Conformational Plasticity Underlies Membrane Fusion Induced by an HIV Sequence Juxtaposed to the Lipid Envelope

Envelope glycoproteins from genetically-divergent virus families comprise fusion peptides (FPs) that have been posited to insert and perturb the membranes of target cells upon activation of the virus-cell fusion reaction. Conserved sequences rich in aromatic residues juxtaposed to the external leafl...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: De la Arada Echevarría, Igor, Torralba Iturbe, Johana, Tascón, Igor, Colom Diego, Adai, Ubarrechena Belandia, Iván, Rodríguez Arrondo, José Luis, Apellaniz Unzalu, Beatriz, Nieva Escandón, José Luis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/50573
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/50573
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:envelope glycoproteins
fusion peptides
target cells
aromatic residues
viral fusion glycoproteins
infrared spectroscopy
cryo-electron microscopy
cholesterol
Descripción
Sumario:Envelope glycoproteins from genetically-divergent virus families comprise fusion peptides (FPs) that have been posited to insert and perturb the membranes of target cells upon activation of the virus-cell fusion reaction. Conserved sequences rich in aromatic residues juxtaposed to the external leaflet of the virion-wrapping membranes are also frequently found in viral fusion glycoproteins. These membrane-proximal external regions (MPERs) have been implicated in the promotion of the viral membrane restructuring event required for fusion to proceed, hence, proposed to comprise supplementary FPs. However, it remains unknown whether the structure-function relationships governing canonical FPs also operate in the mirroring MPER sequences. Here, we combine infrared spectroscopy-based approaches with cryo-electron microscopy to analyze the alternating conformations adopted, and perturbations generated in membranes by CpreTM, a peptide derived from the MPER of the HIV-1 Env glycoprotein. Altogether, our structural and morphological data support a cholesterol-dependent conformational plasticity for this HIV-1 sequence, which could assist cell-virus fusion by destabilizing the viral membrane at the initial stages of the process