Crystal structure of the low-pH form of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein G

The vesicular stomatitis virus has an atypical membrane fusion glycoprotein (G) exhibiting a pH-dependent equilibrium between two forms at the virus surface. Membrane fusion is triggered during the transition from the high- to low-pH form. The structure of G in its low-pH form shows the classic hairpin conformation observed in all other fusion proteins in their postfusion conformation, in spite of a novel fold combining features of fusion proteins from classes I and II. The structure provides a framework for understanding the reversibility of the G conformational change. Unexpectedly, G is homologous to gB of herpesviruses, which raises important questions on viral evolution.     

A cell line expressing vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein fuses at low pH

A stable cell line expressing a complementary DNA clone encoding the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein fused and formed polykaryons at pH 5.5. The formation of polykaryons was dependent on the presence of glycoprotein anchored at the cell surface and could be prevented by incubation of cells with a monoclonal antibody to the glycoprotein. Fusion occurred at a pH 0.5 unit lower than that observed for cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus.     

重组甲基转移酶致弱水疱性口炎病毒的致病性与免疫原性

为了研究有效的水疱性口炎病毒疫苗,控制水疱性口炎疾病的蔓延,用甲基化能力致弱的重组水疱性口炎病毒VSV-E1764A,VSV-S1827A,VSV-Y1650A和VSV-F1691A作为疫苗,通过口腔灌服途径将1×106 PFU的重组病毒接种5周龄BALB/c小鼠,研究以上重组病毒的致病性和免疫原性.结果表明:重组病毒VSV-S1827A,VSV-Y1650A和VSV-F1691A对小鼠的致病性减弱,而VSV-E1764A仍然具有较强的致病性;免疫后的小鼠用野生型水疱性口炎病毒(VSV)进行攻毒,发现VSV-S1827A和VSV-Y1650A能够诱导高水平的中和抗体,从而保护小鼠免于攻击.总之,甲基化酶致弱的水疱性口炎病毒VSV-S1827A和VSV-Y1650A不仅对动物的致病性减弱,而且表现出良好的免疫原性;因此,甲基化酶致弱的水疱性口炎病毒可能成为有良好开发前景的活疫苗.     

水疱性口炎病毒N基因原核表达载体的构建及表达

针对水疱性口炎病毒(VSV)N基因设计特异性引物,在引物中分别加入EcoR 和Xho 酶切位点。RT-PCR扩增后得到目的基因,将其克隆到表达载体pET30c,连接产物转化于DH5α菌株,在含Kan+的平板上37℃培养24h,然后挑取白色菌落,鉴定为阳性者,转化于BL21菌株,再经异丙基硫代-β-D-半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导获得高效表达。表达融合蛋白分子质量为53ku(目的蛋白大约47ku),同预期蛋白大小相近。Westernblot检测表明,其能与本病毒阳性血清发生特异性反应,表达蛋白有望成为有价值的VSV诊断抗原。     

水泡性口炎病毒核蛋白基因在大肠杆菌中的表达和鉴定

根据已经发表的IN型水泡性口炎病毒(VSV)核蛋白(N)基因的序列设计1对特异引物,应用RT-PCR技术扩增编码IN VSV的N基因,将PCR产物按相应的阅读框架克隆到表达载体pET-32a。并将重组质粒转化入大肠杆菌 BL21株,以1．0 mmol·L-1 IPTG在37℃的条件下诱导,N基因得到了高效表达。经过聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳以及用 VSV阳性血清进行Western blotting试验,结果表明所表达的融合蛋白产物分子质量与预期的65．3 ku相符。     

Homologous viral interference: induction by RNA from defective particles of vesicular stomatitis virus

The viral RNA isolated from the defective particles of vesicular stomatitis virus was capable of interfering with the replication of this virus in chick embryo cells. The data indicate that the interfering ability of the defective particles of this virus is due to their nucleic acid component.     

Identity of HeLa cell determinants acquired by vesicular stomatitis virus with a tumor antigen

Growth of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in HeLa cells results in progeny containing non-VSV antigens with a molecular weight around 75,000. The non-VSV antigens were detected by antiserums to HeLa cell determinants. These antiserums precipitate whole virions but do not neutralize them. Because one of the antiserums is directed to a tumor-specific surface antigen of HeLa cells, it appears that VSV specifically acquires such antigens during its passage through human tumor cells.     

Transmission of vesicular stomatitis virus from infected to noninfected black flies co-feeding on nonviremic deer mice

Vesicular stomatitis is an economically important arboviral disease of livestock. Viremia is absent in infected mammalian hosts, and the mechanism by which insects become infected with the causative agents, vesicular stomatitis viruses, remains unknown. Because infected and noninfected insects potentially feed on the same host in nature, infected and noninfected black flies were allowed to feed on the same host. Viremia was not detected in the host after infection by a black fly bite, but because noninfected black flies acquired the virus while co-feeding on the same host with infected black flies, it is concluded that a viremic host is not necessary for an insect to be infected with the virus. Thus co-feeding is a mechanism of infection for an insect-transmitted virus.     

