Pyrene phospholipid as a biological fluorescent probe for studying fusion of virus membrane with liposomes

We are using fluorescent endogenous phospholipids in virus membranes to study the factors that promote fusion on interaction with receptor membranes. To this end, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) grown in baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells was biologically labeled with fluorescent lipids, primarily phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, derived from pyrene fatty acids. The pyrene lipids present in the virions showed a fluorescence spectrum typical of pyrene with an intense monomer and a broad excimer. Interaction of pyrene lipid labeled VSV with serum lipoproteins led to a spontaneous fast transfer of the small amount of pyrene fatty acids present in the envelope (t1/2 less than or equal to 7 min), followed by a considerably slower transfer of pyrene phospholipids from the membrane of the virions (t1/2 greater than or equal to 12 h). Incubation of pyrene phospholipid labeled VSV with phosphatidylserine small unilamellar vesicles resulted in fusion at low pH (pH 5.0) as measured by the change in the excimer/monomer fluorescence intensity ratio. Fusion kinetics was rapid, reaching a plateau after 4 min at pH 5.0 and 37 degrees C. Only negligible fusion was noted at neutral pH or at 4 degrees C. Fully infectious virions labeled biologically with fluorescent lipids provide a useful tool for studying mechanisms of cell-virus interactions and neutralization of viral infectivity by specific monoclonal antibodies reactive with viral membrane glycoprotein.     

Photosensitization of cultured cells and viruses by pyrene lipids

Administration of pyrene-linked fatty acids and lipids to cultured cells or an enveloped (vesicular stomatitis) virus induced photosensitization which, following irradiation with a long ultra-violet light (LUV), resulted in killing of the cells and loss of the infectivity of the virus with the following specific effects. (i) LUV illumination of the pyrene-sphingomyelin administered cultured skin fibroblasts derived from normal individuals and patients with Niemann-Pick disease permitted selective killing of the latter. (ii) Similarly LUV illumination of pyrenedodecanoic acid (P12) incubates of leukemic cell lines mixed with human bone marrow cells permitted selective killing of the former. (iii) LUV illumination of P12 incubates of vesicular stomatitis virus decreased the infectivity of the virus by up to 12 logs.     

Cell-free fatty acylation of microsomal integrated and detergent-solubilized glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus

An enzymatic activity associated with intracellular membrane fractions of Merwin plasma cell tumor II, baby hamster kidney, and chicken embryo fibroblast cells and bovine kidney has been characterized which covalently links fatty acids onto the G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus. Exogenous G protein extracted from native vesicular stomatitis virus particles can be acylated in vitro only after it has been previously deacylated. The fatty acids transferred in vitro are sensitive to treatment with hydroxylamine, indicating an ester linkage. Cell-free acyl transfer was also observed with endogenous G protein present in membrane fractions prepared from vesicular stomatitis virus-infected cells. In this case, the fatty acids become linked to a G protein species (G1) which is not terminally glycosylated and therefore has not entered the trans-Golgi compartment. The same G protein species also becomes acylated in infected cells during short pulses with radioactive palmitic acid. Acylation of the G protein in vitro with free palmitic or myristic acid is energy-dependent, and the addition of ATP is specifically required. Other nucleoside triphosphates cannot substitute for ATP in the activation of free acyl chains. Alternatively, activated fatty acids linked in a high energy thioester bond to coenzyme A, e.g. [14C] palmitoyl-CoA, are suitable lipid donors in the in vitro acylation reactions. Palmitic acid transfer onto G protein shows the typical characteristics of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction.     

