Structural highlights
Function
[POLG_POL3L] Capsid proteins VP1, VP2, VP3 and VP4 form a closed capsid enclosing the viral positive strand RNA genome. VP4 lies on the inner surface of the protein shell formed by VP1, VP2 and VP3. All the three latter proteins contain a beta-sheet structure called beta-barrel jelly roll. Together they form an icosahedral capsid (T=3) composed of 60 copies of each VP1, VP2, and VP3, with a diameter of approximately 300 Angstroms. VP1 is situated at the 12 fivefold axes, whereas VP2 and VP3 are located at the quasi-sixfold axes. The interaction of five VP1 proteins in the fivefold axes results in a prominent protusion extending to about 25 Angstroms from the capsid shell. The resulting structure appears as a steep plateau encircled by a valley or cleft. This depression also termed canyon is the receptor binding site. The capsid interacts with human PVR at this site to provide virion attachment to target cell. This attachment induces virion internalization predominantly through clathrin- and caveolin-independent endocytosis in Hela cells and through caveolin-mediated endocytosis in brain microvascular endothelial cells. VP4 and VP1 subsequently undergo conformational changes leading to the formation of a pore in the endosomal membrane, thereby delivering the viral genome into the cytoplasm (By similarity). VP0 precursor is a component of immature procapsids (By similarity). Protein 2A is a cysteine protease that is responsible for the cleavage between the P1 and P2 regions. It cleaves the host translation initiation factor EIF4G1, in order to shut down the capped cellular mRNA transcription (By similarity). Protein 2B affects membrane integrity and cause an increase in membrane permeability (By similarity). Protein 2C associates with and induces structural rearrangements of intracellular membranes. It displays RNA-binding, nucleotide binding and NTPase activities (By similarity). Protein 3A, via its hydrophobic domain, serves as membrane anchor. It also inhibits endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi transport (By similarity). Protein 3C is a cysteine protease that generates mature viral proteins from the precursor polyprotein. In addition to its proteolytic activity, it binds to viral RNA, and thus influences viral genome replication. RNA and substrate bind co-operatively to the protease (By similarity). RNA-directed RNA polymerase 3D-POL replicates genomic and antigenomic RNA by recognizing replications specific signals (By similarity).
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Poliovirus (PV) is the causative agent of poliomyelitis, a crippling human disease known since antiquity. PV occurs in two distinct antigenic forms, D and C, of which only the D form elicits a robust neutralizing response. Developing a synthetically produced stabilized virus-like particle (sVLP)-based vaccine with D antigenicity, without the drawbacks of current vaccines, will be a major step towards the final eradication of poliovirus. Such a sVLP would retain the native antigenic conformation and the repetitive structure of the original virus particle, but lack infectious genomic material. In this study, we report the production of synthetically stabilized PV VLPs in plants. Mice carrying the gene for the human PV receptor are protected from wild-type PV when immunized with the plant-made PV sVLPs. Structural analysis of the stabilized mutant at 3.6 A resolution by cryo-electron microscopy and single-particle reconstruction reveals a structure almost indistinguishable from wild-type PV3.Despite the success of current vaccination against poliomyelitis, safe, cheap and effective vaccines remain sought for continuing eradication effort. Here the authors use plants to express stabilized virus-like particles of type 3 poliovirus that can induce a protective immune response in mice transgenic for the human poliovirus receptor.
Plant-made polio type 3 stabilized VLPs-a candidate synthetic polio vaccine.,Marsian J, Fox H, Bahar MW, Kotecha A, Fry EE, Stuart DI, Macadam AJ, Rowlands DJ, Lomonossoff GP Nat Commun. 2017 Aug 15;8(1):245. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00090-w. PMID:28811473[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Marsian J, Fox H, Bahar MW, Kotecha A, Fry EE, Stuart DI, Macadam AJ, Rowlands DJ, Lomonossoff GP. Plant-made polio type 3 stabilized VLPs-a candidate synthetic polio vaccine. Nat Commun. 2017 Aug 15;8(1):245. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00090-w. PMID:28811473 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00090-w