders the µ1 trimers metastable, i.e., prone to undergoing conformational changes when suitably promoted (3). Interactions between adjacent µ1 trimers in the viral surface lattice, as well as those between the trimers and the viral core proteins
2 and
2 (29), may contribute to determining this metastability, and we anticipated that free µ1 trimer (µ13), after removal of
3 from free µ13
33 heterohexamer, might be unstable.
To test whether removal of
3 is sufficient to trigger µ1 conformational changes in solution, we expressed and purified wild-type free µ13
33 as described previously (15). Limited proteolysis by chymotrypsin led to complete digestion of
3 while leaving µ1 essentially intact (Fig. 2A, lanes 3 and 4). Note that two different kinds of cleavage occur in µ1, chymotryptic proteolysis in a loop between residues 581 and 582 (left exposed by the loss of
3), creating the fragments µ1
and
(Fig. 1A and D and 2B) (22), and an autocleavage between residues 42 and 43, which occurs during sample preparation for SDS-PAGE (15, 23) (Fig. 2B). We therefore observed four large µ1 fragments on the gel: intact µ1, µ1C, µ1
, and
(Fig. 2A and B). The smaller fragments µ1N and
were not observed on the gel, due to its low percentage of cross-linking and an inability to resolve species with a molecular mass less than about 15 kDa. Moreover, the free µ13 appeared to be stable in vitro after proteolytic removal of
3, as indicated by its overall insensitivity to proteolytic cleavage (Fig. 2C, lane 2) (3). The gel-filtration chromatographic profile of the µ1 trimer indicates that its three subunits remain associated with each other (L. Zhang and S. C. Harrison, unpublished data). The µ1 trimer is poorly soluble, however, and tends to aggregate over a wide range of pHs, ionic strengths, and temperatures (L. Zhang and S. C. Harrison, unpublished data). Nondenaturing detergents, such as foscholine (used in the experiments noted above whose results are unpublished to help solubilize rearranged µ1) or ß-octyl glucoside, did not inhibit aggregation of the µ1 trimer (L. Zhang and S. C. Harrison, unpublished data).
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FIG. 2. Removal of 3 and conformational change of µ1 in solution. (A) Removal of 3 by digestion with chymotrypsin (CHT). The µ13 33 heterohexamer is treated with increasing amounts of chymotrypsin (first lane from left, untreated µ13 33). (B) Diagram of µ1 and its fragments. The autocleavage (between residues 42 and 43), which occurs during sample preparation, and the / cleavage by chymotrypsin (between residues 581 and 582) create three larger µ1 cleavage products, µ1C, µ1 , and , and two smaller fragments, µ1N and . (C) In vitro induction of a conformational change in µ1. Free µ1 trimers, prepared as described in Materials and Methods, were incubated at 42°C for 30 min in different buffers containing either NaCl (Na) or CsCl (Cs). Each sample was treated with trypsin to detect the conformational change. (D) Structurally rearranged µ1 interacts with MAb 4A3 (28), a conformation-specific antibody. Antibody pull-down assays of wild-type µ13 33 heterohexamer, µ1 trimer (µ13), and rearranged µ1 (µ1*). The bands for the heavy (H) and light (L) chains of MAb 4A3 are indicated.
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ISVP* transition.
One characteristic of the reovirus ISVP
ISVP* transition is an increase in µ1 protease sensitivity, resulting from the generation of a new conformer of µ1 by structural reorganization (µ1
µ1*) (3). µ1 trimers on the surface of reovirus T1L ISVPs undergo a conformational change at elevated temperatures (32°C and above) in the presence of K+, Rb+, or Cs+ but not Li+ or Na+ ions (3, 19; K. S. Myers, M. A. Agosto, J. K. Middleton, J. Yin, and M. L. Nibert, unpublished data). To investigate whether free µ13 undergoes structural rearrangements under similar triggering conditions, we carried out trypsin sensitivity assays on the free trimers. Incubation of free µ13 in the presence of Cs+ ions at elevated temperatures indeed yielded a protease-sensitive µ1 conformer (µ1*) (Fig. 2C). Moreover, this species interacted with a conformation-specific MAb that recognizes rearranged µ1 on the surface of an ISVP* (3). Neither free µ13
33 nor unheated µ13 bound this MAb (Fig. 2D). These results suggest that the conformational change in free µ13 heated gently in the presence of Cs+ ions resembles the change that µ1 undergoes on the ISVP surface when treated similarly.
