Mutational analysis of a baculovirus major late promoter

We have used a linker-scan mutation strategy to analyze P_cap99, the proximal promoter of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) gene encoding the major capsid protein. A series of recombinant viruses expressing the cat reporter gene under the control of selected mutants of this promoter was constructed. Only mutations that altered bases within a region extending from 8 bp upstream to 6 bp downstream from a TAAG sequence had a significant effect on expression from the late gene promoter. A synthetic promoter consisting of only these 18 bp (P_capmin) was sufficient to direct late expression. Aside from this small region surrounding the TAAG, no evidence for distinct late activating or repressing sequence elements was obtained. Experiments comparing and combining late and very late gene promoter sequences suggest that late expression is intrinsically determined by the presence and immediate context of a TAAG sequence and that very late expression [as previously shown in Ooi et al. J. Mol. Biol. 210 (1989) 721–736] results from additional modulation of TAAG-dependent expression by downstream promoter elements placed in an appropriate context. A compact combination promoter (95 bp), constructed by fusing P_capmin to linker-modified very late polyhedrin promoter, directs strong expression at late and very late times post-infection.     

Single HIV-1 Imaging Reveals Progression of Infection through CA-Dependent Steps of Docking at the Nuclear Pore,Uncoating, and Nuclear Transport

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A comparative study of viral capsids and bacterial compartments reveals an enriched understanding of shell dynamics

In this work, we carry out a comparative study of the homo 360‐mer structures of viral capsids and bacterial compartments. Different from viral 360‐mers that all are arranged on a skewed right‐handed icosahedral lattice with a triangulation number T of 7, the new 360‐mer structure of AaLS‐13, an engineered bacterial compartment, offers a novel open conformation that has a unique unskewed lattice arrangement with a triangulation number T of 1 and large keyhole‐shaped pores in the shell. By comparing their differences, we are able to predict a closed conformation of AaLS‐13 that has the same lattice arrangement as existing viral capsid structures and in which all the keyhole‐shaped pores are shut. We find that there is a smooth transition pathway between the open and closed conformations. There exists another close conformation but with an opposite, left handedness, which, however, is not kinetically accessible from the open conformation. Our finding thus provides a clue why existing 360‐mer capsid structures all share the same right handedness. We further show that the conformation transition between the open and closed forms aligns extremely well with the intrinsic dynamics of the system as revealed from normal mode analysis, indicating that conformation transition can be fully driven by thermal fluctuations. The significance of this work is that it provides a better understanding of shell dynamics of both viral capsids and bacterial compartments, paving a way for future study of pore dynamics and the selective permeability of these systems.     

螺旋对称病毒衣壳参数的研究

本文从数学角度分析和研究了螺旋对称病毒衣壳参数、整理出衣壳参数２０多个,对每一个参数的概念、含义等给予了明确的认定。提示了参数间的关系,推导出了一些计算参数值的公式。     

新疆维吾尔族和汉族妇女宫颈脱落细胞中HPV Ll 壳蛋白的表达比较

目的:研究HPV L1壳蛋白在在新疆维吾尔族和汉族妇女宫颈脱落细胞中的表达情况及差异性。方法:收集2012年9月至2014年3月在新疆维吾尔自治区人民医院妇科门诊就诊或行宫颈癌机会性筛查的新疆维吾尔族和汉族妇女病例1160例,选择其中HPV感染阳性或TCT阳性或两项同时阳性的465例纳入研究队列,通过免疫细胞化学法检测宫颈脱落细胞中HPV L1蛋白的表达情况。结果:新疆维吾尔族与汉族妇女HPV L1壳蛋白的总阳性表达率比较无显著差异(P=0.964);维吾尔族与汉族妇女正常或慢性炎症组、CIN1组、CIN2组、CIN3组和SCC组HPV L1壳蛋白表达的阳性率比较均无显著差异(P=0.988,0.957,0.803,0.892,1.000)。新疆维吾尔族妇女和汉族妇女HPV L1壳蛋白表达的阳性率在C1N1组为最高,高于正常或慢性炎症组及其它高病变组,且HPV L1壳蛋白表达的阳性率随宫颈病变恶性程度的增加而降低,呈负相关(相关系数=-0.687和-0.379,P0.001)。结论:新疆维吾尔族与汉族妇女宫颈脱落细胞中HPV L1壳蛋白的表达不存在民族差异,但其与宫颈病变的恶性程度呈负相关,可能是宫颈病变的保护性因素之一。     

Electrostatic effects in a large enzyme complex: subunit interactions and electrostatic potential field of the icosahedral beta 60 capsid of heavy riboflavin synthase

