scholarly journals Hydrodynamic and Membrane Binding Properties of Purified Rous Sarcoma Virus Gag Protein

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (20) ◽  
pp. 10371-10382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Dick ◽  
Siddhartha A. K. Datta ◽  
Hirsh Nanda ◽  
Xianyang Fang ◽  
Yi Wen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Acyl Chain ◽  
Membrane Binding ◽  
Membrane Association ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACTPreviously, no retroviral Gag protein has been highly purified in milligram quantities and in a biologically relevant and active form. We have purified Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag protein and in parallel several truncation mutants of Gag and have studied their biophysical properties and membrane interactionsin vitro. RSV Gag is unusual in that it is not naturally myristoylated. From its ability to assemble into virus-like particlesin vitro, we infer that RSV Gag is biologically active. By size exclusion chromatography and small-angle X-ray scattering, Gag in solution appears extended and flexible, in contrast to previous reports on unmyristoylated HIV-1 Gag, which is compact. However, by neutron reflectometry measurements of RSV Gag bound to a supported bilayer, the protein appears to adopt a more compact, folded-over conformation. At physiological ionic strength, purified Gag binds strongly to liposomes containing acidic lipids. This interaction is stimulated by physiological levels of phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] and by cholesterol. However, unlike HIV-1 Gag, RSV Gag shows no sensitivity to acyl chain saturation. In contrast with full-length RSV Gag, the purified MA domain of Gag binds to liposomes only weakly. Similarly, both an N-terminally truncated version of Gag that is missing the MA domain and a C-terminally truncated version that is missing the NC domain bind only weakly. These results imply that NC contributes to membrane interactionin vitro, either by directly contacting acidic lipids or by promoting Gag multimerization.IMPORTANCERetroviruses like HIV assemble at and bud from the plasma membrane of cells. Assembly requires the interaction between thousands of Gag molecules to form a lattice. Previous work indicated that lattice formation at the plasma membrane is influenced by the conformation of monomeric HIV. We have extended this work to the more tractable RSV Gag. Our results show that RSV Gag is highly flexible and can adopt a folded-over conformation on a lipid bilayer, implicating both the N and C termini in membrane binding. In addition, binding of Gag to membranes is diminished when either terminal domain is truncated. RSV Gag membrane association is significantly less sensitive than HIV Gag membrane association to lipid acyl chain saturation. These findings shed light on Gag assembly and membrane binding, critical steps in the viral life cycle and an untapped target for antiretroviral drugs.

scholarly journals Membrane Binding of the Rous Sarcoma Virus Gag Protein Is Cooperative and Dependent on the Spacer Peptide Assembly Domain

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 2473-2485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Dick ◽  
Marilia Barros ◽  
Danni Jin ◽  
Mathias Lösche ◽  
Volker M. Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Membrane Binding ◽  
Membrane Interaction ◽  
Gag Proteins ◽  
Peptide Assembly ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus

ABSTRACTThe principles underlying membrane binding and assembly of retroviral Gag proteins into a lattice are understood. However, little is known about how these processes are related. Using purified Rous sarcoma virus Gag and Gag truncations, we studied the interrelation of Gag-Gag interaction and Gag-membrane interaction. Both by liposome binding and by surface plasmon resonance on a supported bilayer, Gag bound to membranes much more tightly than did matrix (MA), the isolated membrane binding domain. In principle, this difference could be explained either by protein-protein interactions leading to cooperativity in membrane binding or by the simultaneous interaction of the N-terminal MA and the C-terminal nucleocapsid (NC) of Gag with the bilayer, since both are highly basic. However, we found that NC was not required for strong membrane binding. Instead, the spacer peptide assembly domain (SPA), a putative 24-residue helical sequence comprising the 12-residue SP segment of Gag and overlapping the capsid (CA) C terminus and the NC N terminus, was required. SPA is known to be critical for proper assembly of the immature Gag lattice. A single amino acid mutation in SPA that abrogates assemblyin vitrodramatically reduced binding of Gag to liposomes.In vivo, plasma membrane localization was dependent on SPA. Disulfide cross-linking based on ectopic Cys residues showed that the contacts between Gag proteins on the membrane are similar to the known contacts in virus-like particles. Taken together, we interpret these results to mean that Gag membrane interaction is cooperative in that it depends on the ability of Gag to multimerize.IMPORTANCEThe retroviral structural protein Gag has three major domains. The N-terminal MA domain interacts directly with the plasma membrane (PM) of cells. The central CA domain, together with immediately adjoining sequences, facilitates the assembly of thousands of Gag molecules into a lattice. The C-terminal NC domain interacts with the genome, resulting in packaging of viral RNA. For assemblyin vitrowith purified Gag, in the absence of membranes, binding of NC to nucleic acid somehow facilitates further Gag-Gag interactions that lead to formation of the Gag lattice. The contributions of MA-mediated membrane binding to virus particle assembly are not well understood. Here, we report that in the absence of nucleic acid, membranes provide a platform that facilitates Gag-Gag interactions. This study demonstrates that the binding of Gag, but not of MA, to membranes is cooperative and identifies SPA as a major factor that controls this cooperativity.

