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1.
Sheng Cao José O. Maldonado Iwen F. Grigsby Louis M. Mansky Wei Zhang 《Journal of virology》2015,89(4):2430-2435
The particle structure of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is poorly characterized. Here, we have used cryo-electron tomography to analyze HTLV-1 particle morphology. Particles produced from MT-2 cells were polymorphic, roughly spherical, and varied in size. Capsid cores, when present, were typically poorly defined polyhedral structures with at least one curved region contacting the inner face of the viral membrane. Most of the particles observed lacked a defined capsid core, which likely impacts HTLV-1 particle infectivity. 相似文献
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Erin E. H. Tran James A. Simmons Alberto Bartesaghi Charles J. Shoemaker Elizabeth Nelson Judith M. White Sriram Subramaniam 《Journal of virology》2014,88(18):10958-10962
The Ebola virus glycoprotein mucin-like domain (MLD) is implicated in Ebola virus cell entry and immune evasion. Using cryo-electron tomography of Ebola virus-like particles, we determined a three-dimensional structure for the full-length glycoprotein in a near-native state and compared it to that of a glycoprotein lacking the MLD. Our results, which show that the MLD is located at the apex and the sides of each glycoprotein monomer, provide a structural template for analysis of MLD function. 相似文献
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Takashi Irie Isao Okamoto Asuka Yoshida Yoshiyuki Nagai Takemasa Sakaguchi 《Journal of virology》2014,88(1):690-698
The order Mononegavirales comprises a large number of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses (NNSVs). How the genome polarity is determined is a central issue in RNA virus biology. Using a prototypic species, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), it has been established that the negative polarity of the viral genome is defined solely by different strengths of the cis-acting replication promoters located at the 3′ ends of the genome and antigenome, resulting in the predominance of the genome over the antigenome. This VSV paradigm has long been applied for the Mononegavirales in general without concrete proof. We now found that another prototypic species, Sendai virus (SeV), undergoes a marked shift from the early antigenome-dominant to the late genome-dominant phase during the course of infection. This shift appeared to be governed primarily by the expression of the accessory C protein, because no such shift occurred in a recombinant SeV with the C gene deleted, and antigenomes were dominant throughout infection, generating antigenome-dominant and noninfectious progeny virions. Therefore, we proposed for the first time a trans-regulatory mechanism, the SeV paradigm, to dictate the genome polarity of an NNSV. A series of promoter-swapped SeV recombinants suggested the importance of the primary as well as secondary structures of the promoters in this trans-regulation. 相似文献
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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a contagious human pathogen causing liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. An essential step during HBV replication is packaging of a pregenomic (pg) RNA within the capsid of core antigens (HBcAgs) that each contains a flexible C-terminal tail rich in arginine residues. Mutagenesis experiments suggest that pgRNA encapsidation hinges on its strong electrostatic interaction with oppositely charged C-terminal tails of the HBcAgs, and that the net charge of the capsid and C-terminal tails determines the genome size and nucleocapsid stability. Here, we elucidate the biophysical basis for electrostatic regulation of pgRNA packaging in HBV by using a coarse-grained molecular model that explicitly accounts for all nonspecific interactions among key components within the nucleocapsid. We find that for mutants with variant C-terminal length, an optimal genome size minimizes an appropriately defined thermodynamic free energy. The thermodynamic driving force of RNA packaging arises from a combination of electrostatic interactions and molecular excluded-volume effects. The theoretical predictions of the RNA length and nucleocapsid internal structure are in good agreement with available experiments for the wild-type HBV and mutants with truncated HBcAg C-termini. 相似文献
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Hong Yi Joshua D. Strauss Zunlong Ke Eric Alonas Rebecca S. Dillard Cheri M. Hampton Kristen M. Lamb Jason E. Hammonds Philip J. Santangelo Paul W. Spearman Elizabeth R. Wright 《The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry》2015,63(10):780-792