Effect of the vesicular stomatitis virus matrix protein on the lateral organization of lipid bilayers containing phosphatidylglycerol: use of fluorescent phospholipid analogues

In order to investigate the mode of interaction of peripheral membrane proteins with the lipid bilayer, the basic (pI approximately 9.1) matrix (M) protein of vesicular stomatitis virus was reconstituted with small unilamellar vesicles (SUV) containing phospholipids with acidic head groups. The lateral organization of lipids in such reconstituted membranes was probed by fluorescent phospholipid analogues labeled with pyrene fatty acids. The excimer/monomer (E/M) fluorescence intensity ratios of the intrinsic pyrene phospholipid probes were measured at various temperatures in M protein reconstituted SUV composed of 50 mol % each of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG). The M protein showed relatively small effects on the E/M ratio either in the gel or in the liquid-crystalline phase. However, during the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition, the M protein induced a large increase in the E/M ratio due to phase separation of lipids into a neutral DPPC-rich phase and DPPG domains presumably bound to M protein. Similar phase separation of bilayer lipids was also observed in the M protein reconstituted with mixed lipid vesicles containing one low-melting lipid component (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine or 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylglycerol) or a low mole percent of cholesterol. The self-quenching of 4-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) fluorescence, as a measure of lipid clustering in the bilayer, was also studied in M protein reconstituted DPPC-DPPG vesicles containing 5 mol % NBD-phosphatidylethanolamine (NBD-PE). The quenching of NBD-PE was enhanced at least 2-fold in M protein reconstituted vesicles at temperatures within or below the phase transition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Lipid Composition of Purified Vesicular Stomatitis Viruses

Methods are described for the production of vesicular stomatitis (VS) virus of sufficient purity for reliable chemical analysis. VS virions released from infected cells were concentrated and purified at least 150-fold by sequential steps of precipitation with polyethylene glycol, column chromatography, rate zonal centrifugation, and equilibrium centrifugation. The Indiana serotype (VS(Ind) virus) propagated in L-cells was found to contain 3% ribonucleic acid, 64% protein, 13% carbohydrate, and 20% lipid; the molar ratio of cholesterol to phospholipid was 0.6 or greater. Thin-layer chromatography revealed no unusual neutral lipids or phospholipids and gas-liquid chromatography revealed no unusual fatty acids incorporated into VS virions. The antigenically distinct New Jersey serotype (VS(NJ) virus) grown in L-cells showed a similar lipid profile except that the proportion of neutral lipids was larger than in VS(Ind) virus also grown in L-cells. This differences was less pronounced when the lipid composition of VS(Ind) and VS(NJ) viruses grown in chick embryo cells was compared, but VS(NJ) virus grown in either cell type always contained larger amounts of neutral lipids other than cholesterol than did VS(Ind) virus. The lipid composition of both VS(Ind) and VS(NJ) viruses grown in L-cells or chick embryo cells more closely resembled that of plasma membrane than of whole cells. A consistent finding was the relatively large amounts of phosphatidylethanolamine and sphingomyelin and the relatively small amounts of phosphatidylcholine in both VS viruses compared with uninfected whole L-cells and chick embryo cells or their plasma membranes. The methods available for isolation of plasma membranes were inadequate for conclusive comparison of the lipids of VS virions with the lipids of the plasma membranes of their host cells. Nevertheless, the data obtained are consistent with two hypotheses: (i) the lipid composition of VS viruses primarily reflects their membrane site of maturation, and (ii) the newly synthesized viral proteins inserted into cell membranes influence the proportions of phospholipids and neutral lipids selected for incorporation into the viral membrane.     

Release of fatty acids from virus glycoproteins by hydroxylamine

The fatty acids bound to the glycoproteins of Sindbis and vesicular stomatitis viruses can be released by treating the protein with 1 M hydroxylamine at pH 8.0, but the rates of release vary greatly among the three proteins. The most labile fatty acyl bonds were in the Sindbis virus PE2/E2 proteins and the most stable were in the E1 protein. Some of the fatty acids in Sindbis virus glycoproteins were reduced to the alcohol after treatment with sodium borohydride, indicating that protein-bound fatty acids could be in thiolester linkage. Sindbis virus PE2/E2 has several cysteine residues near the carboxy terminus, a region of the protein postulated to be localized on the inside (cytoplasmic face) of the bilayer, and protease digestion of microsomal membranes containing E2 protein removed a small portion of this cytoplasmic tail as well as significant amounts of the fatty acid. For the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein, the sensitivity of fatty acid hydrolysis appeared to depend on the conformation of the protein and a significant fraction of G protein was converted to a disulfide-linked dimer by hydroxylamine. These data implicate cysteinyl groups on these proteins as sites involved in fatty acid acylation.     