The role of the electrostatic interactions in the stability of the icosahedral beta 60 capsid of heavy riboflavin synthase from Bacillus subtilis has been investigated using an approach based on the theory of Kirkwood and Tanford. The pH dependence of the electrostatic subunit interactions agrees well with experimental data. The electrostatic subunit interaction energy has a pronounced minimum at pH 8.2 for both the ligated and ligand-free capsid. The latter is characterized by a reduction of the magnitude and the pH range of the electrostatic attraction. It is found that only 8 charged groups, which form one cluster and two ion pairs, provide a significant contribution to the capsid stability. The analysis has shown that the aggregation/disaggregation equilibrium seems to be regulated by electrostatic interactions between beta-subunits forming dimers, which connect the relatively stable pentamers in the beta-60 capsid. The release of the ligand causes a reduction of the electrostatic attraction of the dimers, which may induce disaggregation of the capsid. The electrostatic potential field due to the titratable groups and alpha-helix macrodipoles has been calculated on the basis of the Coulomb relation. Two different values of the dielectric constant have been used for the protein and the surrounding solvent, respectively. The electrostatic potential shows a radially polar distribution with a positive pole at the inner capsid wall and a negative pole outside the capsid. An interesting feature of the electrostatic field is the formation of positive potential "channels" that coincide with the channels constituted by the pentameric and trimeric beta-subunit aggregates. It is supposed that the electrostatic potential field plays a role in enzyme-substrate recognition.     

T=1 capsid structures of Sesbania mosaic virus coat protein mutants: determinants of T=3 and T=1 capsid assembly

Sesbania mosaic virus particles consist of 180 coat protein subunits of 29kDa organized on a T=3 icosahedral lattice. N-terminal deletion mutants of coat protein that lack 36 (CP-NDelta36) and 65 (CP-NDelta65) residues from the N terminus, when expressed in Escherichia coli, produced similar T=1 capsids of approximate diameter 20nm. In contrast to the wild-type particles, these contain only 60 copies of the truncated protein subunits (T=1). CP-NDelta65 lacks the "beta-annulus" believed to be responsible for the error-free assembly of T=3 particles. Though the CP-NDelta36 mutant has the beta-annulus segment, it does not form a T=3 capsid, presumably because it lacks an arginine-rich motif found close to the amino terminus. Both CP-NDelta36 and CP-NDelta65 T=1 capsids retain many key features of the T=3 quaternary structure. Calcium binding geometries at the coat protein interfaces in these two particles are also nearly identical. When the conserved aspartate residues that coordinate the calcium, D146 and D149 in the CP-NDelta65, were mutated to asparagine (CP-NDelta65-D146N-D149N), the subunits assembled into T=1 particles but failed to bind calcium ions. The structure of this mutant revealed particles that were slightly expanded. The analysis of the structures of these mutant capsids suggests that although calcium binding contributes substantially to the stability of T=1 particles, it is not mandatory for their assembly. In contrast, the presence of a large fraction of the amino-terminal arm including sequences that precede the beta-annulus and the conserved D149 appear to be indispensable for the error-free assembly of T=3 particles.     

诺如病毒CHN02/LZ35666株RdRp和VP1基因序列分析

诺如病毒（Noroviruses,NVs）为杯状病毒科的一个属,是引起人类病毒性胃肠炎暴发的重要病原。在美国、欧洲和日本,病毒性胃肠炎暴发中由NV引起的占93％。NV的基因组为单股正链RNA,全长约7．7kb,由3个开放阅读框（open reading frames,ORFs）组成,ORF1编码非结构蛋白,其中包括RNA聚合酶（RNA dependent RNA polymerase,RdRp）,0RF2和0RF3分别编码主要（VP1）和次要（VP2）衣壳蛋白。VP1蛋白折叠成两个区域,壳区（Shell,S）和突出区（Protruding,P）,S区形成内壳,P区形成拱样结构突出于内壳外。P区进一步分为P1和P2亚区,后者位于衣壳的最外面,P2区相对于S区和P1区序列高度变异,被认为是免疫识别和受体结合的关键部位。     

Defining residues involved in human rhinovirus 2A proteinase substrate recognition

The 2A proteinase (2A(pro)) of human rhinoviruses (HRVs) initiates proteolytic processing by cleaving between the C-terminus of VP1 and its own N-terminus. It subsequently cleaves the host protein eIF4GI. HRV2 and HRV14 2A(pro) cleave at IITTA *GPSD and DIKSY *GLGP on their respective polyproteins. The HRV2 2A(pro) cleavage site on eIF4GI is TLSTR *GPPR. We show that HRV2 2A(pro) can self-process at the eIF4GI cleavage sequence whereas HRV14 2A(pro) cannot, due to the presence of the arginine residue at P1. The mutations A104C or A104S in HRV14 2A(pro) restored cleavage when arginine was present at P1, although not to wild-type levels. These experiments define residues which determine substrate recognition in rhinoviral 2A(pro).