Numerous methods have been developed for immunogold labeling of thick, cryo-preserved biological specimens. However, most of the methods are permutations of chemical fixation and sample sectioning, which select and isolate the immunolabeled region of interest. We describe a method for combining immunogold labeling with cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) of the surface proteins of intact mammalian cells or the surface glycoproteins of assembling and budding viruses in the context of virus-infected mammalian cells cultured on EM grids. In this method, the cells were maintained in culture media at physiologically relevant temperatures while sequentially incubated with the primary and secondary antibodies. Subsequently, the immunogold-labeled specimens were vitrified and observed under cryo-conditions in the transmission electron microscope. Cryo-EM and cryo-ET examination of the immunogold-labeled cells revealed the association of immunogold particles with the target antigens. Additionally, the cellular structure was unaltered by pre-immunolabeling chemical fixation and retained well-preserved plasma membranes, cytoskeletal elements, and macromolecular complexes. We think this technique will be of interest to cell biologists for cryo-EM and conventional studies of native cells and pathogen-infected cells. 相似文献
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Giovanni Cardone Matthew Brecher Juan Fontana Dennis C. Winkler Carmen Butan Judith M. White Alasdair C. Steven 《Journal of virology》2012,86(22):12129-12137
Retrovirus infection starts with the binding of envelope glycoproteins to host cell receptors. Subsequently, conformational changes in the glycoproteins trigger fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. Some retroviruses, such as avian sarcoma/leukosis virus (ASLV), employ a two-step mechanism in which receptor binding precedes low-pH activation and fusion. We used cryo-electron tomography to study virion/receptor/liposome complexes that simulate the interactions of ASLV virions with cells. Binding the soluble receptor at neutral pH resulted in virions capable of binding liposomes tightly enough to alter their curvature. At virion-liposome interfaces, the glycoproteins are ∼3-fold more concentrated than elsewhere in the viral envelope, indicating specific recruitment to these sites. Subtomogram averaging showed that the oblate globular domain in the prehairpin intermediate (presumably the receptor-binding domain) is connected to both the target and the viral membrane by 2.5-nm-long stalks and is partially disordered, compared with its native conformation. Upon lowering the pH, fusion took place. Fusion is a stochastic process that, once initiated, must be rapid, as only final (postfusion) products were observed. These fusion products showed glycoprotein spikes on their surface, with their interiors occupied by patches of dense material but without capsids, implying their disassembly. In addition, some of the products presented a density layer underlying and resolved from the viral membrane, which may represent detachment of the matrix protein to facilitate the fusion process. 相似文献
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Bluetongue virus (BTV) causes hemorrhagic disease in economically important livestock. The BTV genome is organized into ten discrete double-stranded RNA molecules (S1-S10) which have been suggested to follow a sequential packaging pathway from smallest to largest segment during virus capsid assembly. To substantiate and extend these studies, we have investigated the RNA sorting and packaging mechanisms with a new experimental approach using inhibitory oligonucleotides. Putative packaging signals present in the 3’untranslated regions of BTV segments were targeted by a number of nuclease resistant oligoribonucleotides (ORNs) and their effects on virus replication in cell culture were assessed. ORNs complementary to the 3’ UTR of BTV RNAs significantly inhibited virus replication without affecting protein synthesis. Same ORNs were found to inhibit complex formation when added to a novel RNA-RNA interaction assay which measured the formation of supramolecular complexes between and among different RNA segments. ORNs targeting the 3’UTR of BTV segment 10, the smallest RNA segment, were shown to be the most potent and deletions or substitution mutations of the targeted sequences diminished the RNA complexes and abolished the recovery of viable viruses using reverse genetics. Cell-free capsid assembly/RNA packaging assay also confirmed that the inhibitory ORNs could interfere with RNA packaging and further substitution mutations within the putative RNA packaging sequence have identified the recognition sequence concerned. Exchange of 3’UTR between segments have further demonstrated that RNA recognition was segment specific, most likely acting as part of the secondary structure of the entire genomic segment. Our data confirm that genome packaging in this segmented dsRNA virus occurs via the formation of supramolecular complexes formed by the interaction of specific sequences located in the 3’ UTRs. Additionally, the inhibition of packaging in-trans with inhibitory ORNs suggests this that interaction is a bona fide target for the design of compounds with antiviral activity. 相似文献