The conformational changes in µ13 require separation of µ1 head domains.
Based on analysis of the crystal structure (15), two different Cys double mutations have been introduced into µ1 at positions 385/436 (µ1-DS1) and 325/445 (µ1-DS2) (Fig. 1A and D and 3A). Both double mutants involve the introduction of a pair of Cys residues that can form disulfide bonds under oxidizing conditions and link adjacent ß-barrel head domains (domain IV) (Fig. 3A). These µ1 disulfide-bond mutants have been used to examine whether separation of the µ1 head domains is required for the heat- and Cs+-induced conformational changes. ISVP-like particles derived from reovirus cores recoated with µ1-DS1 and maintained in an oxidizing environment in which the disulfide bonds are formed (Fig. 3B) show no increase in µ1 protease sensitivity and fail to disrupt membranes, as determined by hemolysis (Fig. 3C and D). In contrast, ISVP-like particles derived from reovirus cores recoated with µ1-DS1 and maintained in a reducing environment in which the disulfide bonds are not formed exhibit µ1 protease sensitivity and hemolysis comparable to those exhibited by ISVPs containing wild-type µ1 (Fig. 3C and D). We therefore prepared µ13
33 containing µ1-DS1 and µ1-DS2, using the same protocol as for wild-type heterohexamers but omitting reducing agents. Protease sensitivity assays showed that these two disulfide bonds inhibit the conformational changes in free µ13 (Fig. 4A), just as µ1-DS1 inhibits the ISVP
ISVP* transition when incorporated into µ1 on the surface of a recoated particle. The similarity of the requirements for the conformational changes in solution and on the ISVP surface supports our conclusion that µ1 undergoes the same structural transition under both circumstances.
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FIG. 4. Requirements for the µ1 conformational change in solution. Trypsin sensitivity assays were carried out to test whether free mutant µ1 had undergone a conformational change. Free wild-type and mutant µ1 trimers [µ13, (µ1-DS1)3, (µ1-DS2)3, and (µ1-N42A)3], prepared as described in Materials and Methods, were incubated at 42°C for 30 min in different buffers containing either NaCl (Na) or CsCl (Cs). Each sample was treated with trypsin to detect the conformational change. (A) The µ1 conformational change requires separation of the µ1 head domains. (B) The µ1 conformational change does not require autocleavage at the µ1N/C junction. Note that the / cleavage is more extensive here than in the experiment whose results are shown in Fig. 2C, probably because of slightly different chymotrypsin to µ13 33 heterohexamer ratios.
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3 from the (µ1-N42A)3
33 heterohexamer, undergoes a heat- and Cs+-induced conformational change (Fig. 4B). This result shows that structural rearrangements in µ1 do not require autocleavage at the µ1N/C junction. It also affords a further parallel between studies of functional properties of recoated cores and conformational properties of free µ1 trimer, as reovirus cores recoated with the (µ1-N42A)3
33 heterohexamer fail to enter cells but do exhibit hallmarks of the ISVP
ISVP* transition (25). The crystal structure of µ13
33 has shown that autocleavage can occur (perhaps slowly) without conformational change and even without removal of
3 (15). Thus, structural rearrangement and autocleavage of µ1 are not strictly dependent on each other, although the former may facilitate the latter (23).
Purification of µ1*.
Proteolytic removal of
3 appears to result in exposure of hydrophobic surfaces on µ1 (3). We found that the µ1 trimer aggregates over time in a variety of buffers, spanning a range of pHs and ionic strengths (L. Zhang and S. C. Harrison, unpublished). It is thus inefficient to purify µ13 prior to the transition to µ1*, trigger the transition in solution, and repurify the rearranged µ1. We therefore attempted first to trigger the µ1 rearrangement without purifying µ13 from the limited chymotryptic digestion mixture and then to use gel-filtration chromatography to isolate µ1* directly. We could obtain a relatively soluble and homogeneous form of µ1* by using foscholine, a lipid-like detergent, to protect its hydrophobic surface. We used a minimal amount of protease to remove
3 so that the proteolytic cleavage site at the
/
junction of µ1 was mostly intact, triggered the µ1 conformational rearrangement in the presence of 5% foscholine (wt/vol) immediately after removal of
3, and recovered about one-third of the µ1 as a rearranged species by using gel-filtration chromatography to purify the product (in a buffer containing foscholine-12 or foscholine-16 at a concentration of 1.5 times its critical micelle concentration or higher). Purified µ1* appears to be relatively stable in detergent solution, as shown by gel-filtration chromatography after storage at 4°C for about a week (Fig. 5A). Like µ1* on the surface of ISVP* particles (3) and unpurified µ1* in solution (Fig. 2C), purified µ1* is protease sensitive and binds the rearrangement-specific MAb described above (Fig. 5B). These results support our conclusion that we have indeed obtained in solution a µ1 conformer that has the properties of µ1* on ISVP* particles. Moreover, N-terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry show that purified µ1* contains a polypeptide of residues 43 to 691 (Fig. 1D). These data suggest that the autocleavage has occurred at the µ1N/C junction in purified µ1*, and µ1N has likely been released from purified µ1* (25), although our results described above show that the autocleavage is not required for the conformational rearrangement. The extreme C terminus of µ1 has also been cleaved in a disordered region (residue 691) (Fig. 1D) (15), consistent with previous findings (18, 21). It is not clear whether
, if produced by chymotrypsin during
3 removal, still associates with the
fragment in the rearranged conformation of µ1.
