Allen Portner

Crystal structure of the multifunctional paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase.

Paramyxoviruses are the main cause of respiratory disease in children. One of two viral surface glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), has several functions in addition to being the major surface antigen that induces neutralizing antibodies. Here we present the crystal structures of Newcastle disease virus HN alone and in complex with either an inhibitor or with the β-anomer of sialic acid. The inhibitor complex reveals a typical neuraminidase active site within a β-propeller fold. Comparison of the structures of the two complexes reveal differences in the active site, suggesting that the catalytic site is activated by a conformational switch. This site may provide both sialic acid binding and hydrolysis functions since there is no evidence for a second sialic acid binding site in HN. Evidence for a single site with dual functions is examined and supported by mutagenesis studies. The structure provides the basis for the structure-based design of inhibitors for a range of paramyxovirus-induced diseases.

Second Sialic Acid Binding Site in Newcastle Disease Virus Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase: Implications for Fusion

ABSTRACT Paramyxoviruses are the leading cause of respiratory disease in children. Several paramyxoviruses possess a surface glycoprotein, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), that is involved in attachment to sialic acid receptors, promotion of fusion, and removal of sialic acid from infected cells and progeny virions. Previously we showed that Newcastle disease virus (NDV) HN contained a pliable sialic acid recognition site that could take two states, a binding state and a catalytic state. Here we present evidence for a second sialic acid binding site at the dimer interface of HN and present a model for its involvement in cell fusion. Three different crystal forms of NDV HN now reveal identical tetrameric arrangements of HN monomers, perhaps indicative of the tetramer association found on the viral surface.

Role of the Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Protein in the Mechanism of Paramyxovirus-Cell Membrane Fusion

ABSTRACT Paramyxovirus infects cells by initially attaching to a sialic acid-containing cellular receptor and subsequently fusing with the plasma membrane of the cells. Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein, which is responsible for virus attachment, interacts with the fusion protein in a virus type-specific manner to induce efficient membrane fusion. To elucidate the mechanism of HN-promoted membrane fusion, we characterized a series of Newcastle disease virus HN proteins whose surface residues were mutated. Fusion promotion activity was substantially altered in only the HN proteins with a mutation in the first or sixth β sheet. These regions overlap the large hydrophobic surface of HN; thus, the hydrophobic surface may contain the fusion promotion domain. Furthermore, a comparison of the HN structure crystallized alone or in complex with 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid revealed substantial conformational changes in several loops within or near the hydrophobic surface. Our results suggest that the binding of HN protein to the receptor induces the conformational change of residues near the hydrophobic surface of HN protein and that this change triggers the activation of the F protein, which initiates membrane fusion.

Differentially Regulated Interferon Response Determines the Outcome of Newcastle Disease Virus Infection in Normal and Tumor Cell Lines

ABSTRACT Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a negative-strand RNA virus with oncolytic activity against human tumors. Its effectiveness against tumors and safety in normal tissue have been demonstrated in several clinical studies. Here we show that the spread of NDV infection is drastically different in normal cell lines than in tumor cell lines and that the two cell types respond differently to beta interferon (IFN-β) treatment. NDV rapidly replicated and killed HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma cells but spread poorly in CCD-1122Sk human skin fibroblast cells. Pretreatment with endogenous or exogenous IFN-β completely inhibited NDV replication in normal cells but had little or no effect in tumor cells. Thus, the outcome of NDV infection appeared to depend on the response of uninfected cells to IFN-β. To investigate their differences in IFN responsiveness, we analyzed and compared the expression and activation of components of the IFN signal transduction pathway in these two types of cells. The levels of phosphorylated STAT1 and STAT2 and that of the ISGF3 complex were markedly reduced in IFN-β-treated tumor cells. Moreover, cDNA microarray analysis revealed significantly fewer IFN-regulated genes in the HT-1080 cells than in the CDD-1122Sk cells. This finding suggests that tumor cells demonstrate a less-than-optimum antiviral response because of a lesion in their IFN signal transduction pathway. The rapid spread of NDV in HT-1080 cells appears to be caused by their deficient expression of anti-NDV proteins upon exposure to IFN-β.

