The deletion of residues 268-292 of E1 impairs the ability of HCV envelope proteins to induce pore formation

We have obtained a chimeric protein containing the ectodomains of hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope proteins but lacking the region 268-292 of E1. All its structural properties are coincident with those of the corresponding full length chimera. The deleted and entire chimeras were compared in terms o...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Lombana, Laura, Ortega Atienza, Sara, Gómez Gutiérrez, Julián, Yélamos, Belén, Peterson, Darrell, Gavilanes, Francisco
Format: article
Publication Date:2016
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repository:Docta Complutense
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/24382
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/24382
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:577.1
hepatitis C virus
viral envelope proteins
lipid-protein interaction
membrane fusion
protein spectroscopic properties.
Biología molecular (Biología)
Bioquímica (Biología)
2415 Biología Molecular
2302 Bioquímica
Description
Summary:We have obtained a chimeric protein containing the ectodomains of hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope proteins but lacking the region 268-292 of E1. All its structural properties are coincident with those of the corresponding full length chimera. The deleted and entire chimeras were compared in terms of their membrane destabilizing properties. No differences were found in their ability to induce vesicle aggregation and lipid mixing but the deleted chimera showed a reduced capacity to promote leakage. The role of the deletion was also studied by obtaining HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp). Both E1 and E2, and also the E1 deleted mutant, were incorporated into HCVpp to a similar level. However, HCVpp containing the E1 deleted protein are almost unable to infect Huh7 cells. These results point to the involvement of the region 268-292 in the formation of pores in the membrane necessary for the complete fusion of the membranes.