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Structure-function analysis of varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein H identifies domain-specific roles for fusion and skin tropism.

ABSTRACT: Enveloped viruses require membrane fusion for cell entry and replication. For herpesviruses, this event is governed by the multiprotein core complex of conserved glycoproteins (g)B and gH/gL. The recent crystal structures of gH/gL from herpes simplex virus 2, pseudorabies virus, and Epstein-Barr virus revealed distinct domains that, surprisingly, do not resemble known viral fusogens. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chicken pox and shingles. VZV is an ?-herpesvirus closely related to herpes simplex virus 2, enabling prediction of the VZV gH structure by homology modeling. We have defined specific roles for each gH domain in VZV replication and pathogenesis using structure-based site-directed mutagenesis of gH. The distal tip of domain (D)I was important for skin tropism, entry, and fusion. DII helices and a conserved disulfide bond were essential for gH structure and VZV replication. An essential (724)CXXC(727) motif was critical for DIII structural stability and membrane fusion. This assignment of domain-dependent mechanisms to VZV gH links elements of the glycoprotein structure to function in herpesvirus replication and virulence.

SUBMITTER: Vleck SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3215059 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Structure-function analysis of varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein H identifies domain-specific roles for fusion and skin tropism.

Vleck Susan E SE Oliver Stefan L SL Brady Jennifer J JJ Blau Helen M HM Rajamani Jaya J Sommer Marvin H MH Arvin Ann M AM

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20111024 45

Enveloped viruses require membrane fusion for cell entry and replication. For herpesviruses, this event is governed by the multiprotein core complex of conserved glycoproteins (g)B and gH/gL. The recent crystal structures of gH/gL from herpes simplex virus 2, pseudorabies virus, and Epstein-Barr virus revealed distinct domains that, surprisingly, do not resemble known viral fusogens. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chicken pox and shingles. VZV is an α-herpesvirus closely related to herpes s ...[more]

PMID: 22025718

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Project description:The conserved herpesvirus fusion complex consists of glycoproteins gB, gH, and gL which is critical for virion envelope fusion with the cell membrane during entry. For Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), the complex is necessary for cell-cell fusion and presumed to mediate entry. VZV causes syncytia formation via cell-cell fusion in skin and in sensory ganglia during VZV reactivation, leading to neuronal damage, a potential contributory factor for the debilitating condition of postherpetic neuralgia. The gH cytoplasmic domain (gHcyt) is linked to the regulation of gB/gH-gL-mediated cell fusion as demonstrated by increased cell fusion in vitro by an eight amino acid (aa834-841) truncation of the gHcyt. The gHcyt regulation was identified to be dependent on the physical presence of the domain, and not of specific motifs or biochemical properties as substitution of aa834-841 with V5, cMyc, and hydrophobic or hydrophilic sequences did not affect fusion. The importance of the gHcyt length was corroborated by stepwise deletions of aa834-841 causing incremental increases in cell fusion, independent of gH surface expression and endocytosis. Consistent with the fusion assay, truncating the gHcyt in the viral genome caused exaggerated syncytia formation and significant reduction in viral titers. Importantly, infection of human skin xenografts in SCID mice was severely impaired by the truncation while maintaining the gHcyt length with the V5 substitution preserved typical replication in vitro and in skin. A role for the gHcyt in modulating the functions of the gB cytoplasmic domain (gBcyt) is proposed as the gHcyt truncation substantially enhanced cell fusion in the presence of the gB[Y881F] mutation. The significant reduction in skin infection caused by hyperfusogenic mutations in either the gHcyt or gBcyt demonstrates that both domains are critical for regulating syncytia formation and failure to control cell fusion, rather than enhancing viral spread, is severely detrimental to VZV pathogenesis.

Project description:The conserved glycoproteins gB and gH-gL are essential for herpesvirus entry and cell-cell fusion induced syncytium formation, a characteristic of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) pathology in skin and sensory ganglia. VZV syncytium formation, which has been implicated in the painful condition of postherpetic neuralgia, is regulated by the cytoplasmic domains of gB (gBcyt) via an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM) and gH (gHcyt). A lysine cluster (K894, K897, K898, and K900) in the VZV gBcyt was identified by sequence alignment to be conserved among alphaherpesviruses, suggesting a functional role. Alanine and arginine substitutions were used to determine if the positive charge and susceptibility to posttranslational modifications of these lysines contributed to gB/gH-gL cell-cell fusion. Critically, the positive charge of the lysine residues was necessary for fusion regulation, as alanine substitutions induced a 440% increase in fusion compared to that of the wild-type gBcyt while arginine substitutions had wild-type-like fusion levels in an in vitro gB/gH-gL cell fusion assay. Consistent with these results, the alanine substitutions in the viral genome caused exaggerated syncytium formation, reduced VZV titers (-1.5 log10), and smaller plaques than with the parental Oka (pOka) strain. In contrast, arginine substitutions resulted in syncytia with only 2-fold more nuclei, a -0.5-log10 reduction in titers, and pOka-like plaques. VZV mutants with both an ITIM mutation and either alanine or arginine substitutions had reduced titers and small plaques but differed in syncytium morphology. Thus, effective VZV propagation is dependent on cell-cell fusion regulation by the conserved gBcyt lysine cluster, in addition to the gBcyt ITIM and the gHcyt. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a ubiquitous pathogen that causes chickenpox and shingles. Individuals afflicted with shingles risk developing the painful condition of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which has been difficult to treat because the underlying cause is not well understood. Additional therapies are needed, as the current vaccine is not recommended for immunocompromised individuals and its efficacy decreases with the age of the recipient. VZV is known to induce the formation of multinuclear cells in neuronal tissue, which has been proposed to be a factor contributing to PHN. This study examines the role of a lysine cluster in the cytoplasmic domain of the VZV fusion protein, gB, in the formation of VZV induced multinuclear cells and in virus replication kinetics and spread. The findings further elucidate how VZV self-regulates multinuclear cell formation and may provide insight into the development of new PHN therapies.

