噬菌体展示技术及其在肿瘤研究中的应用

噬菌体表面展示技术是一项特异性多肽或蛋白的筛选技术,它将随机序列的多肽或蛋白片段与噬菌体衣壳蛋白融合表达而呈现于病毒表面,被展示的多肽能保持相对独立的空间结构,使其能够与配体作用而达到模仿性筛选特异性分子表位,从而提供了高通量高效率的筛选系统。近年来噬菌体展示技术已广泛应用于肿瘤抗原抗体库的建立、单克隆抗体制备、多肽筛选、疫苗研制、肿瘤相关抗原筛选和抗原表位研究、药物设计、癌症检测和诊断、基因治疗及细胞信号转导研究等。就近年来噬菌体展示技术在肿瘤相关研究中的运用作以综述。     

噬菌体肽库筛选抗人B7-H4中和抗体的模拟抗原表位及其免疫原性鉴定

目的:用噬菌体呈现随机12肽库筛选能与抗人B7-H4(h B7-H4)中和抗体特异性结合的模拟抗原表位肽,并用其免疫小鼠检测其免疫原性。方法:以抗h B7-H4中和抗体为靶分子,用体外生物淘洗法从噬菌体呈现随机12肽库中筛选与之结合的噬菌体克隆,用竞争性细胞ELISA鉴定阳性噬菌体克隆;化学合成候选多肽,并与钥孔血蓝蛋白或破伤风毒素偶联鉴定多肽的特异性;进一步用融合蛋白免疫小鼠检测其免疫原性和抗血清的补体依赖的细胞杀伤活性(CDC)。结果:经过3轮体外筛选后随机挑取50个阳性噬菌体克隆,其中20个克隆与抗h B7-H4抗体有较强的结合能力,DNA测序得到6组结构相似的肽序列;竞争性ELISA结果显示1号肽噬菌体能与细胞表面的h B7-H4竞争性地结合抗h B7-H4单抗;点杂交结果显示1号肽能特异性结合抗h B7-H4单抗;小鼠免疫实验结果显示1号肽融合蛋白能诱导高滴度的抗h B7-H4抗血清,并且抗血清具有补体依赖的细胞杀伤活性。结论:筛选得到能与抗h B7-H4中和抗体特异性结合的12肽模拟抗原表位序列并且具有免疫原性,为进一步开发h B7-H4相关的多肽疫苗提供了实验依据。     

HER2胞外区基因的克隆及其在大肠杆菌中的可溶性表达

采用反转录PCR和PCR方法分别克隆P185^HER2/neu胞外区基因和噬菌体M13K07g3p—N1结构域基因,然后将二偶联入pET-22b( )载体中,在大肠杆菌中进行融合表达。可溶性目的蛋白表达量占细菌可溶性表达产物总量的30％72右．并通过镍亲和层析纯化出目的蛋白。以上结果为从噬菌体抗体库中筛选抗P185^HER2/neu的抗体奠定了基础。     

利用噬菌体展示技术筛选草鱼呼肠孤病毒VP39蛋白相互作用多肽

VP39是草鱼呼肠孤Ⅲ型病毒(GCRV GenotypeⅢ, GCRV-Ⅲ)S9基因编码的蛋白,为研究VP39蛋白在GCRV-Ⅲ感染草鱼细胞过程中行使的生物学功能,将克隆VP39基因序列并构建原核表达载体pET32a-VP39,通过原核表达得到VP39-HIS融合蛋白;利用VP39蛋白溶液免疫小鼠,制备鼠抗VP39多克隆抗体,通过Western Blot对抗体进行评估;利用制备的多克隆抗体探究GCRV-Ⅲ感染细胞过程中VP39蛋白表达动力学;利用噬菌体展示技术筛选与VP39蛋白特异性结合的多肽序列并进行分析。SDS-PAGE电泳结果显示, VP39-HIS融合蛋白可良好溶于PBS中,蛋白大小约为39 kD; Western Blot检测表明实验所制备的VP39多克隆抗体在1:10000稀释比例下,既能识别原核表达的VP39-HIS融合蛋白,也能识别GCRV-Ⅲ感染CIK细胞后表达的VP39蛋白,具有良好的效价与特异性;在病毒侵染过程中, VP39前期表达量较少,在中后期大量表达;噬菌体展示技术筛选出两条多肽与VP39蛋白有高度亲和性,经过在NCBI上比对后发现草鱼基因组中有7个基因与筛...     