Characterization of the fluorophore 4-heptadecyl-7-hydroxycoumarin: a probe for the head-group region of lipid bilayers and biological membranes

The fluorophore 4-heptadecyl-7-hydroxycoumarin was used as a probe to study the properties of phospholipid bilayers at the lipid-water interface. To this end, the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy, the differential polarized phase fluorometry, and the emission lifetime of the fluorophore were measured in isotropic viscous medium, in lipid vesicles, and in the membrane of vesicular stomatitis virus. In the isotropic medium (glycerol), the probe showed an increase in the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy with a decrease in temperature, but the emission lifetime was unaffected by the change in temperature. In glycerol, the observed and predicted values for maximum differential tangents of the probe were identical, indicating that in isotropic medium 4-heptadecyl-7-hydroxycoumarin is a free rotator. Nuclear magnetic resonance and differential scanning calorimetric studies with lipid vesicles containing 1-2 mol % of the fluorophore indicated that the packaging density of the choline head groups was affected in the presence of the probe with almost no effect on the fatty acyl chains. The fluorophore partitioned equally well in the gel and liquid-crystalline phase of the lipids in the membrane, and the phase transition of the bilayer lipids was reflected in the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of the probe. The presence of cholesterol in the lipid vesicles had a relatively small effect on the dynamics of lipids in the liquid-crystalline state, but a significant disordering effect was noted in the gel state. One of the most favorable properties of the probe is that its emission lifetime was unaffected by the physical state of the lipids or by the temperature.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Solubilization and reconstitution of vesicular stomatitis virus envelope using octylglucoside.

Reconstituted vesicular stomatitis virus envelopes or virosomes are formed by detergent removal from solubilized intact virus. We have monitored the solubilization process of the intact vesicular stomatitis virus by the nonionic surfactant octylglucoside at various initial virus concentrations by employing turbidity measurements. This allowed us to determine the phase boundaries between the membrane and the mixed micelles domains. We have also characterized the lipid and protein content of the solubilized material and of the reconstituted envelope. Both G and M proteins and all of the lipids of the envelope were extracted by octylglucoside and recovered in the reconstituted envelope. Fusion activity of the virosomes tested either on Vero cells or on liposomes showed kinetics and pH dependence similar to those of the intact virus.     

Lipid and protein contributions to the membrane surface potential of vesicular stomatitis virus probed by a fluorescent pH indicator, 4-heptadecyl-7-hydroxycoumarin

The surface potential of membranes of vesicular stomatitis virus and liposomes was determined by shift of ionization over a wide pH range of the membrane-inserted fluorophore, 4-heptadecyl-7-hydroxycoumarin. Incorporation into sonicated vesicles of negatively charged phosphatidylserine markedly increased the surface potential of uncharged phosphatidylcholine, but no significant effect on surface potential was produced by polar but uncharged glucocerebroside incorporated in phosphatidylcholine vesicles. The membrane of vesicular stomatitis virus was found to have a moderately high surface potential. Contributing to this viral membrane surface potential were glycoprotein spikes and phospholipid headgroups as determined by lowered charge after treatment of intact virions with thermolysin to remove glycoprotein or phospholipase C to remove phospholipid headgroups. The role of viral glycoprotein was confirmed by demonstrating increased surface charge of vesicles reconstituted with both viral glycoprotein and lipids compared with vesicles reconstituted with viral lipids alone. An unexpected finding was the large contribution to surface potential of cholesterol present in viral membrane. Increasing cholesterol concentration in virions by interaction with cholesterol-complexed serum lipoproteins resulted in a marked decrease in surface potential, whereas 75% depletion of virion cholesterol by interaction with sphingomyelin-complexed serum lipoproteins resulted in a significant increase in virion membrane surface potential. Although removal of glycoprotein spikes or depletion of cholesterol causes reduction in infectivity of vesicular stomatitis virus, no direct correlation could be found between alteration in surface charge and infectivity.     