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FIG. 5. Purification of rearranged µ1 (µ1*). (A) Rearranged µ1 is a monomer in solution. Size exclusion chromatographic profile of purified µ1* is shown by its UV absorbance (black curve), and the estimated native molecular mass of µ1* calculated by the coupled static light-scattering system is also shown (gray dots). AU, absorbance units. (B) Purified µ1* is trypsin sensitive and interacts with a conformation-specific antibody. Lane 1 and 2, trypsin sensitivity assay of purified µ1*. Lane 3, antibody pull-down assay of purified µ1*. The band for the heavy chain (H) of MAb 4A3 is indicated.
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33 heterohexamer (330 kDa) in the same buffer (Zhang and Harrison, unpublished). We conclude that µ1* is a very elongated molecule.
µ1* retains substantial
-helix content.
The CD spectrum of purified µ1* has strong negative peaks at 208 nm and 222 nm (Fig. 6A). We estimate from the CD spectrum, using the program of Andrade et al. (1), that µ1* contains about 21%
-helix structure and about 23% ß-strand structure. In the heterohexamer, µ1 has three helical domains (I to III), with contributions from both the N- and C-terminal parts of the polypeptide chain at its base and a ß-barrel domain (IV) from the middle of the chain, containing about 200 amino acids, at its apex (Fig. 1D) (15). About 27% of the µ1 residues are in
-helices, and 18% are in ß-strands. Inspection of the structure suggests that the ß-barrel domain is unlikely to unfold or rearrange but that the helical domains might be prone to do so. Indeed, domains I and II incorporate µ1N in a tightly folded pattern, and the release of µ1N would require unfolding (Fig. 1A). The percent ß-strand calculated from the CD spectrum is in accord with these predictions. Moreover, a substantial fraction of
-helix present in µ1 appears to remain in µ1*. The ratio of ellipticities at 222 nm and 208 nm can be used as an index of the presence of a coiled-coil conformation (14): the CD spectrum of µ1* has a
222/
208 ratio close to 0.8 (Fig. 6A), as expected for distributed helices rather than oligomeric coiled-coils. This is the anticipated result for a monomeric protein. The temperature dependence of the CD spectrum of µ1* (Fig. 6B) shows that the helical domains unfold at about 90°C, the temperature at which
222 decreases abruptly. The helical domains are therefore very thermostable.
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FIG. 6. Rearranged µ1 is a helical protein. (A) CD spectrum of rearranged µ1 at room temperature. (B) CD melting curve of rearranged µ1 at 222 nm. (C) Limited proteolysis of rearranged µ1. µ1* was treated with increasing amounts of trypsin; the mass ratio of trypsin to µ1* is indicated for each lane (first lane from left, untreated µ1*; last lane from left, trypsin alone). Rearranged µ1 and a relatively stable fragment of µ1* are indicated by arrows.
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-helix content of µ1*. Although the µ1* monomer is more protease sensitive than the unrearranged µ1 trimer, this fragment of µ1* is still relatively protease resistant, also consistent with our conclusion from the data in Fig. 6B that it has a well-ordered conformation. |
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ISVP* transition. Removal of the
3 protector protein primes µ1 for structural rearrangement, i.e., proteolysis of
3 protein is necessary but not sufficient to trigger µ1 rearrangement in solution (Fig. 7). The metastability of the µ1 trimer after
3 removal (that is, its retention in the conformation present in µ13
33 until triggering) was thought to be contributed by the interactions between adjacent µ1 trimers on the virion lattice and between µ1 trimers and the viral core proteins (15). Our results suggest instead that interactions within the µ1 trimer itself contribute substantially to its metastability.