scholarly journals In Vivo Interference of Rous Sarcoma Virus Budding by cis Expression of a WW Domain

2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 2789-2795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akash Patnaik ◽  
John W. Wills
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Ww Domain ◽  
Particle Release ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Membrane Budding

ABSTRACT For all enveloped viruses, the actual mechanism by which nascent virus particles separate or “pinch off” from the cell surface is largely unknown. In the case of retroviruses, the Gag protein drives the budding process, and the virus release step is directed by the late (L) assembly domain within Gag. A PPPPY motif within the L domain of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) was previously characterized as being critical for the release of virions and shown to interact in vitro with the WW domain of Yes-associated protein (Yap). To determine whether WW domain-L domain interactions can occur in vivo, we attempted to interfere with the host cell machinery normally recruited to the site of budding by inserting this WW domain in different locations within Gag. At a C-terminal location, the WWYap domain had no effect on budding, suggesting that the intervening I domains (which provide the major region of Gag-Gag interaction) prevent its access to the L domain. When positioned on the other side of the I domains closer to the L domain, the WWYap domain resulted in a dramatic interference of particle release, and confocal microscopy revealed a block to budding on the plasma membrane. Budding was restored by attachment of the heterologous L domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag, which does not bind WWYap. These findings suggest that cis expression of WW domains can interfere with RSV particle release in vivo via specific, high-affinity interactions at the site of assembly on the plasma membrane, thus preventing host factor accessibility to the L domain and subsequent virus-cell separation. In addition, they suggest that L domain-specific host factors function after Gag proteins begin to interact.

scholarly journals Specificity of Plasma Membrane Targeting by the Rous Sarcoma Virus Gag Protein

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 470-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Z. Scheifele ◽  
Jonathan D. Rhoads ◽  
Leslie J. Parent
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Membrane Binding ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Membrane Targeting ◽  
Hydrophobic Membrane ◽  
Particle Assembly ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus

ABSTRACT Budding of C-type retroviruses begins when the viral Gag polyprotein is directed to the plasma membrane by an N-terminal membrane-binding (M) domain. While dispersed basic amino acids within the M domain are critical for stable membrane association and consequent particle assembly, additional residues or motifs may be required for specific plasma membrane targeting and binding. We have identified an assembly-defective Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag mutant that retains significant membrane affinity despite having a deletion of the fourth alpha-helix of the M domain. Examination of the mutant protein's subcellular distribution revealed that it was not localized to the plasma membrane but instead was mistargeted to intracytoplasmic membranes. Specific plasma membrane targeting was restored by the addition of myristate plus a single basic residue, by multiple basic residues, or by the heterologous hydrophobic membrane-binding domain from the cellular Fyn protein. These results suggest that the fourth alpha-helix of the RSV M domain promotes specific targeting of Gag to the plasma membrane, either through a direct interaction with plasma membrane phospholipids or a membrane-associated cellular factor or by maintaining the conformation of Gag to expose specific plasma membrane targeting sequences.

scholarly journals Visualizing Association of the Retroviral Gag Protein with Unspliced Viral RNA in the Nucleus

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Kaddis Maldonado ◽  
Breanna Rice ◽  
Eunice C. Chen ◽  
Kevin M. Tuffy ◽  
Estelle F. Chiari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Nuclear Export ◽  
Live Cell ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus

ABSTRACT Packaging of genomic RNA (gRNA) by retroviruses is essential for infectivity, yet the subcellular site of the initial interaction between the Gag polyprotein and gRNA remains poorly defined. Because retroviral particles are released from the plasma membrane, it was previously thought that Gag proteins initially bound to gRNA in the cytoplasm or at the plasma membrane. However, the Gag protein of the avian retrovirus Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) undergoes active nuclear trafficking, which is required for efficient gRNA encapsidation (L. Z. Scheifele, R. A. Garbitt, J. D. Rhoads, and L. J. Parent, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99:3944–3949, 2002, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.062652199; R. Garbitt-Hirst, S. P. Kenney, and L. J. Parent, J Virol 83:6790–6797, 2009, https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00101-09). These results raise the intriguing possibility that the primary contact between Gag and gRNA might occur in the nucleus. To examine this possibility, we created a RSV proviral construct that includes 24 tandem repeats of MS2 RNA stem-loops, making it possible to track RSV viral RNA (vRNA) in live cells in which a fluorophore-conjugated MS2 coat protein is coexpressed. Using confocal microscopy, we observed that both wild-type Gag and a nuclear export mutant (Gag.L219A) colocalized with vRNA in the nucleus. In live-cell time-lapse images, the wild-type Gag protein trafficked together with vRNA as a single ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex in the nucleoplasm near the nuclear periphery, appearing to traverse the nuclear envelope into the cytoplasm. Furthermore, biophysical imaging methods suggest that Gag and the unspliced vRNA physically interact in the nucleus. Taken together, these data suggest that RSV Gag binds unspliced vRNA to export it from the nucleus, possibly for packaging into virions as the viral genome. IMPORTANCE Retroviruses cause severe diseases in animals and humans, including cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndromes. To propagate infection, retroviruses assemble new virus particles that contain viral proteins and unspliced vRNA to use as gRNA. Despite the critical requirement for gRNA packaging, the molecular mechanisms governing the identification and selection of gRNA by the Gag protein remain poorly understood. In this report, we demonstrate that the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag protein colocalizes with unspliced vRNA in the nucleus in the interchromatin space. Using live-cell confocal imaging, RSV Gag and unspliced vRNA were observed to move together from inside the nucleus across the nuclear envelope, suggesting that the Gag-gRNA complex initially forms in the nucleus and undergoes nuclear export into the cytoplasm as a viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complex.