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In the cortex of a motile cell, membrane-anchored actin filaments assemble into structures of varying shape and function. Filopodia are distinguished by a core of bundled actin filaments within finger-like extensions of the membrane. In a recent paper by Medalia et al1 cryo-electron tomography has been used to reconstruct, from filopodia of Dictyostelium cells, the 3-dimensional organization of actin filaments in connection with the plasma membrane. A special arrangement of short filaments converging toward the filopod''s tip has been called a “terminal cone”. In this region force is applied for protrusion of the membrane. Here we discuss actin organization in the filopodia of Dictyostelium in the light of current views on forces that are generated by polymerizing actin filaments, and on the resistance of membranes against deformation that counteracts these forces.Key Words: actin network, cytoskeleton, Dictyostelium, electron tomography, filopodia, membrane bending 相似文献
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Chick embryo fibroblast cultures infected with Sendai virus were incubated with (3)H-uridine in the presence of actinomycin D beginning at 18 hr after infection. The 35 and 18S virus-specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) components were found in a ribonuclease-sensitive form in the cell and appeared to be associated with polyribosomes. Newly synthesized 57S viral RNA was rapidly coated with protein to form intracellular viral nucleocapsid, and no 57S RNA was found "free" (ribonucleasesensitive) in the 2,000 x g supernatant fraction of disrupted cells. The nucleocapsid from detergent-disrupted Sendai virus and that from disrupted cells were indistinguishable in ultrastructure and buoyant density, and neither was found to be infectious or have hemagglutinating activity. Kinetic studies of nucleocapsid and virus formation indicated a relative block in conversion of viral nucleocapsid to complete enveloped virus in these cells, resulting in accumulation of large amounts of nucleocapsid in the cell cytoplasm. 相似文献
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Yasuyuki Miyazaki Eric L. Garcia Steven R. King Kilali Iyalla Patrice Starck Alice Telesnitsky Michael F. Summers 《Journal of molecular biology》2010,396(1):141-633
Retroviruses selectively package two copies of their RNA genomes via mechanisms that have yet to be fully deciphered. Recent studies with small fragments of the Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) genome suggested that selection may be mediated by an RNA switch mechanism, in which conserved UCUG elements that are sequestered by base-pairing in the monomeric RNA become exposed upon dimerization to allow binding to the cognate nucleocapsid (NC) domains of the viral Gag proteins. Here we show that a large fragment of the MoMuLV 5′ untranslated region that contains all residues necessary for efficient RNA packaging (ΨWT; residues 147-623) also exhibits a dimerization-dependent affinity for NC, with the native dimer ([ΨWT]2) binding 12 ± 2 NC molecules with high affinity (Kd = 17 ± 7 nM) and with the monomer, stabilized by substitution of dimer-promoting loop residues with hairpin-stabilizing sequences (ΨM), binding 1-2 NC molecules. Identical dimer-inhibiting mutations in MoMuLV-based vectors significantly inhibit genome packaging in vivo (∼ 100-fold decrease), whereas a large deletion of nearly 200 nucleotides just upstream of the gag start codon has minimal effects. Our findings support the proposed RNA switch mechanism and further suggest that virus assembly may be initiated by a complex comprising as few as 12 Gag molecules bound to a dimeric packaging signal. 相似文献
15.
Victor A. Kostyuchenko Pau Ling Chew Thiam-Seng Ng Shee-Mei Lok 《Journal of virology》2014,88(1):477-482
Dengue virus (DENV), a mosquito-borne virus, is responsible for millions of cases of infections worldwide. There are four DENV serotypes (DENV1 to -4). After a primary DENV infection, the antibodies elicited confer lifetime protection against that DENV serotype. However, in a secondary infection with another serotype, the preexisting antibodies may cause antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection of macrophage cells, leading to the development of the more severe form of disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever. Thus, a safe vaccine should stimulate protection against all dengue serotypes simultaneously. To facilitate the development of a vaccine, good knowledge of different DENV serotype structures is crucial. Structures of DENV1 and DENV2 had been solved previously. Here we present a near-atomic resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of mature DENV4. Comparison of the DENV4 structure with similar-resolution cryo-EM structures of DENV1 and DENV2 showed differences in surface charge distribution, which may explain their differences in binding to cellular receptors, such as heparin. Also, observed variations in amino acid residues involved in interactions between envelope and membrane proteins on the virus surface correlate with their ability to undergo structural changes at higher temperatures. 相似文献
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Fernando Amat Luis R. Comolli John F. Nomellini Farshid Moussavi Kenneth H. Downing John Smit Mark Horowitz 《Journal of bacteriology》2010,192(22):5855-5865
