Cornelia Schroeder

Quantitative analysis of the lipidomes of the influenza virus envelope and MDCK cell apical membrane

Analysis of the lipid composition of influenza virus–infected cells provides support for the membrane raft-based biogenesis model.

Cholesterol-Binding Viral Proteins in Virus Entry and Morphogenesis

Up to now less than a handful of viral cholesterol-binding proteins have been characterized, in HIV, influenza virus and Semliki Forest virus. These are proteins with roles in virus entry or morphogenesis. In the case of the HIV fusion protein gp41 cholesterol binding is attributed to a cholesterol recognition consensus (CRAC) motif in a flexible domain of the ectodomain preceding the trans-membrane segment. This specific CRAC sequence mediates gp41 binding to a cholesterol affinity column. Mutations in this motif arrest virus fusion at the hemifusion stage and modify the ability of the isolated CRAC peptide to induce segregation of cholesterol in artificial membranes. Influenza A virus M2 protein co-purifies with cholesterol. Its proton translocation activity, responsible for virus uncoating, is not cholesterol-dependent, and the transmembrane channel appears too short for integral raft insertion. Cholesterol binding may be mediated by CRAC motifs in the flexible post-TM domain, which harbours three determinants of binding to membrane rafts. Mutation of the CRAC motif of the WSN strain attenuates virulence for mice. Its affinity to the raft–non-raft interface is predicted to target M2 protein to the periphery of lipid raft microdomains, the sites of virus assembly. Its influence on the morphology of budding virus implicates M2 as factor in virus fission at the raft boundary. Moreover, M2 is an essential factor in sorting the segmented genome into virus particles, indicating that M2 also has a role in priming the outgrowth of virus buds. SFV E1 protein is the first viral type-II fusion protein demonstrated to directly bind cholesterol when the fusion peptide loop locks into the target membrane. Cholesterol binding is modulated by another, proximal loop, which is also important during virus budding and as a host range determinant, as shown by mutational studies.

Evaluation of steroidal amines as lipid raft modulators and potential anti-influenza agents.

The influenza A virus (IFV) possesses a highly ordered cholesterol-rich lipid envelope. A specific composition and structure of this membrane raft envelope are essential for viral entry into cells and virus budding. Several steroidal amines were investigated for antiviral activity against IFV. Both, a positively charged amino function and the highly hydrophobic (ClogP≥5.9) ring system are required for IC50 values in the low μM range. An amino substituent is preferential to an azacyclic A-ring. We showed that these compounds either disrupt or augment membrane rafts and in some cases inactivate the free virus. Some of the compounds also interfere with virus budding. The antiviral selectivity improved in the series 3-amino, 3-aminomethyl, 3-aminoethyl, or by introducing an OH function in the A-ring. Steroidal amines show a new mode of antiviral action in directly targeting the virus envelope and its biological functions.

Lipidomimetic compounds act as HIV-1 entry inhibitors by altering viral membrane structure

The envelope of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) consists of a liquid-ordered membrane enriched in raft lipids and containing the viral glycoproteins. Previous studies demonstrated that changes in viral membrane lipid composition affecting membrane structure or curvature can impair infectivity. Here, we describe novel antiviral compounds that were identified by screening compound libraries based on raft lipid-like scaffolds. Three distinct molecular structures were chosen for mode-of-action studies, a sterol derivative (J391B), a sphingosine derivative (J582C) and a long aliphatic chain derivative (IBS70). All three target the viral membrane and inhibit virus infectivity at the stage of fusion without perturbing virus stability or affecting virion-associated envelope glycoproteins. Their effect did not depend on the expressed envelope glycoproteins or a specific entry route, being equally strong in HIV pseudotypes carrying VSV-G or MLV-Env glycoproteins. Labeling with laurdan, a reporter of membrane order, revealed different membrane structure alterations upon compound treatment of HIV-1, which correlated with loss of infectivity. J582C and IBS70 decreased membrane order in distinctive ways, whereas J391B increased membrane order. The compounds effects on membrane order were reproduced in liposomes generated from extracted HIV lipids and thus independent both of virion proteins and of membrane leaflet asymmetry. Remarkably, increase of membrane order by J391B required phosphatidylserine, a lipid enriched in the HIV envelope. Counterintuitively, mixtures of two compounds with opposite effects on membrane order, J582C and J391B, did not neutralize each other but synergistically inhibited HIV infection. Thus, altering membrane order, which can occur by different mechanisms, constitutes a novel antiviral mode of action that may be of general relevance for enveloped viruses and difficult to overcome by resistance development.