表位九肽库的构建及人Ⅳ型胶原酶特异结合肽的筛选

将人工合成的编码九肽的随机序列DNA片段克隆进丝状噬菌体表达载体FUSE5,经多次电击转化和表达,获得肽段与噬菌体pⅢ蛋白融合并展示在噬菌体表面的随机序列九肽表位肽库。库容量达10 10个克隆。以Ⅳ型胶原酶为靶蛋白,采用亲和纯化筛选模式,从中筛选出Ⅳ型胶原酶结合肽。进一步ELISA检测筛选出与Ⅳ型胶原酶特异结合的20个阳性克隆。序列分析发现一组肽含有WDXXD的共同序列,一组含有WVGXXR的共同序列。其中WDXXD的序列与Ⅳ型胶原酶单链抗体可变区序列同源。结果表明,多肽库是筛选蛋白特异结合肽的有力工具,表位九肽库的构建和筛选方法的建立为进一步应用筛选具有高亲和力的特异结合肽奠定了基础。     

具有高亲和力和稳定性的人源性抗PD-L1二硫键稳定Diabody的制备

目的：对天然噬菌体抗体库进行筛选并对抗体进行体外亲和力成熟,获得高亲和力人源性抗PD-L1抗体,然后对该抗体进行二硫键稳定改造,获得具有高亲和力和稳定性的人源性抗PD-L1的二硫键稳定Diabody。方法：首先以PD-L1重组蛋白为抗原在天然噬菌体Fab抗体库中筛选Fab抗体,其次分析结合能力较好的抗PD-L1的Fab抗体可变区基因中的热点,通过对轻链、重链CDR3区的7处热点随机突变构建噬菌体抗体突变库,从中筛选出亲和力得到提高的抗体。最后在抗体骨架区引入两个二硫键,构建二硫键稳定的抗PD-L1的ds-Diabody,并在毕赤酵母GS115中进行表达。结果：该方法筛选获得了6株特异性抗PD-L1噬菌体Fab抗体,对结合能力较好的其中一株抗体CDR3区的热点进行随机突变,成功构建库容为1.14×10⁸ CFU/mL的噬菌体抗体突变库,并从中筛选出亲和力提高约6倍的噬菌体抗体突变株。对该抗体骨架区进行二硫键引入,成功构建与表达二硫键稳定的ds-Diabody。结论：构建的ds-Diabody比Fab抗体与PD-L1结合亲和力高、稳定性好,为药物开发、肿瘤治疗等研究P...     

构建噬菌体展示的β转角多肽文库

可以形成I型 β转角构象的多肽CX2 GPX4 C融合表达于丝状噬菌体fd的次要衣壳蛋白 g3p的N端 ,从而展示在噬菌体的表面。构建的多肽文库容量达到 1.0 4× 10 8个。随机挑取了 19个克隆 ,序列分析表明 ,核苷酸和氨基酸的分布与预期的基本一致。19个多肽的疏水性和等电点的综合指标分布广泛。以单克隆抗体 12CA5为靶分子 ,经过 3轮筛选 ,出现明显富集。噬菌体酶联免疫吸附法 (ELISA)以及竞争性ELISA的结果表明 ,从第 3轮洗脱液中随机挑选的 15个噬菌体克隆都能结合于抗体的抗原结合位点。破坏多肽的构象 ,这种结合将丧失     

质粒研究与载体构建

922767用于抗体筛选的农面表达载体〔英〕/Breitling,F.…/Gene。一1901,104(2),一i‘7~153仁译自DBA,1092,11(3),92一012凌03 构建了一种新载体(质粒噬菌体pSEX),它表达与大肠杆菌噬菌体基因一皿蛋白融合的单链抗体(Ab)。通过此载体可用少量抗原从大基因库中筛选出专性Abs。在无1 PTG存在下通过野生型一21一噬菌体在大肠杆菌JM101里诱导产生了抗溶菌酶Ab一plll融合蛋白。利用针对重链和轻链间衔接序列的表位的单克隆Ab,以及N一末端序列的抗血清 鉴定了这种融合蛋白。此融合蛋白能与上述抗原结 合,组合到侵染性质粒噬菌体粒子里(能…     

噬菌体展示文库筛选技术的研究进展

噬菌体展示技术是将编码外源蛋白或多肽的基因片段定向插入到噬菌体的外壳蛋白基因区,使外源蛋白或多肽通过与噬菌体外壳蛋白融合而表达并展示于噬菌体表面,进而筛选表达特异蛋白或多肽的噬菌体,已发展成为生物学后基因组时代一个强有力的实验技术.噬菌体展示文库的筛选是其关键环节.为了提高筛选效率,许多研究者对传统的筛选技术进行了改进,如选择性感染噬菌体、迟延感染性噬菌体、以DNA为基础的筛选方法、亲合力捕获和反复筛选和封闭筛选法等,用于筛选的靶标也越来越具有多样性,使得这一技术有了更加广阔的发展前景.     

