Structural basis for variation in adenovirus affinity for the cellular coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor

The majority of adenovirus serotypes can bind to the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) on human cells despite only limited conservation of the amino acid residues that comprise the receptor-binding sites of these viruses. Using a fluorescence anisotropy-based assay, we determined that the recombinant knob domain of the fiber protein from adenovirus serotype (Ad) 2 binds the soluble, N-terminal domain (domain 1 (D1)) of CAR with 8-fold greater affinity than does the recombinant knob domain from Ad12. Homology modeling predicted that the increased affinity of Ad2 knob for CAR D1 could result from additional contacts within the binding interface contributed by two residues, Ser408 and Tyr477, which are not conserved in the Ad12 knob. Consistent with this structural model, substitution of serine and tyrosine for the corresponding residues in the Ad12 knob (P417S and S489Y) increased the binding affinity by 4- and 8-fold, respectively, whereas the double mutation increased binding affinity 10-fold. X-ray structure analysis of Ad12 knob mutants P417S and S489Y indicated that both substituted residues potentially could form additional hydrogen bonds across the knob-CAR interface. Structural changes resulting from these mutations were highly localized, implying that the high tolerance for surface variation conferred by the stable knob scaffold can minimize the impact of antigenic drift on binding specificity and affinity during evolution of virus serotypes. Our results suggest that the interaction of knob domains from different adenovirus serotypes with CAR D1 can be accurately modeled using the Ad12 knob-CAR D1 crystal structure as a template.     

Structural polypeptides of adenovirus type 16 incomplete particles.

The polypeptides of adenovirus type 16 incomplete particles, with average buoyant densities of CsCl of 1.33, 1.318, 1.305, and 1.299 g/cm3 and DNA content of less than 1 U genome size, were compared with the polypeptides of the complete virion (density, 1.344 g/cm3, and 22 x 10(6) daltons of DNA) and late polypeptides in infected cells by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis. In agreement with other serotypes studied (types 2 and 3), the light particles lack polypeptides V, VI, and VII. In adenovirus type 16, eight other major polypeptides are found, with apparent molecular weights of 59,000 (59K), 46K, 31K, 30K, 28K, 27K, 26K, and 19K. The 30K to 31K and 27K to 28K polypeptides are phosphorylated. The 27K and 19K polypeptides are precursors, whereas the 31K, 30K, and 26K polypeptides are chase products in the cell, as are polypeptides VI, VII, and VIII. The 26K polypeptide is proposed to be an intermediate in processing since it disappears from the young virions upon chasing. Although chase products, the 31K and 30K polypeptides are only associated with particles having buoyant density lower than 1.318 g/cm3. Polypeptides V and VII are only present in particles containing more than one quarter of the genome. No trace of cell histones could be detected in the purified incomplete particles. A major constituent of the incomplete particles, the 46K polypeptide, was rapidly labeled in the cell, and loss of radioactivity from this band was detectable only after 7 to 18 h of chase.     

Initiation of adenovirus DNA replication. II. Structural requirements using synthetic oligonucleotide adenovirus templates

Adenovirus (Ad) virions contain a 55-kDa terminal protein covalently linked to both 5'-ends of the linear duplex DNA genome. The origin of DNA replication is contained within the terminal 50 base pair of the inverted terminal repeats. In the accompanying paper (Kenny, M. K., Balogh, L. A., and Hurwitz, J. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 9801-9808), it was demonstrated that synthetic oligonucleotide templates which contain the Ad origin, but lack the 55-kDa terminal protein, can serve as templates for the initiation of Ad DNA replication. Partially duplex oligonucleotides that lacked up to 14 nucleotides from the 5'-end of the nontemplate (displaced) strand supported initiation as much as 20-fold more efficiently than fully duplex oligonucleotides. The removal of 18 nucleotides or more from the 5'-end of the displaced strand resulted in a sharp decrease in the ability of the DNA templates to support initiation. The poor template efficiency of certain DNAs could be explained by their inability to bind nuclear factor I. The initiation efficiency observed with other DNAs correlated with their ability to bind the preterminal protein-Ad DNA polymerase complex. At low concentrations of the Ad DNA-binding protein, protein-primed initiation was also observed on single-stranded DNAs. The single-stranded template strand of the Ad origin was at least 5-20-fold better at supporting initiation than other single-stranded DNAs. These findings suggest a model in which the 3'-end of the template strand is rendered single-stranded as a prerequisite for initiation of Ad DNA replication.     

