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Cryo-EM structures of human hepatitis B and woodchuck hepatitis virus small spherical subviral particles.

ABSTRACT: The loss of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is considered a functional cure in chronic hepatitis B. Naturally, HBsAg can be incorporated into the virion envelope or assembled into subviral particles (SVPs) with lipid from host cells. Until now, there has been no detailed structure of HBsAg, and the published SVP structures are controversial. Here, we report the first subnanometer-resolution structures of spherical SVP from hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the related woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) determined by cryo-electron microscopy in combination with AlphaFold2 prediction. Both structures showed unique rhombicuboctahedral symmetry with 24 protruding spikes comprising dimer of small HBsAg with four helical domains. The lipid moiety in the SVP is organized in a noncanonical lipid patch instead of a lipid bilayer, which can accommodate the exposed hydrophobic surface and modulate particle stability. Together, these findings advance our knowledge of viral membrane organization and the structures of HBV and WHV spherical SVPs.

SUBMITTER: Liu H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9355357 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cryo-EM structures of human hepatitis B and woodchuck hepatitis virus small spherical subviral particles.

Liu Haitao H Hong Xupeng X Xi Ji J Menne Stephan S Hu Jianming J Wang Joseph Che-Yen JC

Science advances 20220805 31

The loss of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is considered a functional cure in chronic hepatitis B. Naturally, HBsAg can be incorporated into the virion envelope or assembled into subviral particles (SVPs) with lipid from host cells. Until now, there has been no detailed structure of HBsAg, and the published SVP structures are controversial. Here, we report the first subnanometer-resolution structures of spherical SVP from hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the related woodchuck hepatiti ...[more]

PMID: 35930632

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Project description:Type II topoisomerases ubiquitously exist in cellular organisms, where they play an essential role in resolving the topological problems of DNA. The viral type II topoisomerase encoded by the African swine fever virus (ASFV) is critical for viral replication and infection, thus representing an attractive target for antiviral drug development. Here we report two cryo-EM structures of ASFV topoisomerase P1192R in distinct conformations at an overall resolution of 3.16 Å and 3.13 Å, respectively. P1192R assembles as a homodimer with the C-gate formed by the coiled-coil domain adopting a closed or open conformation before reaction, providing the first visual evidence for the dynamic motions of the C-gate of type II topoisomerase. Comparative structural comparisons of eukaryotic homologs and P1192R reveal the unique structural features of P1192R, including the active site configuration, a flexible loop in the TOPRIM domain, an additionally inserted α-helix in the tower domain, and a pin-like structure in the C-terminal coiled-coil domain, which are important for enzyme activity and protein folding. These findings provide important insights into the structure and function of viral topoisomerases and may guide the efficient development of anti-ASFV drugs. Moreover, our study also offers structural evidence to support the scenario of the viral origin of eukaryotic type IIA topoisomerases. IMPORTANCE African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious virus that causes lethal hemorrhagic diseases known as African swine fever (ASF) with a case fatality rate of 100%. There is an urgent need to develop anti-ASFV drugs. We determine the first high-resolution structures of viral topoisomerase ASFV P1192R in both the closed and open C-gate forms. P1192R shows a similar overall architecture with eukaryotic and prokaryotic type II topoisomerases, which have been successful targets of many antimicrobials and anticancer drugs, with the most similarity to yeast topo II. P1192R also exhibits differences in the details of active site configuration, which are important to enzyme activity. These two structures offer useful structural information for antiviral drug design and provide structural evidence to support that eukaryotic type IIA topoisomerase likely originated from horizontal gene transfer from the virus.

Project description:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) small (S) envelope protein has the intrinsic ability to direct the formation of small spherical subviral particles (SVPs) in eukaryotic cells. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the morphogenesis of SVPs from the monomeric S protein initially synthesized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane remains largely elusive. Structure prediction and extensive mutagenesis analysis suggested that the amino acid residues spanning W156 to R169 of S protein form an amphipathic alpha helix and play essential roles in SVP production and S protein metabolic stability. Further biochemical analyses showed that the putative amphipathic alpha helix was not required for the disulfide-linked S protein oligomerization, but was essential for SVP morphogenesis. Pharmacological disruption of vesicle trafficking between the ER and Golgi complex in SVP producing cells supported the hypothesis that S protein-directed SVP morphogenesis takes place at the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC). Moreover, it was demonstrated that S protein is degraded in hepatocytes via a 20S proteasome-dependent, but ubiquitination-independent non-classic ER-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway. Taken together, the results reported herein favor a model in which the amphipathic alpha helix at the antigenic loop of S protein attaches to the lumen leaflet to facilitate SVP budding from the ERGIC compartment, whereas the failure of budding process may result in S protein degradation by 20S proteasome in an ubiquitination-independent manner.Importance Subviral particles are the predominant viral product produced by HBV-infected hepatocytes. Their levels exceed the virion particles by 10,000 to 100,000-fold in the blood of HBV infected individuals. The high levels of SVPs, or HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), in the circulation induces immune tolerance and contributes to the establishment of persistent HBV infection. The loss of HBsAg, often accompanied by appearance of anti-HBs antibodies, is the hallmark of durable immune control of HBV infection. Therapeutic induction of HBsAg loss is, therefore, considered to be essential for the restoration of host antiviral immune response and functional cure of chronic hepatitis B. Our findings on the mechanism of SVP morphogenesis and S protein metabolism will facilitate the rational discovery and development of antiviral drugs to achieve this therapeutic goal.

Dataset Information

Cryo-EM structures of human hepatitis B and woodchuck hepatitis virus small spherical subviral particles.

Publications

Cryo-EM structures of human hepatitis B and woodchuck hepatitis virus small spherical subviral particles.

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