T4噬菌体表面展示技术的研究进展

噬菌体表面展示技术(phage display)是由Smith于1985年首先建立起来的一种新的生物技术[1],它能将表达的外源多肽或蛋白以融合蛋白的形式展示在噬菌体的表面,保持相对独立的空间构象和原有的生物活性[2].常用的噬菌体表面展示系统主要有丝状噬菌体、λ噬菌体及T4噬菌体展示系统等.虽然它们都具有噬菌体展示系统的优点,但对于丝状噬菌体来说,它不能展示那些难以分泌的肽和蛋白质,而且它的N端可融合外源多肽的容量有限,较大蛋白的融合会造成空间障碍,影响噬菌体的装配,使其失去感染力.而对于λ噬菌体,大分子蛋白的融合会抑制噬菌体的组装,使其生长受到影响,因此这两种噬菌体更适用于构建短肽库和cDNA表达文库[3],而不适于构建重组疫苗和表达分子量大具有完整结构域的蛋白质[4,5].     

The paramyxovirus fusion protein forms an extremely stable core trimer: structural parallels to influenza virus haemagglutinin and HIV-1 gp41.

The paramyxovirus fusion (F) protein mediates membrane fusion. The biologically active F protein consists of a membrane distal subunit F2 and a membrane anchored subunit F1. A highly stable structure has been identified comprised of peptides derived from the simian virus 5 (SV5) F1 heptad repeat A, which abuts the hydrophobic fusion peptide (peptide N-1), and the SV5 F1 heptad repeat B, located 270 residues downstream and adjacent to the transmembrane domain (peptides C-1 and C-2). In isolation, peptide N-1 is 47% alpha-helical and peptide C-1 and C-2 are unfolded. When mixed together, peptides N1 + C1 form a thermostable (Tm > 90 degrees C), 82% alpha-helical, discrete trimer of heterodimers (mass 31,300 M(r)) that is resistant to denaturation by 2% SDS at 40 degrees C. The authors suggest that this alpha-helical trimeric complex represents the core most stable form of the F protein that is either fusion competent or forms after fusion has occurred. Peptide C-1 is a potent inhibitor of both the lipid mixing and aqueous content mixing fusion activity of the SV5 F protein. In contrast, peptide N-1 inhibits cytoplasmic content mixing but not lipid mixing, leading to a stable hemifusion state. Thus, these peptides define functionally different steps in the fusion process. The parallels among both the fusion processes and the protein structures of paramyxovirus F proteins, HIV gp41 and influenza virus haemagglutinin are discussed, as the analogies are indicative of a conserved paradigm for fusion promotion among fusion proteins from widely disparate viruses.     

Sendai virus internal fusion peptide: structural and functional characterization and a plausible mode of viral entry inhibition

Viral glycoproteins catalyze the fusion between viral and cellular membranes. The fusion protein (F(1)) of Sendai virus has two fusion peptides. One is located at its N-terminus and the other, highly homologous to the HIV-1 and RSV fusion peptides, in the interior of the F(1) protein. A synthetic peptide corresponding to the internal fusogenic domain, namely, SV-201, was found to inhibit virus-cell fusion without interfering with the binding of the virus to the target cells, thus highlighting the importance of this region in Sendai virus-induced membrane fusion. However, its detailed mechanism of inhibition remains unknown. Here, we synthesized a shorter version of SV-201, namely, SV-208, an elongated one, SV-197, and two mutants of SV-201, and compared them functionally and structurally with SV-201. In contrast to SV-201, SV-208 and the two mutants do not inhibit virus-cell fusion. The differences in the oligomerization state of these peptides in aqueous solution and within the membrane, and in their ability to bind to Sendai virions, enabled us to postulate a possible mechanism of viral entry inhibition: SV-201 binds to its target in Sendai virions before the F(1) internal fusion peptide binds to the membrane, therefore blocking the F(1) conformational change required for fusion. In addition, we further characterized the fusogenic activity of the internal fusion peptide, compared to the N-terminal one, and determined its structure in the membrane-bound state by means of fluorescence, CD, and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Remarkably, we found that SV-201 and its elongated form, SV-197, are highly potent in inducing fusion of the highly stable large unilamellar vesicles composed of egg phosphatidylcholine, a property found only in an extended version of the HIV-1 fusion peptide. The inhibitory activity of SV-201 and its fusogenic ability are discussed in terms of the "umbrella" model of Sendai virus-induced membrane fusion.     

