Virus Maturation

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2014) | Viewed by 66241

Special Issue Editors

Physical Chemistry/Biophysical Chemistry/Theoretical and Computational Chemistry and Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
Interests: computational biophysics; molecular dynamics simulations; multi-scale modeling; virus structure and dynamics; membrane biophysics; peptide-membrane interactions; protein dynamics

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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1858 KiB  
Article
The A, B, Cs of Herpesvirus Capsids
by Ritesh Tandon, Edward S. Mocarski and James F. Conway
Viruses 2015, 7(3), 899-914; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v7030899 - 26 Feb 2015
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 7454
Abstract
Assembly of herpesvirus nucleocapsids shares significant similarities with the assembly of tailed dsDNA bacteriophages; however, important differences exist. A unique feature of herpesviruses is the presence of different mature capsid forms in the host cell nucleus during infection. These capsid forms, referred to [...] Read more.
Assembly of herpesvirus nucleocapsids shares significant similarities with the assembly of tailed dsDNA bacteriophages; however, important differences exist. A unique feature of herpesviruses is the presence of different mature capsid forms in the host cell nucleus during infection. These capsid forms, referred to as A-, B-, and C-capsids, represent empty capsids, scaffold containing capsids and viral DNA containing capsids, respectively. The C-capsids are the closest in form to those encapsidated into mature virions and are considered precursors to infectious virus. The evidence supporting A- and B-capsids as either abortive forms or assembly intermediates has been lacking. Interaction of specific capsid forms with viral tegument proteins has been proposed to be a mechanism for quality control at the point of nuclear egress of mature particles. Here, we will review the available literature on these capsid forms and present data to debate whether A- and B-capsids play an important or an extraneous role in the herpesvirus life cycle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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1237 KiB  
Article
Mutation of the Highly Conserved Ser-40 of the HIV-1 p6 Gag Protein to Phe Causes the Formation of a Hydrophobic Patch, Enhances Membrane Association, and Polyubiquitination of Gag
by Friedrich Hahn, Christian Setz, Melanie Friedrich, Pia Rauch, Sara Marie Solbak, Nils Åge Frøystein, Petra Henklein, Jörg Votteler, Torgils Fossen and Ulrich Schubert
Viruses 2014, 6(10), 3738-3765; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v6103738 - 02 Oct 2014
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8799
Abstract
The HIV-1 p6 Gag protein contains two late assembly (l-) domains that recruit proteins of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) pathway to mediate membrane fission between the nascent virion and the cell membrane. It was recently demonstrated that mutation of [...] Read more.
The HIV-1 p6 Gag protein contains two late assembly (l-) domains that recruit proteins of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) pathway to mediate membrane fission between the nascent virion and the cell membrane. It was recently demonstrated that mutation of the highly conserved Ser-40 to Phe (S40F) disturbs CA-SP1 processing, virus morphogenesis, and infectivity. It also causes the formation of filopodia-like structures, while virus release remains unaffected. Here, we show that the mutation S40F, but not the conservative mutation to Asp (S40D) or Asn (S40N), augments membrane association, K48-linked polyubiquitination, entry into the 26S proteasome, and, consequently, enhances MHC-I antigen presentation of Gag derived epitopes. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structure analyses revealed that the newly introduced Phe-40, together with Tyr-36, causes the formation of a hydrophobic patch at the C-terminal α-helix of p6, providing a molecular rationale for the enhanced membrane association of Gag observed in vitro and in HIV-1 expressing cells. The extended exposure of the S40F mutant to unidentified membrane-resident ubiquitin E3-ligases might trigger the polyubiquitination of Gag. The cumulative data support a previous model of a so far undefined property of p6, which, in addition to MA, acts as membrane targeting domain of Gag. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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2689 KiB  
Article
The Role of the Coat Protein A-Domain in P22 Bacteriophage Maturation
by David S. Morris and Peter E. Prevelige, Jr.
Viruses 2014, 6(7), 2708-2722; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v6072708 - 14 Jul 2014
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5698
Abstract
Bacteriophage P22 has long been considered a hallmark model for virus assembly and maturation. Repurposing of P22 and other similar virus structures for nanotechnology and nanomedicine has reinvigorated the need to further understand the protein-protein interactions that allow for the assembly, as well [...] Read more.
Bacteriophage P22 has long been considered a hallmark model for virus assembly and maturation. Repurposing of P22 and other similar virus structures for nanotechnology and nanomedicine has reinvigorated the need to further understand the protein-protein interactions that allow for the assembly, as well as the conformational shifts required for maturation. In this work, gp5, the major coat structural protein of P22, has been manipulated in order to examine the mutational effects on procapsid stability and maturation. Insertions to the P22 coat protein A-domain, while widely permissive of procapsid assembly, destabilize the interactions necessary for virus maturation and potentially allow for the tunable adjustment of procapsid stability. Future manipulation of this region of the coat protein subunit can potentially be used to alter the stability of the capsid for controllable disassembly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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Review