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FIG. 7. Model of µ1 conformational change during reovirus entry. Proteolytic removal of 3 primes trimeric µ1 to undergo a conformational change in the endosome. The structural rearrangements involve uncoiling of the µ1 trimer and an autolytic cleavage, resulting in release of the N-terminally myristoylated µ1N peptide, which can then associate with the endosomal membrane. µ1C must unfold, at least in part, to release µ1N; it may, in the process, dissociate from the other two subunits of the trimer and refold as a monomer. Evidence in this paper suggests that the top ß-barrel domain (domain IV) remains in the same conformation as in the µ13 33 heterohexamer, that the middle domain (domain III) unfolds and become flexible, and that the bottom domains, domains I and II, refold into a monomeric, largely helical structure. The color scheme for domains I to IV matches that described in the legend to Fig. 1. Note that for a clearer view of the proposed intermediate state of µ1 during the structural rearrangements, positions of domains I and II are labeled for one subunit of µ1 (in light gray) and those of domains III and IV are labeled for another subunit (in dark gray).
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ISVP* transition in vitro (3). Our results confirm that under these in vitro conditions, we can produce in solution a distinct µ1 conformer (µ1*) that mimics the structurally rearranged µ1 conformer on the ISVP* surface. A host-factor interaction by µ1N is unlikely to be the principal trigger of the transition because the crystal structure of µ13
33 heterohexamer shows that µ1N is tightly coiled into the base of the µ1 subunit and that its myristoyl group cannot reach to the surface of the virion without release of µ1N, i.e., without some type of conformational change having already occurred (15). Membrane interaction through some part of the µ1 protein other than the myristoylated µ1N peptide, such as the anion binding site identified in the crystal structure of the µ13
33 heterohexamer, is another candidate for a triggering event (15). K+ ions, which promote the ISVP
ISVP* transition in vitro in the same way as do Cs+ ions (3; Myers et al., unpublished), might also have a role. The µ1 structural rearrangements might also be initiated by other reovirus surface proteins in vivo. For example, binding of
1 protein to the cellular receptor might induce opening of the
2 turret, and the conformational change of
2 might then propagate to µ1 (10).
The conformational transition of µ1 involves two major changes: cleavage and release of the myristoylated µ1N peptide and substantial structural rearrangements in µ1C (Fig. 7) (3, 15, 25). Either the released myristoylated µ1N peptide or the structurally rearranged µ1C, or both, might be responsible for direct membrane interaction. Reovirus cores recoated with a mutant µ1 N42A protein, which cannot undergo autocleavage and which is inactive in mediating cell entry of those particles, still exhibit a number of the characteristics of the ISVP
ISVP* transition in vitro (25). Our results with µ1-N42A trimers confirm that the µ1 conformational change in solution does not require cleavage at the µ1N/C junction. The µ1N peptide cannot be released and reach the cellular membrane, however, without substantial changes in µ1 and possibly dissociation of the µ1 trimer (15). Autocleavage and µ1 conformational change are thus likely to be coupled events on the surface of the ISVP and during the infectious process. Moreover, although the crystal structure of the µ13
33 heterohexamer shows that autocleavage can occur in vitro even without proteolytic removal of
3 (15), recent electron microscope data suggest that the majority of the µ1 subunits on the virus surface contain an uncleaved peptide bond at the µ1N/C junction (29). Biochemical analysis of µ1 both in solution (L. Zhang, S. C. Harrison, and M. L. Nibert, unpublished data) and on the ISVP surface (23) suggest that autocleavage takes place during the ISVP
ISVP* transition, as part of the larger-scale structural changes. Although purified µ1* likely consists of a cleaved form of µ1 and previous study has suggested that the µ1N peptide is indeed released from µ1C during the ISVP
ISVP* transition (25), we cannot conclude yet whether the cleaved µ1N peptide remains associated with the rest of the molecule in solution, due to the low resolution of the molecular mass estimation obtained by light scattering.
