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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2013-01-08
    Description: Little is known about the three-dimensional organization of rubella virus, which causes a relatively mild measles-like disease in children but leads to serious congenital health problems when contracted in utero. Although rubella virus belongs to the same family as the mosquito-borne alphaviruses, in many respects it is more similar to other aerosol-transmitted human viruses such as the agents of measles and mumps. Although the use of the triple MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) live vaccine has limited its incidence in western countries, congenital rubella syndrome remains an important health problem in the developing world. Here we report the 1.8 A resolution crystal structure of envelope glycoprotein E1, the main antigen and sole target of neutralizing antibodies against rubella virus. E1 is the main player during entry into target cells owing to its receptor-binding and membrane-fusion functions. The structure reveals the epitope and the neutralization mechanism of an important category of protecting antibodies against rubella infection. It also shows that rubella virus E1 is a class II fusion protein, which had hitherto only been structurally characterized for the arthropod-borne alphaviruses and flaviviruses. In addition, rubella virus E1 has an extensive membrane-fusion surface that includes a metal site, reminiscent of the T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin family of cellular proteins that bind phosphatidylserine lipids at the plasma membrane of cells undergoing apoptosis. Such features have not been seen in any fusion protein crystallized so far. Structural comparisons show that the class II fusion proteins from alphaviruses and flaviviruses, despite belonging to different virus families, are closer to each other than they are to rubella virus E1. This suggests that the constraints on arboviruses imposed by alternating cycles between vertebrates and arthropods resulted in more conservative evolution. By contrast, in the absence of this constraint, the strictly human rubella virus seems to have drifted considerably into a unique niche as sole member of the Rubivirus genus.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉DuBois, Rebecca M -- Vaney, Marie-Christine -- Tortorici, M Alejandra -- Kurdi, Rana Al -- Barba-Spaeth, Giovanna -- Krey, Thomas -- Rey, Felix A -- England -- Nature. 2013 Jan 24;493(7433):552-6. doi: 10.1038/nature11741. Epub 2013 Jan 6.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut Pasteur, Departement de Virologie, Unite de Virologie Structurale and CNRS URA 3015, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23292515" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
    Keywords: Animals ; Binding Sites ; *Biological Evolution ; Cell Line ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; Drosophila melanogaster ; Evolution, Molecular ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Liposomes/chemistry/metabolism ; Membrane Fusion ; Metals/metabolism ; Models, Molecular ; Protein Multimerization ; Rubella Syndrome, Congenital/virology ; Rubella virus/*chemistry/physiology ; Viral Envelope Proteins/*chemistry/genetics/*metabolism/ultrastructure
    Print ISSN: 0028-0836
    Electronic ISSN: 1476-4687
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General , Physics
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  • 2
  • 3
    Publication Date: 2011-05-11
    Description: Dengue virus (DENV) causes the major arboviral disease of the tropics, characterized in its severe forms by signs of hemorrhage and plasma leakage. DENV encodes a nonstructural glycoprotein, NS1, that associates with intracellular membranes and the cell surface. NS1 is eventually secreted as a soluble hexamer from DENV-infected cells and circulates in the bloodstream of infected patients. Extracellular NS1 has been shown to modulate the complement system and to enhance DENV infection, yet its structure and function remain essentially unknown. By combining cryoelectron microscopy analysis with a characterization of NS1 amphipathic properties, we show that the secreted NS1 hexamer forms a lipoprotein particle with an open-barrel protein shell and a prominent central channel rich in lipids. Biochemical and NMR analyses of the NS1 lipid cargo reveal the presence of triglycerides, bound at an equimolar ratio to the NS1 protomer, as well as cholesteryl esters and phospholipids, a composition evocative of the plasma lipoproteins involved in vascular homeostasis. This study suggests that DENV NS1, by mimicking or hijacking lipid metabolic pathways, contributes to endothelium dysfunction, a key feature of severe dengue disease.
    Print ISSN: 0027-8424
    Electronic ISSN: 1091-6490
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2015-10-31
    Description: The human APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B genes (A3A and A3B) encode DNA mutator enzymes that deaminate cytidine and 5-methylcytidine residues in single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). They are important sources of mutations in many cancer genomes which show a preponderance of CG-〉TA transitions. Although both enzymes can hypermutate chromosomal DNA in an experimental setting, only A3A can induce double strand DNA breaks, even though the catalytic domains of A3B and A3A differ by only 9% at the protein level. Accordingly we sought the molecular basis underlying A3B attenuation through the generation of A3A-A3B chimeras and mutants. It transpires that the N-terminal domain facilitates A3B activity while a handful of substitutions in the catalytic C-terminal domain impacting ssDNA binding serve to attenuate A3B compared to A3A. Interestingly, functional attenuation is also observed for the rhesus monkey rhA3B enzyme compared to rhA3A indicating that this genotoxic dichotomy has been selected for and maintained for some 38 million years. Expression of all human ssDNA cytidine deaminase genes is absent in mature sperm indicating they contribute to somatic mutation and cancer but not human diversity.
    Print ISSN: 0305-1048
    Electronic ISSN: 1362-4962
    Topics: Biology
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