Paramyxovirus F1 protein has two fusion peptides: implications for the mechanism of membrane fusion

Viral fusion proteins contain a highly hydrophobic segment, named the fusion peptide, which is thought to be responsible for the merging of the cellular and viral membranes. Paramyxoviruses are believed to contain a single fusion peptide at the N terminus of the F1 protein. However, here we identified an additional internal segment in the Sendai virus F1 protein (amino acids 214-226) highly homologous to the fusion peptides of HIV-1 and RSV. A synthetic peptide, which includes this region, was found to induce membrane fusion of large unilamellar vesicles, at concentrations where the known N-terminal fusion peptide is not effective. A scrambled peptide as well as several peptides from other regions of the F1 protein, which strongly bind to membranes, are not fusogenic. The functional and structural characterization of this active segment suggest that the F1 protein has an additional internal fusion peptide that could participate in the actual fusion event. The presence of homologous regions in other members of the same family suggests that the concerted action of two fusion peptides, one N-terminal and the other internal, is a general feature of paramyxoviruses.     

Properties and structures of the influenza and HIV fusion peptides on lipid membranes: implications for a role in fusion

The fusion peptides of HIV and influenza virus are crucial for viral entry into a host cell. We report the membrane-perturbing and structural properties of fusion peptides from the HA fusion protein of influenza virus and the gp41 fusion protein of HIV. Our goals were to determine: 1), how fusion peptides alter structure within the bilayers of fusogenic and nonfusogenic lipid vesicles and 2), how fusion peptide structure is related to the ability to promote fusion. Fluorescent probes revealed that neither peptide had a significant effect on bilayer packing at the water-membrane interface, but both increased acyl chain order in both fusogenic and nonfusogenic vesicles. Both also reduced free volume within the bilayer as indicated by partitioning of a lipophilic fluorophore into membranes. These membrane ordering effects were smaller for the gp41 peptide than for the HA peptide at low peptide/lipid ratio, suggesting that the two peptides assume different structures on membranes. The influenza peptide was predominantly helical, and the gp41 peptide was predominantly antiparallel beta-sheet when membrane bound, however, the depths of penetration of Trps of both peptides into neutral membranes were similar and independent of membrane composition. We previously demonstrated: 1), the abilities of both peptides to promote fusion but not initial intermediate formation during PEG-mediated fusion and 2), the ability of hexadecane to compete with this effect of the fusion peptides. Taken together, our current and past results suggest a hypothesis for a common mechanism by which these two viral fusion peptides promote fusion.     

Structural and functional properties of an unusual internal fusion peptide in a nonenveloped virus membrane fusion protein

The avian and Nelson Bay reoviruses are two of only a limited number of nonenveloped viruses capable of inducing cell-cell membrane fusion. These viruses encode the smallest known membrane fusion proteins (p10). We now show that a region of moderate hydrophobicity we call the hydrophobic patch (HP), present in the small N-terminal ectodomain of p10, shares the following characteristics with the fusion peptides of enveloped virus fusion proteins: (i) an abundance of glycine and alanine residues, (ii) a potential amphipathic secondary structure, (iii) membrane-seeking characteristics that correspond to the degree of hydrophobicity, and (iv) the ability to induce lipid mixing in a liposome fusion assay. The p10 HP is therefore predicted to provide a function in the mechanism of membrane fusion similar to those of the fusion peptides of enveloped virus fusion peptides, namely, association with and destabilization of opposing lipid bilayers. Mutational and biophysical analysis suggested that the internal fusion peptide of p10 lacks alpha-helical content and exists as a disulfide-stabilized loop structure. Similar kinked structures have been reported in the fusion peptides of several enveloped virus fusion proteins. The preservation of a predicted loop structure in the fusion peptide of this unusual nonenveloped virus membrane fusion protein supports an imperative role for a kinked fusion peptide motif in biological membrane fusion.     