Role of Matrix and Fusion Proteins in Budding of Sendai Virus

ABSTRACT Paramyxoviruses are assembled at the surface of infected cells, where virions are formed by the process of budding. We investigated the roles of three Sendai virus (SV) membrane proteins in the production of virus-like particles. Expression of matrix (M) proteins from cDNA induced the budding and release of virus-like particles that contained M, as was previously observed with human parainfluenza virus type 1 (hPIV1). Expression of SV fusion (F) glycoprotein from cDNA caused the release of virus-like particles bearing surface F, although their release was less efficient than that of particles bearing M protein. Cells that expressed only hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) released no HN-containing vesicles. Coexpression of M and F proteins enhanced the release of F protein by a factor greater than 4. The virus-like particles containing F and M were found in different density gradient fractions of the media of cells that coexpressed M and F, a finding that suggests that the two proteins formed separate vesicles and did not interact directly. Vesicles released by M or F proteins also contained cellular actin; therefore, actin may be involved in the budding process induced by viral M or F proteins. Deletion of C-terminal residues of M protein, which has a sequence similar to that of an actin-binding domain, significantly reduced release of the particles into medium. Site-directed mutagenesis of the cytoplasmic tail of F revealed two regions that affect the efficiency of budding: one domain comprising five consecutive amino acids conserved in SV and hPIV1 and one domain that is similar to the actin-binding domain required for budding induced by M protein. Our results indicate that both M and F proteins are able to drive the budding of SV and propose the possible role of actin in the budding process.

Receptor Specificities of Human Respiroviruses

ABSTRACT Through their hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein, parainfluenza viruses bind to sialic acid-containing glycoconjugates to initiate infection. Although the virus-receptor interaction is a key factor of infection, the exact nature of the receptors that human parainfluenza viruses recognize has not been determined. We evaluated the abilities of human parainfluenza virus types 1 (hPIV-1) and 3 (hPIV-3) to bind to different types of gangliosides. Both hPIV-1 and hPIV-3 preferentially bound to neolacto-series gangliosides containing a terminal N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) linked toN-acetyllactosamine (Galβ1-4GlcNAc) by the α2-3 linkage (NeuAcα2-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc). Unlike hPIV-1, hPIV-3 bound to gangliosides with a terminal NeuAc linked to Galβ1-4GlcNAc through an α2-6 linkage (NeuAcα2-6Galβ1-4GlcNAc) or to gangliosides with a different sialic acid, N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc), linked to Galβ1-4GlcNAc (NeuGcα2-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc). These results indicate that the molecular species of glycoconjugate that hPIV-1 recognizes are more limited than those recognized by hPIV-3. Further analysis using purified gangliosides revealed that the oligosaccharide core structure is also an important element for binding. Gangliosides that contain branchedN-acetyllactosaminoglycans in their core structure showed higher avidity than those without them. Agglutination of human, cow, and guinea pig erythrocytes but not equine erythrocytes by hPIV-1 and hPIV-3 correlated well with the presence or the absence of sialic acid-linked branched N-acetyllactosaminoglycans on the cell surface. Finally, NeuAcα2-3I, which bound to both viruses, inhibited virus infection of Lewis lung carcinoma-monkey kidney cells in a dose-dependent manner. We conclude that hPIV-1 and hPIV-3 preferentially recognize oligosaccharides containing branchedN-acetyllactosaminoglycans with terminal NeuAcα2-3Gal as receptors and that hPIV-3 also recognizes NeuAcα2-6Gal- or NeuGcα2-3Gal-containing receptors. These findings provide important information that can be used to develop inhibitors that prevent human parainfluenza virus infection.