The surface layers (S layers) of those bacteria and archaea that elaborate these crystalline structures have been studied for 40 years. However, most structural analysis has been based on electron microscopy of negatively stained S-layer fragments separated from cells, which can introduce staining artifacts and allow rearrangement of structures prone to self-assemble. We present a quantitative analysis of the structure and organization of the S layer on intact growing cells of the Gram-negative bacterium Caulobacter crescentus using cryo-electron tomography (CET) and statistical image processing. Instead of the expected long-range order, we observed different regions with hexagonally organized subunits exhibiting short-range order and a broad distribution of periodicities. Also, areas of stacked double layers were found, and these increased in extent when the S-layer protein (RsaA) expression level was elevated by addition of multiple rsaA copies. Finally, we combined high-resolution amino acid residue-specific Nanogold labeling and subtomogram averaging of CET volumes to improve our understanding of the correlation between the linear protein sequence and the structure at the 2-nm level of resolution that is presently available. The results support the view that the U-shaped RsaA monomer predicted from negative-stain tomography proceeds from the N terminus at one vertex, corresponding to the axis of 3-fold symmetry, to the C terminus at the opposite vertex, which forms the prominent 6-fold symmetry axis. Such information will help future efforts to analyze subunit interactions and guide selection of internal sites for display of heterologous protein segments.Surface layers (S layers) are the outermost cell wall component in many archaea and bacteria (6, 44). Most S layers are composed of a single protein or glycoprotein species that self-organizes into two-dimensional (2D) lattices of various sizes, usually with square or hexagonal symmetry (7, 14, 43). This geometrical arrangement is almost the only commonality among species, since sequence homology between S-layer proteins is low and functionality differs in many cases. In many archaea, the S layer is the only cell wall component, so it may have a role in shape determination. However, in bacteria such as Caulobacter crescentus, the role is more likely related to protection against a variety of predatorial assaults (8).One interest in understanding S layers comes from their potential applications in nanotechnology (46) and therapeutic applications, such as anti-HIV microbicide development (37) and cancer therapy (9). The concept is to display heterologous proteins from within the S-layer structure in order to create dense arrays of foreign insertions. Resolving the S-layer organization and structure at high resolution in cells as close to a native state as possible is crucial to understand or predict where proteins are displayed in the array, particularly when more than one foreign peptide is being displayed simultaneously.A significant limitation has been the difficulty in obtaining an atomic resolution structural analysis for any S layer with standard structural methods, such as X-ray crystallography. It has been assumed that the difficulty in obtaining three-dimensional crystals is the consequence of the propensity for two-dimensional assembly, which prevents the proteins from being sufficiently well behaved for crystallization. Despite that, there are a few examples of limited success for portions of S layers (38, 39). Moreover, many studies have been conducted on isolated in vitro S-layer sheets using negative-stain electron microscopy. This approach removes the interaction of the S layer with other cell wall components, which makes it more difficult to understand how a crystalline structure develops on a growing bacterium. Defects in structure that occur during the introduction of newly secreted subunits or to accommodate covering areas of strong curvature may well not be appreciated in isolated fragments, where rearrangements of the two-dimensional array are likely to occur. This may result in a more regular structure and even assist image analysis methods but does not represent what is occurring on the dynamic cell surface. Quoting Engelhardt (17): “Functional aspects have usually been investigated with isolated S-layer sheets or proteins, which disregards the interactions between S-layers and the underlying cell envelope components.”Imaging technologies such as freeze-etch and negative-stain microscopy of whole cells (48) can obtain quality images of the S layer directly on the cell. However, each of these techniques presents drawbacks, which would make impossible to extract the conclusions summarized in this paper. For example, it is very difficult to combine freeze-etching with site-specific labeling methods and is impossible with any label in the size range of Nanogold (NG). Moreover, freeze-etch images do not contain three-dimensional (3D) information. Negative staining of S layers on intact cells is difficult and generally can be imaged only on lysed (eviscerated) cells (48). In this case, resolution is hampered by overlying double S layers, membrane debris, and the stain itself. Labeling with the typical 5- to 10-nm colloidal gold probes with either approach is not amenable to averaging techniques designed to localize the labels.Prior work has shown that C. crescentus, a Gram-negative bacterium, has an S-layer subunit composed of a single highly expressed (27) protein (RsaA), secreted by a type I mechanism, such that there is no cleaved N-terminal signal leader but there is an uncleaved C-terminal secretion signal (4, 11). Six RsaA monomers (12) form the characteristic hexagonal core with p6 symmetry seen by image analysis (47, 48), and the 2D lattice is completed by hexagonal cores connected at junction points with p3 symmetry (Fig. (Fig.11 A). Secretion and subsequent self-assembly require calcium (35), and it is assumed that the RTX repeat domain (characteristic of type I secreted proteins) that is located adjacent to the C-terminal secretion signal is responsible for at least some of the calcium interaction; whether there is a second domain to complete subunit-subunit interactions is unknown. The S layer is attached to the outer membrane (OM) surface by interaction of an N-terminal attachment domain of approximately 200 amino acids (18) with the fraction of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that is modified with an O-polysaccharide (3, 52).Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.(A) Schematic from a previous publication (12) showing how six RsaA monomers build a hexagonal S-layer subunit in C. crescentus. The six-point star shows the center of 6-fold symmetry, and the triangle indicates the center of 3-fold symmetry. The figure is based on results presented previously (35). (B) Cross section of a C. crescentus tomogram to show the cell wall components. The effect of the missing wedge blurring the features on the top and bottom of the cell is obvious.In this paper, we present a quantitative analysis of the C. crescentus S layer that sheds light on the overall S-layer organization as well as improves our understanding of the structure within the RsaA monomer, in advance of achieving true atomic resolution, by combining cryo-electron tomography (CET) of intact cells with statistical image-processing algorithms. CET is an ideal imaging technology with which to obtain a view of intact prokaryotic cells at molecular resolution (28, 29, 30). This technology allows the visualization of S-layer architecture directly as it exists on the dynamic, growing cell surface. The sample in the microscope is kept close to the native state without staining artifacts, while projections are obtained from different tilt angles to reconstruct a 3D density map of the sample. However, due to low contrast and a generally high sample thickness, CET images have a low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). In particular, C. crescentus has a diameter of approximately 600 nm, which is considered close to the thickness limit of CET imaging for these kinds of samples. Statistical image-processing techniques and target samples as thin as possible are needed to overcome the low SNR and to perform quantitative analysis of the S-layer characteristics in situ.To obtain structural information from within the RsaA monomer, we introduced unique cysteine residues at locations ranging from the N terminus to as close as possible to the C terminus (without disrupting the secretion signal), followed by labeling with maleimide-coupled Nanogold particles. At 1 to 2 nm in size, the Nanogold is not visible in individual CET images of intact cells. However, it is possible to extract thousands of small volumes containing S-layer subunits from CET images and combine them using subtomogram averaging techniques to produce higher-resolution structures. In these averages, we identified locations of high-density areas representing the Nanogold, effectively using the regularity of the S-layer structure to increase the resolution of CET imaging.In short, we found that the long-range order is substantially lower than we had expected and that there were areas of double layers, especially when RsaA was overexpressed. By comparing the site-specific Nanogold labeling to the 2-nm-resolution structure that is available (47), we have begun to correlate the primary sequence to positions within the averaged hexagonal structure, which represents a significant step toward having a rational basis for site selection for heterologous protein insertions in nanotechnology applications. 相似文献
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Chuan Hong Hanna M. Oksanen Xiangan Liu Joanita Jakana Dennis H. Bamford Wah Chiu 《PLoS biology》2014,12(12)
Two crucial steps in the virus life cycle are genome encapsidation to form an infective virion and genome exit to infect the next host cell. In most icosahedral double-stranded (ds) DNA viruses, the viral genome enters and exits the capsid through a unique vertex. Internal membrane-containing viruses possess additional complexity as the genome must be translocated through the viral membrane bilayer. Here, we report the structure of the genome packaging complex with a membrane conduit essential for viral genome encapsidation in the tailless icosahedral membrane-containing bacteriophage PRD1. We utilize single particle electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) and symmetry-free image reconstruction to determine structures of PRD1 virion, procapsid, and packaging deficient mutant particles. At the unique vertex of PRD1, the packaging complex replaces the regular 5-fold structure and crosses the