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2783 KiB  
Review
Structure, Function and Dynamics in Adenovirus Maturation
by Walter F. Mangel and Carmen San Martín
Viruses 2014, 6(11), 4536-4570; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v6114536 - 21 Nov 2014
Cited by 93 | Viewed by 12073
Abstract
Here we review the current knowledge on maturation of adenovirus, a non-enveloped icosahedral eukaryotic virus. The adenovirus dsDNA genome fills the capsid in complex with a large amount of histone-like viral proteins, forming the core. Maturation involves proteolytic cleavage of several capsid and [...] Read more.
Here we review the current knowledge on maturation of adenovirus, a non-enveloped icosahedral eukaryotic virus. The adenovirus dsDNA genome fills the capsid in complex with a large amount of histone-like viral proteins, forming the core. Maturation involves proteolytic cleavage of several capsid and core precursor proteins by the viral protease (AVP). AVP uses a peptide cleaved from one of its targets as a “molecular sled” to slide on the viral genome and reach its substrates, in a remarkable example of one-dimensional chemistry. Immature adenovirus containing the precursor proteins lacks infectivity because of its inability to uncoat. The immature core is more compact and stable than the mature one, due to the condensing action of unprocessed core polypeptides; shell precursors underpin the vertex region and the connections between capsid and core. Maturation makes the virion metastable, priming it for stepwise uncoating by facilitating vertex release and loosening the condensed genome and its attachment to the icosahedral shell. The packaging scaffold protein L1 52/55k is also a substrate for AVP. Proteolytic processing of L1 52/55k disrupts its interactions with other virion components, providing a mechanism for its removal during maturation. Finally, possible roles for maturation of the terminal protein are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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560 KiB  
Review
From Crescent to Mature Virion: Vaccinia Virus Assembly and Maturation
by Liang Liu, Tamara Cooper, Paul M. Howley and John D. Hayball
Viruses 2014, 6(10), 3787-3808; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v6103787 - 07 Oct 2014
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 11142
Abstract
Vaccinia virus (VACV) has achieved unprecedented success as a live viral vaccine for smallpox which mitigated eradication of the disease. Vaccinia virus has a complex virion morphology and recent advances have been made to answer some of the key outstanding questions, in particular, [...] Read more.
Vaccinia virus (VACV) has achieved unprecedented success as a live viral vaccine for smallpox which mitigated eradication of the disease. Vaccinia virus has a complex virion morphology and recent advances have been made to answer some of the key outstanding questions, in particular, the origin and biogenesis of the virion membrane, the transformation from immature virion (IV) to mature virus (MV), and the role of several novel genes, which were previously uncharacterized, but have now been shown to be essential for VACV virion formation. This new knowledge will undoubtedly contribute to the rational design of safe, immunogenic vaccine candidates, or effective antivirals in the future. This review endeavors to provide an update on our current knowledge of the VACV maturation processes with a specific focus on the initiation of VACV replication through to the formation of mature virions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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1973 KiB  
Review
Assembly and Maturation of a T = 4 Quasi-Equivalent Virus Is Guided by Electrostatic and Mechanical Forces
by Bradley M. Kearney and John E. Johnson
Viruses 2014, 6(8), 3348-3362; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v6083348 - 22 Aug 2014
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 7853
Abstract
Nudaurelia capensis w virus (NωV) is a eukaryotic RNA virus that is well suited for the study of virus maturation. The virus initially assembles at pH 7.6 into a marginally stable 480-Å procapsid formed by 240 copies of a single type of protein [...] Read more.
Nudaurelia capensis w virus (NωV) is a eukaryotic RNA virus that is well suited for the study of virus maturation. The virus initially assembles at pH 7.6 into a marginally stable 480-Å procapsid formed by 240 copies of a single type of protein subunit. During maturation, which occurs during apoptosis at pH 5.0, electrostatic forces guide subunit trajectories into a robust 410-Å virion that is buttressed by subunit associated molecular switches. We discuss the competing factors in the virus capsid of requiring near-reversible interactions during initial assembly to avoid kinetic traps, while requiring robust stability to survive in the extra-cellular environment. In addition, viruses have a variety of mechanisms to deliver the genome, which must remain off while still inside the infected cell, yet turn on under the proper conditions of infection. We conclude that maturation is the process that provides a solution to these conflicting requirements through a program that is encoded in the procapsid and that leads to stability and infectivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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6874 KiB  
Review
Bluetongue Virus Capsid Assembly and Maturation
by Bjorn-Patrick Mohl and Polly Roy
Viruses 2014, 6(8), 3250-3270; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v6083250 - 21 Aug 2014
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 12098
Abstract
Maturation is an intrinsic phase of the viral life cycle and is often intertwined with egress. In this review we focus on orbivirus maturation by using Bluetongue virus (BTV) as a representative. BTV, a member of the genus Orbivirus within the family Reoviridae, [...] Read more.
Maturation is an intrinsic phase of the viral life cycle and is often intertwined with egress. In this review we focus on orbivirus maturation by using Bluetongue virus (BTV) as a representative. BTV, a member of the genus Orbivirus within the family Reoviridae, has over the last three decades been subjected to intense molecular study and is thus one of the best understood viruses. BTV is a non-enveloped virus comprised of two concentric protein shells that encapsidate 10 double-stranded RNA genome segments. Upon cell entry, the outer capsid is shed, releasing the core which does not disassemble into the cytoplasm. The polymerase complex within the core then synthesizes transcripts from each genome segment and extrudes these into the cytoplasm where they act as templates for protein synthesis. Newly synthesized ssRNA then associates with the replicase complex prior to encapsidation by inner and outer protein layers of core within virus-triggered inclusion bodies. Maturation of core occurs outside these inclusion bodies (IBs) via the addition of the outer capsid proteins, which appears to be coupled to a non-lytic, exocytic pathway during early infection. Similar to the enveloped viruses, BTV hijacks the exocytosis and endosomal sorting complex required for trafficking (ESCRT) pathway via a non-structural glycoprotein. This exquisitely detailed understanding is assembled from a broad array of assays, spanning numerous and diverse in vitro and in vivo studies. Presented here are the detailed insights of BTV maturation and egress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus Maturation)
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