Expression from cloned cDNA of cell-surface secreted forms of the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus in eucaryotic cells

A cDNA clone of the mRNA encoding the glycoprotein (G) of vesicular stomatitis virus was inserted into plasmid vectors under the control of either the SV40 early promoter (pSV2G) or the SV40 late promoter (pSVGL). Synthesis of G protein was observed in mouse L cells injected with pSV2G DNA or in COS1 cells transfected with pSVGL DNA. Immunofluorescent staining of G protein produced in both cell types showed a pattern of internal and cell-surface staining indistinguishable from that seen in cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus. The G protein produced in transfected COS1 cells was the size of normal G protein and was glycosylated. Expression of a G protein lacking 79 amino acids from the COOH terminus was also examined. This G protein lacks the transmembrane domain and the hydrophilic COOH terminus, which, we postulated, anchor G protein in the lipid bilayer. This “anchorless” protein is glycosylated and is secreted, albeit slowly.     

Influence of subcutaneous injection of essential fatty acids on the stress-induced modifications of rat platelet aggregation and membrane lipid composition

Membrane lipids play an important role in the function of blood platelets but the mechanisms by which the lipid composition of the platelet membrane is adjusted remain unclear. It has been shown that stress and poly-unsaturated fatty acids modified the lipid composition of blood plasma and platelet lipids, but very little is known about the effect of stress and fatty acids on membrane platelet lipid composition. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the influence of the essential fatty acids: linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acids on the composition of the platelet membrane lipids of rats assigned to heat and restraint stress. It was shown that injections of polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease or suppress the stress-induced increase in platelet aggregation, suppress the stress-induced modification of the composition of the platelet membrane lipids and modify the fatty acid composition of the platelet membrane phospholipids.     

Enveloped viruses as model membrane systems: microviscosity of vesicular stomatitis virus and host cell membranes.

The fluorescence probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene was used to study and compare the dynamic properties of the hydrophobic region of vesicular stomatitis virus grown on L-929 cells, plasma membrane of L-929 cells prepared by two different methods, liposomes prepared from virus lipids and plasma membrane lipids, and intact L-929 cells. The rate of penetration of the probe into the hydrophobic region of the lipid bilayer was found to be much faster in the lipid vesicle bilayer as compared with the intact membrane, but in all cases the fluorescence anisotropy was constant with time. The L-cell plasma membranes, the vesicles prepared from the lipids derived from the plasma membranes, and intact cells are found to have much lower microviscosity values than the virus or virus lipid vesicles throughout a wide range of temperatures. The microviscosity of plasma membrane and plasma membrane lipid vesicles was found to depend on the procedure for plasma membrane preparation as the membranes prepared by different methods had different microviscosities. The intact virus and liposomes prepared from the virus lipids were found to have very similar microviscosity values. Plasma membrane and liposomes prepared from plasma membrane lipids also had similar microviscosity values. Factors affecting microviscosity in natural membranes and artificially mixed lipid membranes are discussed.     

Inactivation by gamma irradiation of animal viruses in simulated laboratory effluent

Several animal viruses were treated with gamma radiation from a 60Co source under conditions which might be found in effluent from an animal disease laboratory. Swine vesicular disease virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, and blue-tongue virus were irradiated in tissues from experimentally infected animals. Pseudorabies virus, fowl plague virus, swine vesicular disease virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus were irradiated in liquid animal feces. All were tested in animals and in vitro. The D10 values, that is, the doses required to reduce infectivity by 1 log10, were not apparently different from those expected from predictions based on other data and theoretical considerations. The existence of the viruses in pieces of tissue or in liquid feces made no difference in the efficacy of the gamma radiation for inactivating them. Under the "worst case" conditions (most protective for virus) simulated in this study, no infectious agents would survive 4.0 Mrads.     

Inactivation by gamma irradiation of animal viruses in simulated laboratory effluent.