A G1 glycoprotein epitope of La Crosse virus: a determinant of infection of Aedes triseriatus

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have specific vector-vertebrate host cycles in nature. The molecular basis of restriction of virus replication to a very limited number of vector species is unknown, but the present study suggests that viral attachment proteins are important determinants of vector-virus interactions. The principal vector of La Crosse (LAC) virus is the mosquito Aedes triseriatus, and LAC virus efficiently infects the mosquito when ingested. However, a variant (V22) of LAC virus, which was selected by growing the virus in the presence of a monoclonal antibody, was markedly restricted in its ability to infect Ae. triseriatus when it was ingested. Only 15% of the mosquitoes that ingested V22 became infected and 5% of these developed disseminated infections. In contrast, 89% of the mosquitoes that ingested LAC became infected and 74% developed disseminated infections. When V22 was passed three times in mosquitoes by feeding, a revertant virus, V22M3, was obtained that infected 85% of Ae. triseriatus ingesting this virus. In addition, V22M3 regained the antigenic phenotype and fusion capability of the parent LAC virus. These results suggest that the specificity of LAC virus-vector interactions is markedly influenced by the efficiency of the fusion function of the G1 envelope glycoprotein operating at the midgut level in the arthropod vector.     

Endosomal proteolysis of the Ebola virus glycoprotein is necessary for infection

Ebola virus (EboV) causes rapidly fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and there is currently no effective treatment. We found that the infection of African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells by vesicular stomatitis viruses bearing the EboV glycoprotein (GP) requires the activity of endosomal cysteine proteases. Using selective protease inhibitors and protease-deficient cell lines, we identified an essential role for cathepsin B (CatB) and an accessory role for cathepsin L (CatL) in EboV GP-dependent entry. Biochemical studies demonstrate that CatB and CatL mediate entry by carrying out proteolysis of the EboV GP subunit GP1 and support a multistep mechanism that explains the relative contributions of these enzymes to infection. CatB and CatB/CatL inhibitors diminish the multiplication of infectious EboV-Zaire in cultured cells and may merit investigation as anti-EboV drugs.     

Functional regions of the envelope glycoprotein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1

The envelope of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) plays a central role in the process of virus entry into the host cell and in the cytopathicity of the virus for lymphocytes bearing the CD4 molecule. Mutations that affect the ability of the envelope glycoprotein to form syncytia in CD4+ cells can be divided into five groups: those that decrease the binding of the envelope protein to the CD4 molecule, those that prevent a post-binding fusion reaction, those that disrupt the anchorage of the envelope glycoprotein in the membrane, those that affect the association of the two subunits of the envelope glycoprotein, and those that affect post-translational proteolytic processing of the envelope precursor protein. These findings provide a functional model of the HIV envelope glycoprotein.     

Crystal structure of glycoprotein B from herpes simplex virus 1

Glycoprotein B (gB) is the most conserved component of the complex cell-entry machinery of herpes viruses. A crystal structure of the gB ectodomain from herpes simplex virus type 1 reveals a multidomain trimer with unexpected homology to glycoprotein G from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV G). An alpha-helical coiled-coil core relates gB to class I viral membrane fusion glycoproteins; two extended beta hairpins with hydrophobic tips, homologous to fusion peptides in VSV G, relate gB to class II fusion proteins. Members of both classes accomplish fusion through a large-scale conformational change, triggered by a signal from a receptor-binding component. The domain connectivity within a gB monomer would permit such a rearrangement, including long-range translocations linked to viral and cellular membranes.     

Sequence of the envelope glycoprotein gene of type II human T lymphotropic virus

The sequence of the envelope glycoprotein gene of type II human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is presented. The predicted amino acid sequence is similar to that of the corresponding protein of HTLV type I, in that the proteins share the same amino acids at 336 of 488 residues, and 68 of the 152 differences are of a conservative nature. The overall structural similarity of these proteins provides an explanation for the antigenic cross-reactivity observed among diverse members of the HTLV retrovirus family by procedures that assay for the viral envelope glycoprotein, for example, membrane immunofluorescence.     

满足ir(G)=ir_t(G)=1的图G的结构研究

讨论了全无赘数与无赘数都等于1的图的结构,并且初步得到满足ir(G)=ir_t(G)=1的图G的结构。     

广西流行狂犬病毒糖蛋白基因的遗传性分析

[目的]通过测定广西流行狂犬病毒糖蛋白(G)基因的全序列,了解广西狂犬病的流行趋势和遗传变异规律,为制定广西狂犬病的防控策略提供科学依据.[方法]2000年10月~2007年10月,从广西14个市采集1569份动物脑组织,经RT-PCR检测及小白鼠脑内接种试验分离狂犬病毒,然后对狂犬病毒G基因进行测序分析.[结果]从广西各地共分离获得26株狂犬病毒野毒株,其中犬23份,牛、猪、猫各1份.狂犬病毒G基因核苷酸全长2067 bp,开放阅读框1575bp,编码524个氨基酸.根据G基因核苷酸同源性及遗传进化树分析结果,可将广西流行的狂犬病毒株分成3个群,Ⅰ群15株,其核苷酸同源性为97.7%~99.9%; Ⅱ群10株,其核苷酸同源性为98.0%~99.9%; Ⅲ群只有1株.通过氨基酸变异分析,了解了26株野毒株G基因编码蛋白的氨基酸突变位点.[结论]广西存在3个群的狂犬病毒野毒株,且以Ⅰ群和Ⅱ群流行为主,3个群的氨基酸变异均呈现明显的特异性.