Structural proteins of adenovirus. Expression in Escherichia coli

The fiber proteins of adenovirus serotype 2 Ad2 and serotype 3 Ad3 and structural protein IIIa of wild type Ad2 and Ad2 ts 112 mutant were cloned and expressed in E. coli. For the expression of both fiber proteins a gene expression system based on bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase was used. The expressed proteins constituted 1-3% of total host cell protein. Both proteins were insoluble and inclusion bodies were observed. The proteins could be purified from cellular debris by extraction with 6 M urea followed by chromatography in the presence of diminishing concentration of urea. The folding of recombinant fiber proteins was assessed by sensitivity to proteases and gel filtration. Both proteins were synthetized as trimers. Ad2 recombinant fiber has a much less compact structure than native Ad2 fiber, since on gel filtration it is excluded before the native fiber. It is also much more sensitive to chymotrypsin digestion than the native protein. Contrary to that, Ad3 recombinant fiber is much less sensitive to proteolytic cleavage and on gel filtration has the same exclusion volume as the trimeric native fiber of Ad3.     

Physico-chemical and antigenic properties of adenovirus filaments

Hydrophobic interactions are shown to be predominant in stabilization of the quaternary structure of the adenovirus fiber and in preservation of its antigenic activity. The computer analysis has revealed at least five peptides with maximal hydrophilicity in the fiber protein composition. They may participate in the formation of antigenic determinants. The presence of type-specific, subgenus-specific, intersubgenus-specific and new genus-specific (common for both human and monkey Ad) antigenic determinants are determined in the composition of the Ad h1 fiber by the enzyme-immunoassay.     

Helix-destabilizing properties of the adenovirus DNA-binding protein.

The adenovirus DNA-binding protein (DBP) is a multifunctional protein that is essential for viral DNA replication. DBP binds both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA as well as RNA in a sequence-independent manner. Previous studies showed that DBP does not promote melting of duplex poly(dA-dT) in contrast to prokaryotic single-strand-binding proteins. However, here we show that DBP can displace oligonucleotides annealed to single-stranded M13 DNA. Depending upon the DBP concentration, strands of at least 200 nucleotides can be unwound. Although unwinding of short (17-bp), fully duplex DNA is facilitated by DBP, unwinding of larger (28-bp) duplexes is only possible if single-stranded protruding ends are present. These protruding ends must be at least 4 nucleotides long for optimal unwinding, and both 5' and 3' single-stranded overhangs suffice. DBP-promoted strand displacement is sensitive to MgCl2 and NaCl and not dependent upon ATP. Our results suggest that DBP, through formation of a protein chain on the displaced strand, may destabilize duplex DNA ahead of the replication fork, thereby assisting in strand displacement during replication.     

Comparative Phosphorescence Quenching of DNA's of Different Composition

Small amounts of paramagnetic cations quench the phosphorescence of DNA. Although the emission intensity is monotonic with increasing thymine content, the quenching efficiency is not. The cations quench from phosphate sites.     

Related satellite DNA's in the genus Mus

Several Thailand species from the genus Mus have been shown to contain satellite DNA's able to cross-reassociate with the Mus musculus satellite. One species, Mus caroli, contains at least three discrete but related light satellite DNA's. All the related Mus satellites band on the light side of the major band in neutral CsCl gradients, separate into complementary strands in alkaline CsCl gradients, and have a relatively low affinity for Ag⁺. Three of the Mus satellite DNA's have been purified: taken separately, they show very sharp thermal transitions and reassociate at similar rates to give well-matched duplexes.