Prediction of arenavirus fusion peptides on the basis of computer analysis of envelope protein sequences

Theoretical search and selection criteria for putative fusion peptides of enveloped viruses are proposed. Arenavirus fusion peptides are predicted on the basis of computer-assisted analysis of amino acid sequences of arenavirus envelope proteins and elements of their secondary and tertiary structure. Accordingly, two regions of GP2 surface protein from 5 viruses of Arenaviridae family have been detected with properties typical of fusion peptides of other enveloped viruses. One region, named peptide IV, located at the N-terminus of the GP2 protein, is followed by the other region or peptide V, more likely candidate for the arenavirus fusion peptide.     

Identification and characterization of the putative fusion peptide of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus spike protein

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a newly identified member of the family Coronaviridae and poses a serious public health threat. Recent studies indicated that the SARS-CoV viral spike glycoprotein is a class I viral fusion protein. A fusion peptide present at the N-terminal region of class I viral fusion proteins is believed to initiate viral and cell membrane interactions and subsequent fusion. Although the SARS-CoV fusion protein heptad repeats have been well characterized, the fusion peptide has yet to be identified. Based on the conserved features of known viral fusion peptides and using Wimley and White interfacial hydrophobicity plots, we have identified two putative fusion peptides (SARS(WW-I) and SARS(WW-II)) at the N terminus of the SARS-CoV S2 subunit. Both peptides are hydrophobic and rich in alanine, glycine, and/or phenylalanine residues and contain a canonical fusion tripeptide along with a central proline residue. Only the SARS(WW-I) peptide strongly partitioned into the membranes of large unilamellar vesicles (LUV), adopting a beta-sheet structure. Likewise, only SARS(WW-I) induced the fusion of LUV and caused membrane leakage of vesicle contents at peptide/lipid ratios of 1:50 and 1:100, respectively. The activity of this synthetic peptide appeared to be dependent on its amino acid (aa) sequence, as scrambling the peptide rendered it unable to partition into LUV, assume a defined secondary structure, or induce both fusion and leakage of LUV. Based on the activity of SARS(WW-I), we propose that the hydrophobic stretch of 19 aa corresponding to residues 770 to 788 is a fusion peptide of the SARS-CoV S2 subunit.     

Characterization of a Highly Conserved Domain within the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Spike Protein S2 Domain with Characteristics of a Viral Fusion Peptide