Our results allow us to outline some of the structural features of µ1*, the product of the conformational changes (Fig. 7). It is a monomer in solution and exposes substantial hydrophobic surface. Mutations that cross-link the head domains of µ1 trimers inhibit the conformational changes in µ1 (Fig. 3 and 4A), and many of the known mutations in µ1 that confer enhanced thermostability on virions have mapped to subunit interfaces within a trimer (13). Both of these observations suggest that dissociation of trimer interfaces occurs during the ISVP
ISVP* transition and not just during conformational changes in isolated µ1. The µ1 head domain, a jelly-roll ß-barrel, appears likely to fold independently of the rest of the subunit and is not likely to undergo a large structural rearrangement. The amount of ß-strand in µ1*, as estimated from its CD spectrum, is consistent with this suggestion. Domains I to III of µ1 are mainly
-helical and intertwined with helical domains from other subunits of the trimer. We believe that it is these domains that refold during trimer dissociation. Moreover, these helical domains contain several hydrophobic sequences and long amphipathic helices, which might be responsible for the hydrophobicity and probable membrane interaction of µ1*.
The hydrodynamic properties of µ1* suggest that the helical domains adopt a substantially more elongated structure than they do in the µ1 trimer. The total helix content of µ1 appears to decrease somewhat during the transition from µ1 to µ1*, but a reasonable fraction remains. The stable fragment of µ1* produced by limited proteolysis contains most of domains I and II, and if the residues in their constituent helices remain helical, those segments could account for most of the
-helical portions of µ1*. We therefore suggest that µ1* contains much of domains I and II in an elongated alignment, with a flexible (and protease-sensitive) link, created by the unfolding of domain III, to the ß-barrel (Fig. 7). The long
-helix near the C terminus of µ1 contributes to domain II, anchoring the polypeptide chain within this domain upon its return from the ß-barrel. It is possible that this segment, which would not have been easily detected in our analysis of limited proteolysis data, also contributes to the elongated, monomeric µ1*. Limited proteolysis of ISVP* in the absence of membrane generates a different protease-resistant fragment of µ1*, which contains the ß-barrel domain (21); interaction between this domain and other proteins of the virus may protect it from protease cleavage. The enhanced stability of domains I and II of µ1* in the presence of foscholine suggests that the refolded helical portions of µ1* participate in membrane interaction.
The structural protein VP6 of rotavirus has an overall structure similar to that of µ1 (its conformation in the µ13
33 heterohexamer), suggesting an evolutionary relationship between these two proteins. VP6 does not, however, mediate membrane penetration. Like µ1, VP6 forms a tight trimer, but its folded structure consists of only two distinct domains: a distal ß-barrel, which is analogous to domain IV of µ1, and a proximal
-helical domain, which interacts with the inner layer of the virion (17). Consistent with our data, structural comparison of µ1 and VP6 also suggests that the additional
-helical elements of µ1 at the base of the trimer, mostly from domains I and II, might be the components that mediate the membrane-penetration function of µ1.
The penetration machineries of nonenveloped viruses undergo primed and triggered conformational rearrangements to facilitate cell entry, just as the fusion machineries of enveloped viruses do. A number of nonenveloped viruses, exemplified by reoviruses, picornaviruses, and probably polyomaviruses, have an N-terminally myristoylated peptide cleaved from or associated with a jelly-roll ß-barrel subunit. Proteolytic cleavage is also a critical priming step in the case of rotavirus VP4, which has neither an N-terminal myristoyl group nor a standard jelly-roll ß-barrel but does have a surface likely to associate with a lipid bilayer when exposed by the cleavage (7). It remains a puzzle whether membrane penetration by nonenveloped viruses involves a defined penetration pore or a more generalized lysis of an endosomal membrane. In the case of reovirus µ1, a higher-order oligomer of the conformationally rearranged protein has not yet been identified. We anticipate that the results described here can lead us to a strategy for obtaining a high-resolution structure of µ1*.
33 protein; D. S. King at the HHMI mass spectrometry laboratory and the Tufts Core Facility for mass spectrometry and N-terminal sequencing; J. Zimmer for help with the static light-scattering experiment; and members of the Harrison and Nibert laboratories for helpful discussions. This work was supported in part by NIH grants R01 CA13202 to S.C.H. and R01 AI46440 to M.L.N. L.Z. acknowledges a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellowship, and K.C. acknowledges a Bernard N. Fields postdoctoral fellowship.
Published ahead of print on 27 September 2006. ![]()
Present address: Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Karp Family Research Laboratories, 1 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA 02115. ![]()
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3. J. Virol. 73:3941-3950.
3. Cell 108:283-295.[CrossRef][Medline]
3 determined by mass spectrometry. Virology 311:289-304.[CrossRef][Medline]This article has been cited by other articles:
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