Probing the Sialic Acid Binding Site of the Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase of Newcastle Disease Virus: Identification of Key Amino Acids Involved in Cell Binding, Catalysis, and Fusion

ABSTRACT We recently reported the first crystal structure of a paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) from Newcastle disease virus. This multifunctional protein is responsible for binding to cellular sialyl-glycoconjugate receptors, promotion of fusion through interaction with the second viral surface fusion (F) glycoprotein, and processing progeny virions by removal of sialic acid from newly synthesized viral coat proteins. Our structural studies suggest that HN possesses a single sialic acid recognition site that can be switched between being a binding site and a catalytic site. Here we examine the effect of mutation of several conserved amino acids around the binding site on the hemagglutination, neuraminidase, and fusion functions of HN. Most mutations around the binding site result in loss of neuraminidase activity, whereas the effect on receptor binding is more variable. Residues E401, R416, and Y526 appear to be key for receptor binding. The increase in fusion promotion seen in some mutants that lack receptor binding activity presents a conundrum. We propose that in these cases HN may be switched into a fusion-promoting state through a series of conformational changes that propagate from the sialic acid binding site through to the HN dimer interface. These results further support the single-site model and suggest certain residues to be important for the triggering of fusion.

Structure, Function, and Intracellular Processing of the Glycoproteins of Paramyxoviridae

The membranes of Paramyxoviridae virions are studded with spike structures which can be readily visualized in electron micrographs. Biochemical characterization of these structures has shown that there are two different kinds of spikes on the surfaces of virions. One spike structure serves to attach the virus to the surfaces of the cells and is composed of a protein termed the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) in the case of the Paramyxovirus genus, the hemagglutinin (H) in the case of Morbillivirus, and the G protein in the case of Pneumovirus. As reflected in the nomenclature, the attachment protein of Paramyxovirus also contains a neuraminidase activity not demonstrated for the attachment proteins of the other genera (Scheid et al., 1972). The other spike is composed of the fusion protein and mediates the fusion of the viral membrane with that of the host cell, a step essential to the penetration and uncoating of the viral genetic information (Scheid and Choppin, 1974, 1977). This protein also mediates fusion between an infected cell and an adjacent cell, termed syncytium formation, a property that facilitates cell-to-cell spread of the viral genetic information.

Nucleocapsid Incorporation into Parainfluenza Virus Is Regulated by Specific Interaction with Matrix Protein

ABSTRACT The paramyxovirus nucleoproteins (NPs) encapsidate the genomic RNA into nucleocapsids, which are then incorporated into virus particles. We determined the protein-protein interaction between NP molecules and the molecular mechanism required for incorporating nucleocapsids into virions in two closely related viruses, human parainfluenza virus type 1 (hPIV1) and Sendai virus (SV). Expression of NP from cDNA resulted in in vivo nucleocapsid formation. Electron micrographs showed no significant difference in the morphological appearance of viral nucleocapsids obtained from lysates of transfected cells expressing SV or hPIVI NP cDNA. Coexpression of NP cDNAs from both viruses resulted in the formation of nucleocapsid composed of a mixture of NP molecules; thus, the NPs of both viruses contained regions that allowed the formation of mixed nucleocapsid. Mixed nucleocapsids were also detected in cells infected with SV and transfected with hPIV1 NP cDNA. However, when NP of SV was donated by infected virus and hPIV1 NP was from transfected cDNA, nucleocapsids composed of NPs solely from SV or solely from hPIVI were also detected. Although almost equal amounts of NP of the two viruses were found in the cytoplasm of cells infected with SV and transfected with hPIV1 NP cDNA, 90% of the NPs in the nucleocapsids of the progeny SV virions were from SV. Thus, nucleocapsids containing heterologous hPIV1 NPs were excluded during the assembly of progeny SV virions. Coexpression of hPIV1 NP and hPIV1 matrix protein (M) in SV-infected cells increased the uptake of nucleocapsids containing hPIV1 NP; thus, M appears to be responsible for the specific incorporation of the nucleocapsid into virions. Using SV-hPIV1 chimera NP cDNAs, we found that the C-terminal domain of the NP protein (amino acids 420 to 466) is responsible for the interaction with M.

Similar frequencies of antigenic variants in Sendai, vesicular stomatitis, and influenza A viruses

Abstract Monoclonal antibodies to the hemagglutinin (HN) of Sendai virus, the surface glycoprotein molecule (G) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and the hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza A virus were prepared and used to analyze the frequencies of antigenic variants in cloned virus populations. The frequencies of antigenic variants detected with monoclonal antibodies directed toward different antigenic sites were approximately the same namely: 10 −4.5 to 10 −4.7 for the three different viruses. Thus the marked degree of antigenic variation of influenza A viruses cannot be explained by an enhanced capacity to produce mutant virions.