Project description:Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a medically important alphaherpesvirus that induces fusion of the virion envelope and the cell membrane during entry, and between cells to form polykaryocytes within infected tissues during pathogenesis. All members of the Herpesviridae, including VZV, have a conserved core fusion complex composed of glycoproteins, gB, gH and gL. The ectodomain of the primary fusogen, gB, has five domains, DI-V, of which DI contains the fusion loops needed for fusion function. We recently demonstrated that DIV is critical for fusion initiation, which was revealed by a 2.8Å structure of a VZV neutralizing mAb, 93k, bound to gB and mutagenesis of the gB-93k interface. To further assess the mechanism of mAb 93k neutralization, the binding site of a non-neutralizing mAb to gB, SG2, was compared to mAb 93k using single particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The gB-SG2 interface partially overlapped with that of gB-93k but, unlike mAb 93k, mAb SG2 did not interact with the gB N-terminus, suggesting a potential role for the gB N-terminus in membrane fusion. The gB ectodomain structure in the absence of antibody was defined at near atomic resolution by single particle cryo-EM (3.9Å) of native, full-length gB purified from infected cells and by X-ray crystallography (2.4Å) of the transiently expressed ectodomain. Both structures revealed that the VZV gB N-terminus (aa72-114) was flexible based on the absence of visible structures in the cryo-EM or X-ray crystallography data but the presence of gB N-terminal peptides were confirmed by mass spectrometry. Notably, N-terminal residues 109KSQD112 were predicted to form a small α-helix and alanine substitution of these residues abolished cell-cell fusion in a virus-free assay. Importantly, transferring the 109AAAA112 mutation into the VZV genome significantly impaired viral propagation. These data establish a functional role for the gB N-terminus in membrane fusion broadly relevant to the Herpesviridae.

Project description:The highly conserved herpesvirus glycoprotein complex gB/gH-gL mediates membrane fusion during virion entry and cell-cell fusion. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) characteristically forms multinucleated cells, or syncytia, during the infection of human tissues, but little is known about this process. The cytoplasmic domain of VZV gB (gBcyt) has been implicated in cell-cell fusion regulation because a gB[Y881F] substitution causes hyperfusion. gBcyt regulation is necessary for VZV pathogenesis, as the hyperfusogenic mutant gB[Y881F] is severely attenuated in human skin xenografts. In this study, gBcyt-regulated fusion was investigated by comparing melanoma cells infected with wild-type-like VZV or hyperfusogenic mutants. The gB[Y881F] mutant exhibited dramatically accelerated syncytium formation in melanoma cells caused by fusion of infected cells with many uninfected cells, increased cytoskeleton reorganization, and rapid displacement of nuclei to dense central structures compared to pOka using live-cell confocal microscopy. VZV and human transcriptomes were concurrently investigated using whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify viral and cellular responses induced when gBcyt regulation was disrupted by the gB[Y881F] substitution. The expression of four vital VZV genes, ORF61 and the genes for glycoproteins gC, gE, and gI, was significantly reduced at 36 h postinfection for the hyperfusogenic mutants. Importantly, hierarchical clustering demonstrated an association of differential gene expression with dysregulated gBcyt-mediated fusion. A subset of Ras GTPase genes linked to membrane remodeling were upregulated in cells infected with the hyperfusogenic mutants. These data implicate gBcyt in the regulation of gB fusion function that, if unmodulated, triggers cellular processes leading to hyperfusion that attenuates VZV infection. The highly infectious, human-restricted pathogen varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox and shingles. Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a common complication of shingles that manifests as prolonged excruciating pain, which has proven difficult to treat. The formation of fused multinucleated cells in ganglia might be associated with this condition. An effective vaccine against VZV is available but not recommended for immunocompromised individuals, highlighting the need for new therapies. This study investigated the viral and cellular responses to hyperfusion, a condition where the usual constraints of cell membranes are overcome and cells form multinucleated cells. This process hinders VZV and is regulated by a viral glycoprotein, gB. A combination of live-cell imaging and next-generation genomics revealed an alteration in viral and cellular responses during hyperfusion that was caused by the loss of gB regulation. These studies reveal mechanisms central to VZV pathogenesis, potentially leading to improved therapies.

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Structure-function analysis of varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein H identifies domain-specific roles for fusion and skin tropism.

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Structure-function analysis of varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein H identifies domain-specific roles for fusion and skin tropism.

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