Many viral fusion proteins are primed by proteolytic cleavage near their fusion peptides. While the coronavirus (CoV) spike (S) protein is known to be cleaved at the S1/S2 boundary, this cleavage site is not closely linked to a fusion peptide. However, a second cleavage site has been identified in the severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV) S2 domain (R797). Here, we investigated whether this internal cleavage of S2 exposes a viral fusion peptide. We show that the residues immediately C-terminal to the SARS-CoV S2 cleavage site SFIEDLLFNKVTLADAGF are very highly conserved across all CoVs. Mutagenesis studies of these residues in SARS-CoV S, followed by cell-cell fusion and pseudotyped virion infectivity assays, showed a critical role for residues L803, L804, and F805 in membrane fusion. Mutation of the most N-terminal residue (S798) had little or no effect on membrane fusion. Biochemical analyses of synthetic peptides corresponding to the proposed S2 fusion peptide also showed an important role for this region in membrane fusion and indicated the presence of α-helical structure. We propose that proteolytic cleavage within S2 exposes a novel internal fusion peptide for SARS-CoV S, which may be conserved across the Coronaviridae.The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in 2003 as a significant threat to human health, and CoVs still represent a leading source of novel viruses for emergence into the human population. The CoV spike (S) protein mediates both receptor binding (via the S1 domain) and membrane fusion (via the S2 domain) and shows many features of a class I fusion protein, including the presence of distinct heptad repeats within the fusion domain (37). A critical feature of any viral fusion protein is the so-called “fusion peptide,” which is a relatively apolar region of 15 to 25 amino acids that interacts with membranes and drives the fusion reaction (9, 34, 38). Fusion peptides can be classified as N-terminal or internal, depending on their location relative to the cleavage site of the virus fusion protein (23). One key feature of viral fusion peptides is that within a particular virus family, there is high conservation of amino acid residues; however, there is little similarity between fusion peptides of different virus families (26). Despite these differences, some common themes do emerge, including a high level of glycine and/or alanine residues, as well as critical bulky hydrophobic amino acids. In several cases, the fusion peptide is known to contain a central “kink.” In the case of influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA), which is a classic example of an N-terminal fusion peptide, the N- and C-terminal parts of the fusion peptide (which are α-helical) penetrate the outer leaflet of the target membrane, with the kink at the phospholipid surface. The inside of the kink contains hydrophobic amino acids, with charged residues on the outer face (18). Internal fusion peptides (such as Ebola virus [EBOV] GP) often contain a conserved proline near their centers but also require a mixture of hydrophobic and flexible residues similar to N-terminal fusion peptides (9, 11). It is believed that the kinked fusion peptide sits in the outer leaflet of the target membrane and possibly induces positive curvature to drive the fusion reaction (22). It is important to note that, despite the presence of key hydrophobic residues, viral fusion peptides often do not display extensive stretches of hydrophobicity and can contain one or more charged residues (8). Ultimately, fusion peptide identification must rely on an often complex set of criteria, including structures of the fusion protein in different conformations, biophysical measurements of peptide function in model membranes, and biological activity in the context of virus particles.To date, the exact location and sequence of the CoV fusion peptide are not known (4); however, by analogy with other class I viral fusion proteins, it is predicted to be in the S2 domain. Overall, three membranotropic regions in SARS-CoV S2 have been suggested as potential fusion peptides (14, 17). Based on sequence analysis and a hydrophobicity analysis of the S protein using the Wimley-White (WW) interfacial hydrophobic interface scale, initial indications were that the SARS-CoV fusion peptide resided in the N-terminal part of HR1 (heptad repeat 1) (5, 6), which is conserved across the Coronaviridae. Mutagenesis of this predicted fusion peptide inhibited fusion in syncytia assays of S-expressing cells (28). This region of SARS-CoV has also been analyzed by other groups in biochemical assays (16, 17, 29) and defined as the WW II region although Sainz et al. (29) actually identified another, less conserved and less hydrophobic, region (WW I) as being more important for fusion. Peptides corresponding to this region have also been studied in biochemical assays by other groups (13). In addition, a third, aromatic region adjacent to the transmembrane domain (the membrane-proximal domain) has been shown to be important in SARS-CoV fusion (15, 20, 25, 30). This membrane-proximal domain likely acts in concert with a fusion peptide in the S2 ectodomain to mediate final bilayer fusion once conformational changes have exposed the fusion peptide in the ectodomain. To date, there is little or no information on the fusion peptides of CoVs other than SARS-CoV, except for the identification of the N-terminal part of the mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) S HR1 domain as a putative fusion peptide based on sequence analysis (6). In none of these cases (for SARS-CoV or MHV) is the role of these sequences as bone fide fusion peptides established.The majority of class I fusion proteins prime fusion activation by proteolytic processing, with the cleavage event occurring immediately N-terminal to the fusion peptide (21). In the case of SARS-CoV, early reports analyzing heterologously expressed SARS-CoV spike protein indicated that most of the protein was not cleaved (31, 39) but that there was some possibility of limited cleavage at the S1-S2 boundary (39). However, it is generally considered that S1-S2 cleavage is not directly linked to fusion peptide exposure in the case of SARS-CoV or any other CoV (4). Recently, however, it has been shown that SARS-CoV S can be proteolytically cleaved at a downstream position in S2, at residue 797 (2, 36). Here, we investigated whether cleavage at this internal position in S2 might expose a domain with properties of a viral fusion peptide. We carried out a mutagenesis study of SARS-CoV S residues 798 to 815 using cell-cell fusion and pseudovirus assays, as well as lipid mixing and structural studies of an isolated peptide, and we show the importance of this region as a novel fusion peptide for SARS-CoV.     

Sly1 binds to Golgi and ER syntaxins via a conserved N-terminal peptide motif

Sec1/munc18-like proteins (SM proteins) and SNARE complexes are probably universally required for membrane fusion. However, the molecular mechanism by which they interact has only been defined for synaptic vesicle fusion where munc18 binds to syntaxin in a closed conformation that is incompatible with SNARE complex assembly. We now show that Sly1, an SM protein involved in Golgi and ER fusion, binds to a short, evolutionarily conserved N-terminal peptide of Sed5p and Ufe1p in yeast and of syntaxins 5 and 18 in vertebrates. In these syntaxins, the Sly1 binding peptide is upstream of a separate, autonomously folded N-terminal domain. These data suggest a potentially general mechanism by which SM proteins could interact with peptides in target proteins independent of core complex assembly and suggest that munc18 binding to syntaxin is an exception.