scholarly journals Protein-sol pKa: prediction of electrostatic frustration, with application to coronaviruses

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (20) ◽  
pp. 5112-5114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Hebditch ◽  
Jim Warwicker
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Solvent Accessibility ◽  
Ph Sensing ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Pka Calculation ◽  
Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin ◽  
Endosomal Ph ◽  
Computationally Intensive ◽  
Ionizable Groups ◽  
Conformational Conversion

Abstract Motivation Evolution couples differences in ambient pH to biological function through protonatable groups, in particular, those that switch from buried to exposed and alter protonation state in doing so. We present a tool focusing on structure-based discovery and display of these groups. Results Since prediction of buried group pKas is computationally intensive, solvent accessibility of ionizable groups is displayed, from which the user can iteratively select pKa calculation centers. Results are color-coded, with emphasis on buried groups. Utility is demonstrated with benchmarking against known pH sensing sites in influenza virus hemagglutinin and in variants of murine hepatitis virus, a coronavirus. A pair of histidine residues, which are conserved in coronavirus spike proteins, are predicted to be electrostatically frustrated at acidic pH in both pre- and post-fusion conformations. We suggest that an intermediate expanded conformation at endosomal pH could relax the frustration, allowing histidine protonation and facilitating conformational conversion of coronavirus spike protein. Availability and implementation This tool is available at http://www.protein-sol.manchester.ac.uk/pka/.

scholarly journals protein-sol pKa: prediction of electrostatic frustration, with application to coronaviruses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Hebditch ◽  
Jim Warwicker
Keyword(s):  
Biological Function ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Solvent Accessibility ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Protonation State ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Pka Calculation ◽  
Endosomal Ph ◽  
Computationally Intensive ◽  
Conformational Conversion

AbstractEvolution couples differences in ambient pH to biological function through protonatable groups, in particular those that switch from buried to exposed and alter protonation state in doing so. We present a tool focusing on structure-based discovery and display of these groups. Since prediction of buried group pKas is computationally intensive, solvent accessibility of ionisable groups is displayed, from which the user can iteratively select pKa calculation centers. Results are color-coded, with emphasis on buried groups. Utility is demonstrated with coronaviruses, which exhibit variable dependence on the acidic pH of the endocytotic pathway. After benchmarking with variants of murine hepatitis virus, a pair of conserved histidine residues are identified that are predicted to be electrostatically frustrated at acidic pH in a common structural core of pre- and post-fusion coronavirus spike proteins. We suggest that an intermediate expanded conformation at endosomal pH could relax the frustration, allowing histidine protonation, and facilitating conformational conversion. This tool is available at http://www.protein-sol.manchester.ac.uk/pka/.

scholarly journals Characterization of murine hepatitis virus (JHM) RNA from rats with experimental encephalomyelitis

Virology ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis P. Jackson ◽  
Dean H. Percy ◽  
Vincent L. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus

scholarly journals Variations in Disparate Regions of the Murine Coronavirus Spike Protein Impact the Initiation of Membrane Fusion

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2792-2802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn K. Krueger ◽  
Sean M. Kelly ◽  
Daniel N. Lewicki ◽  
Rosanna Ruffolo ◽  
Thomas M. Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Soluble Form ◽  
Fusion Activity ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus

ABSTRACT The prototype JHM strain of murine hepatitis virus (MHV) is an enveloped, RNA-containing coronavirus that has been selected in vivo for extreme neurovirulence. This virus encodes spike (S) glycoproteins that are extraordinarily effective mediators of intercellular membrane fusion, unique in their ability to initiate fusion even without prior interaction with the primary MHV receptor, a murine carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM). In considering the possible role of this hyperactive membrane fusion activity in neurovirulence, we discovered that the growth of JHM in tissue culture selected for variants that had lost murine CEACAM-independent fusion activity. Among the collection of variants, mutations were identified in regions encoding both the receptor-binding (S1) and fusion-inducing (S2) subunits of the spike protein. Each mutation was separately introduced into cDNA encoding the prototype JHM spike, and the set of cDNAs was expressed using vaccinia virus vectors. The variant spikes were similar to that of JHM in their assembly into oligomers, their proteolysis into S1 and S2 cleavage products, their transport to cell surfaces, and their affinity for a soluble form of murine CEACAM. However, these tissue culture-adapted spikes were significantly stabilized as S1-S2 heteromers, and their entirely CEACAM-dependent fusion activity was delayed or reduced relative to prototype JHM spikes. The mutations that we have identified therefore point to regions of the S protein that specifically regulate the membrane fusion reaction. We suggest that cultured cells, unlike certain in vivo environments, select for S proteins with delayed, CEACAM-dependent fusion activities that may increase the likelihood of virus internalization prior to the irreversible uncoating process.

scholarly journals Virus-Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody Expressed in Milk of Transgenic Mice Provides Full Protection against Virus-Induced Encephalitis

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2803-2809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas F. Kolb ◽  
Lecia Pewe ◽  
John Webster ◽  
Stanley Perlman ◽  
C. Bruce A. Whitelaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Recombinant Antibody ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Neutralizing Antibody ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus

ABSTRACT Neutralizing antibodies represent a major host defense mechanism against viral infections. In mammals, passive immunity is provided by neutralizing antibodies passed to the offspring via the placenta or the milk as immunoglobulin G and secreted immunoglobulin A. With the long-term goal of producing virus-resistant livestock, we have generated mice carrying transgenes that encode the light and heavy chains of an antibody that is able to neutralize the neurotropic JHM strain of murine hepatitis virus (MHV-JHM). MHV-JHM causes acute encephalitis and acute and chronic demyelination in susceptible strains of mice and rats. Transgene expression was targeted to the lactating mammary gland by using the ovine β-lactoglobulin promoter. Milk from these transgenic mice contained up to 0.7 mg of recombinant antibody/ml. In vitro analysis of milk derived from different transgenic lines revealed a linear correlation between antibody expression and virus-neutralizing activity, indicating that the recombinant antibody is the major determinant of MHV-JHM neutralization in murine milk. Offspring of transgenic and control mice were challenged with a lethal dose of MHV-JHM. Litters suckling nontransgenic dams succumbed to fatal encephalitis, whereas litters suckling transgenic dams were fully protected against challenge, irrespective of whether they were transgenic. This demonstrates that a single neutralizing antibody expressed in the milk of transgenic mice is sufficient to completely protect suckling offspring against MHV-JHM-induced encephalitis.

scholarly journals In vitro analysis of the oligodendrocyte lineage in mice during demyelination and remyelination.

1990 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 1183-1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Armstrong ◽  
V L Friedrich ◽  
K V Holmes ◽  
M Dubois-Dalcq
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Glial Cells ◽  
Demyelinating Disease ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Igf I

A demyelinating disease induced in C57B1/6N mice by intracranial injection of a coronavirus (murine hepatitis virus strain A59) is followed by functional recovery and efficient CNS myelin repair. To study the biological properties of the cells involved in this repair process, glial cells were isolated and cultured from spinal cords of these young adult mice during demyelination and remyelination. Using three-color immunofluorescence combined with [3H]thymidine autoradiography, we have analyzed the antigenic phenotype and mitotic potential of individual glial cells. We identified oligodendrocytes with an antibody to galactocerebroside, astrocytes with an antibody to glial fibrillary acidic protein, and oligodendrocyte-type 2 astrocyte (O-2A) progenitor cells with the O4 antibody. Cultures from demyelinated tissue differed in several ways from those of age-matched controls: first, the total number of O-2A lineage cells was strikingly increased; second, the O-2A population consisted of a higher proportion of O4-positive astrocytes and cells of mixed oligodendrocyte-astrocyte phenotype; and third, all the cell types within the O-2A lineage showed enhanced proliferation. This proliferation was not further enhanced by adding PDGF, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), or insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) to the defined medium. However, bFGF and IGF-I seemed to influence the fate of O-2A lineage cells in cultures of demyelinated tissue. Basic FGF decreased the percentage of cells expressing galactocerebroside. In contrast, IGF-I increased the relative proportion of oligodendrocytes. Thus, O-2A lineage cells from adult mice display greater phenotypic plasticity and enhanced mitotic potential in response to an episode of demyelination. These properties may be linked to the efficient remyelination achieved in this demyelinating disease.

Effect of eicosanoids on induction of procoagulant activity by murine hepatitis virus strain 3 in vitro

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 501-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.W. Chung ◽  
S.B. Sinclair ◽  
L.S. Fung ◽  
E.H. Cole ◽  
G.A. Levy
Keyword(s):  
Virus Strain ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Procoagulant Activity ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus

scholarly journals Antiviral Effects of Antisense Morpholino Oligomers in Murine Coronavirus Infection Models

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
pp. 5637-5648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renaud Burrer ◽  
Benjamin W. Neuman ◽  
Joey P. C. Ting ◽  
David A. Stein ◽  
Hong M. Moulton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Culture ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Antiviral Effect ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Murine Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Lethal Challenge ◽  
Recent Emergence

ABSTRACT The recent emergence of novel pathogenic human and animal coronaviruses has highlighted the need for antiviral therapies that are effective against a spectrum of these viruses. We have used several strains of murine hepatitis virus (MHV) in cell culture and in vivo in mouse models to investigate the antiviral characteristics of peptide-conjugated antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (P-PMOs). Ten P-PMOs directed against various target sites in the viral genome were tested in cell culture, and one of these (5TERM), which was complementary to the 5′ terminus of the genomic RNA, was effective against six strains of MHV. Further studies were carried out with various arginine-rich peptides conjugated to the 5TERM PMO sequence in order to evaluate efficacy and toxicity and thereby select candidates for in vivo testing. In uninfected mice, prolonged P-PMO treatment did not result in weight loss or detectable histopathologic changes. 5TERM P-PMO treatment reduced viral titers in target organs and protected mice against virus-induced tissue damage. Prophylactic 5TERM P-PMO treatment decreased the amount of weight loss associated with infection under most experimental conditions. Treatment also prolonged survival in two lethal challenge models. In some cases of high-dose viral inoculation followed by delayed treatment, 5TERM P-PMO treatment was not protective and increased morbidity in the treated group, suggesting that P-PMO may cause toxic effects in diseased mice that were not apparent in the uninfected animals. However, the strong antiviral effect observed suggests that with further development, P-PMO may provide an effective therapeutic approach against a broad range of coronavirus infections.

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