lipid bilayer. These structures reveal that the packaging ATPase P9 and the packaging efficiency factor P6 form a dodecameric portal complex external to the membrane moiety, surrounded by ten major capsid protein P3 trimers. The viral transmembrane density at the special vertex is assigned to be a hexamer of heterodimer of proteins P20 and P22. The hexamer functions as a membrane conduit for the DNA and as a nucleating site for the unique vertex assembly. Our structures show a conformational alteration in the lipid membrane after the P9 and P6 are recruited to the virion. The P8-genome complex is then packaged into the procapsid through the unique vertex while the genome terminal protein P8 functions as a valve that closes the channel once the genome is inside. Comparing mature virion, procapsid, and mutant particle structures led us to propose an assembly pathway for the genome packaging apparatus in the PRD1 virion. 相似文献
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Xue Wang Fengting Xu Jiasen Liu Bingquan Gao Yanxin Liu Yujia Zhai Jun Ma Kai Zhang Timothy S. Baker Klaus Schulten Dong Zheng Hai Pang Fei Sun 《PLoS pathogens》2013,9(1)
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease, first described in China in 1984, causes hemorrhagic necrosis of the liver. Its etiological agent, rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), belongs to the Lagovirus genus in the family Caliciviridae. The detailed molecular structure of any lagovirus capsid has yet to be determined. Here, we report a cryo-electron microscopic (cryoEM) reconstruction of wild-type RHDV at 6.5 Å resolution and the crystal structures of the shell (S) and protruding (P) domains of its major capsid protein, VP60, each at 2.0 Å resolution. From these data we built a complete atomic model of the RHDV capsid. VP60 has a conserved S domain and a specific P2 sub-domain that differs from those found in other caliciviruses. As seen in the shell portion of the RHDV cryoEM map, which was resolved to ∼5.5 Å, the N-terminal arm domain of VP60 folds back onto its cognate S domain. Sequence alignments of VP60 from six groups of RHDV isolates revealed seven regions of high variation that could be mapped onto the surface of the P2 sub-domain and suggested three putative pockets might be responsible for binding to histo-blood group antigens. A flexible loop in one of these regions was shown to interact with rabbit tissue cells and contains an important epitope for anti-RHDV antibody production. Our study provides a reliable, pseudo-atomic model of a Lagovirus and suggests a new candidate for an efficient vaccine that can be used to protect rabbits from RHDV infection. 相似文献
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Joel R. Meyerson Tommi A. White Donald Bliss Amy Moran Alberto Bartesaghi Mario J. Borgnia M. Jason V. de la Cruz David Schauder Lisa M. Hartnell Rachna Nandwani Moez Dawood Brianna Kim Jun Hong Kim John Sununu Lisa Yang Siddhant Bhatia Carolyn Subramaniam Darrell E. Hurt Laurent Gaudreault Sriram Subramaniam 《Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE》2011,(58)
Since its discovery nearly 30 years ago, more than 60 million people have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (www.usaid.gov). The virus infects and destroys CD4+ T-cells thereby crippling the immune system, and causing an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) 2. Infection begins when the HIV Envelope glycoprotein "spike" makes contact with the CD4 receptor on the surface of the CD4+ T-cell. This interaction induces a conformational change in the spike, which promotes interaction with a second cell surface co-receptor 5,9. The significance of these protein interactions in the HIV infection pathway makes them of profound importance in fundamental HIV research, and in the pursuit of an HIV vaccine.The need to better understand the molecular-scale interactions of HIV cell contact and neutralization motivated the development of a technique to determine the structures of the HIV spike interacting with cell surface receptor proteins and molecules that block infection. Using cryo-electron tomography and 3D image processing, we recently demonstrated the ability to determine such structures on the surface of native virus, at ˜20 Å resolution 9,14. This approach is not limited to resolving HIV Envelope structures, and can be extended to other viral membrane proteins and proteins reconstituted on a liposome. In this protocol, we describe how to obtain structures of HIV envelope glycoproteins starting from purified HIV virions and proceeding stepwise through preparing vitrified samples, collecting, cryo-electron microscopy data, reconstituting and processing 3D data volumes, averaging and classifying 3D protein subvolumes, and interpreting results to produce a protein model. The computational aspects of our approach were adapted into modules that can be accessed and executed remotely using the Biowulf GNU/Linux parallel processing cluster at the NIH (http://biowulf.nih.gov). This remote access, combined with low-cost computer hardware and high-speed network access, has made possible the involvement of researchers and students working from school or home.Download video file.(47M, mov) 相似文献