Several animal viruses were treated with gamma radiation from a 60Co source under conditions which might be found in effluent from an animal disease laboratory. Swine vesicular disease virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, and blue-tongue virus were irradiated in tissues from experimentally infected animals. Pseudorabies virus, fowl plague virus, swine vesicular disease virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus were irradiated in liquid animal feces. All were tested in animals and in vitro. The D10 values, that is, the doses required to reduce infectivity by 1 log10, were not apparently different from those expected from predictions based on other data and theoretical considerations. The existence of the viruses in pieces of tissue or in liquid feces made no difference in the efficacy of the gamma radiation for inactivating them. Under the "worst case" conditions (most protective for virus) simulated in this study, no infectious agents would survive 4.0 Mrads.     

Inhibition of enveloped virus infection of cultured cells by valproic acid

Valproic acid (VPA) is a short-chain fatty acid commonly used for treatment of neurological disorders. As VPA can interfere with cellular lipid metabolism, its effect on the infection of cultured cells by viruses of seven viral families relevant to human and animal health, including eight enveloped and four nonenveloped viruses, was analyzed. VPA drastically inhibited multiplication of all the enveloped viruses tested, including the zoonotic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and West Nile virus (WNV), while it did not affect infection by the nonenveloped viruses assayed. VPA reduced vesicular stomatitis virus infection yield without causing a major blockage of either viral RNA or protein synthesis. In contrast, VPA drastically abolished WNV RNA and protein synthesis, indicating that this drug can interfere the viral cycle at different steps of enveloped virus infection. Thus, VPA can contribute to an understanding of the crucial steps of viral maturation and to the development of future strategies against infections associated with enveloped viruses.     

Studies on the asymmetric arrangement of membrane-lipid-enveloped virions as a model system.

Lipids of BHK 21 cells (baby hamster kidney) grown in tissue culture were labelled with radioactive fatty acids. The enveloped vesicular stomatitis virus was propagated in this host cell type. The virions were purified by density gradient centrifugation. Neuraminidase treatment of the intact virions led to a complete transformation of hematoside [N-acetylneuraminosyl(alpha2-3)lactosyl(beta1-1)ceramide] into lactosylceramide, with identical labelling of the ceramide portion in hematoside of the untreated virions and the lactosylceramide of the neuraminidase-treated particles. The morphology of the virions appeared unchanged in electron micrographs, but the neuraminic-acid-free virions had a strong tendency to aggregate. The results of these studies are evidence that gangliosides are integrated exclusively into the outer lamella of the lipid bilayer in the viral envelope. It is also evident that the viral envelope is a suitable model for studies on membrane asymmetry.     

Metabolism of tween-Fatty Acid esters by cultured soybean cells : kinetics of incorporation into lipids, subsequent turnover, and associated changes in endogenous Fatty Acid synthesis

Uptake of Tween-fatty acid esters and incorporation of the fatty acids into lipids by soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) suspension cultures was investigated, together with subsequent turnover of the incorporated fatty acids and associated changes in endogenous fatty acid synthesis. Tween uptake was saturable, and fatty acids were rapidly transferred from Tweens to all acylated lipids. Patterns of incorporation into glycerolipids were similar in cells treated with Tweens carrying [1-¹⁴C]-fatty acids and in cells treated with [1-¹⁴C]acetate, indicating that exogenous fatty acids were used for glycerolipid synthesis essentially as if they had been made by the cell. In Tween-treated cells neutral lipids (which include Tweens) initially accounted for the majority of lipid radioactivity. Radioactivity was then rapidly transferred to glycerolipids. A transient pool of free fatty acids accounting for up to 10% of lipid radioactivity was observed. This was consistent with the hypothesis that fatty acids are transferred from Tweens to lipids by deacylation of the Tweens, creating a pool of free fatty acids which are then used for lipid synthesis. Sterols were only slightly labeled in cells treated with Tweens, but accounted for nearly 50% of lipid radioactivity in cells treated with acetate. This suggested very little degradation and reutilization of the radioactive fatty acids in cells treated with Tweens. In cells treated with either [1-¹⁴C]acetate or Tween-[1-¹⁴C]-18:1, 70% of the initial fatty acid radioactivity remained in fatty acids after a 100 hour chase. By contrast, fatty acids not normally present disappeared more rapidly, suggesting differential treatment of such fatty acids compared with those normally present. Cells which had incorporated large amounts of exogenous fatty acids altered fatty acid synthesis in three distinct ways: (a) amounts of [1-¹⁴C]acetate incorporated into fatty acids were reduced; (b) cells incorporating exogenous unsaturated fatty acids increased the proportion of [1-¹⁴C]acetate partitioned into saturated fatty acids, while the converse was true of cells which had incorporated exogenous saturated fatty acids; (c) desaturation of 18:1 to 18:2 and 18:3 was reduced in cells which had incorporated unsaturated fatty acids. These results suggest that Tween-fatty acid esters will be useful for supplying fatty acids to cells for a variety of studies related to fatty acid or membrane metabolism.     

The structure of vesicular stomatitis virus membrane. A phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance approach.

The proton decoupled 40.48 M Hz 31P NMR spectrum of intact and unperturbed membrane-enclosed vesicular stomatitis virus (sterotype Indiana) exhibited two distinct maxima. These can be resolved into a narrow, symmetric line and a broad asymmetric line. The 31P NMR spectrum of a multilamellar (unsonicated) preparation of the extracted viral lipids exhibited a line shape similar to that of the intact virus. A sonicated vesicle preparation of the extracted viral lipids exhibited a narrow symmetric line. The narrow component in the intact virus spectrum may be attributed to small membrane fragments. Phospholipase C digestion of the intact virus resulted in substantial reduction in intensity of both components which suggests that much of the contribution to both peaks is due to phosphate in the phospholipid polar head groups. The phospholipid phosphates in both sonicated and unsonicated preparations of the extracted viral lipids exhibited substantially longer relaxation times than did those in the intact virus. The short relaxation time emanating from the intact virus preparation is caused by immobilization of the phospholipid head groups which could be due to lipid-protein interactions. Trypsin treatment of vesicular stomatitis virions, which results in complete removal of the exterior hydrophilic segment of the membrane glycoprotein, increased the 31P relaxation time to a value similar to that observed in the protein-free total lipid extracts; this finding provides supporting evidence for the role of virus glycoprotein in shortened relaxation times. A reversible temperature-dependent change in apparent line width and absence of an effect of cholesterol on the 31P phospholipid spectrum were also demonstrated.     

Association of polyadenylic acid with messenger RNA of vesicular stomatitis virus

Polyadenylate (poly(A)) sequences are associated with the 28 S and 13–15 S messenger RNA species of vesicular stomatitis virus. These sequences contain approximately 125 to 150 nucleotides. Virion RNA contains little or no poly(A) sequences. The association of poly(A) with viral messenger RNA species and the gross distribution of poly(A) among these species remain unaltered even when the RNA is synthesized in the presence of cordycepin or cycloheximide and whether viral messenger RNA is polyribosome-bound or free. Also, when viral translation is completely inhibited by superinfection with poliovirus, there is no effect on poly(A) association with the messenger RNA of vesicular stomatitis virus.     

pH-dependent fusion induced by vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles

Purified G-protein from vesicular stomatitis virus was reconstituted into egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles by detergent dialysis of octyl glucoside. A homogeneous population of reconstituted vesicles could be obtained, provided the protein to lipid ratio was high (about 0.3 mol % protein) and the detergent removal was slow. The reconstituted vesicles were assayed for fusion activity using electron microscopy and fluorescence energy transfer. The fusion activity mediated by the viral envelope protein was dependent upon pH, temperature, and target membrane lipid composition. Incubation of reconstituted vesicles at low pH with small unilamellar vesicles containing negatively charged lipids resulted in the appearance of large cochleate structures, as shown by electron microscopy using negative stain. This process did not cause leakage of a vesicle-encapsulated aqueous marker. The rate of fusion was pH-dependent with a pK of about 4 and the apparent energy of activation for the fusion was 16 +/- 1 kcal/mol. G-protein-mediated fusion showed a large preference for target membranes which contain phosphatidylserine or phosphatidic acid. Inclusion of 36% cholesterol in any of the lipid compositions had no effect on the rate of fusion. These reconstituted vesicles provide a system to study the mechanism of pH-dependent fusion induced by a viral spike protein.