scholarly journals Characterization of Rous Sarcoma Virus Gag Particles Assembled In Vitro

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2753-2764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Yu ◽  
Swati M. Joshi ◽  
Yu May Ma ◽  
Richard L. Kingston ◽  
Martha N. Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Radial Distance ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Binding Motifs ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus ◽  
The Mean

ABSTRACT Purified retrovirus Gag proteins or Gag protein fragments are able to assemble into virus-like particles (VLPs) in vitro in the presence of RNA. We have examined the role of nucleic acid and of the NC domain in assembly of VLPs from a Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag protein and have characterized these VLPs using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning TEM (STEM), and cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM). RNAs of diverse sizes, single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides as small as 22 nucleotides, double-stranded DNA, and heparin all promoted efficient assembly. The percentages of nucleic acid by mass, in the VLPs varied from 5 to 8%. The mean mass of VLPs, as determined by STEM, was 6.5 × 107 Da for both RNA-containing and DNA oligonucleotide-containing particles, corresponding to a stoichiometry of about 1,200 protein molecules per VLP, slightly lower than the 1,500 Gag molecules estimated previously for infectious RSV. By cryo-EM, the VLPs showed the characteristic morphology of immature retroviruses, with discernible regions of high density corresponding to the two domains of the CA protein. In spherically averaged density distributions, the mean radial distance to the density corresponding to the C-terminal domain of CA was 33 nm, considerably smaller than that of equivalent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 particles. Deletions of the distal portion of NC, including the second Zn-binding motif, had little effect on assembly, but deletions including the charged residues between the two Zn-binding motifs abrogated assembly. Mutation of the cysteine and histidine residues in the first Zn-binding motif to alanine did not affect assembly, but mutation of the basic residues between the two Zn-binding motifs, or of the basic residues in the N-terminal portion of NC, abrogated assembly. Together, these findings establish VLPs as a good model for immature virions and establish a foundation for dissection of the interactions that lead to assembly.

scholarly journals The membrane-binding domain of the Rous sarcoma virus Gag protein.

1996 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 2664-2668 ◽  
Author(s):  
M F Verderame ◽  
T D Nelle ◽  
J W Wills
Keyword(s):  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Membrane Binding ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus

scholarly journals Alterations in the MA and NC Domains Modulate Phosphoinositide-Dependent Plasma Membrane Localization of the Rous Sarcoma Virus Gag Protein

2013 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 3609-3615 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Nadaraia-Hoke ◽  
D. V. Bann ◽  
T. L. Lochmann ◽  
N. Gudleski-O'Regan ◽  
L. J. Parent
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Membrane Localization ◽  
Gag Protein ◽  
Plasma Membrane Localization ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus

scholarly journals Structure of the mature Rous sarcoma virus lattice reveals a role for IP6 in the formation of the capsid hexamer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Obr ◽  
Clifton L. Ricana ◽  
Nadia Nikulin ◽  
Jon-Philip R. Feathers ◽  
Marco Klanschnig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Structural Mechanism ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Subtomogram Averaging ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
Hiv 1

AbstractInositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) is an assembly cofactor for HIV-1. We report here that IP6 is also used for assembly of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), a retrovirus from a different genus. IP6 was ∼100-fold more potent at promoting RSV mature CA assembly than observed for HIV-1 and removal of IP6 in vivo reduced infectivity by 100-fold. By cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging, mature virus-like particles (VLPs) showed an IP6-like density in the CA hexamer, coordinated by rings of six lysines and six arginines. Phosphate and IP6 had opposing effects on CA in vitro assembly, inducing formation of T=1 icosahedrons and tubes, respectively, implying that phosphate promotes pentamer and IP6 hexamer formation. Subtomogram averaging and classification optimized for analysis of pleomorphic retrovirus particles revealed that the heterogeneity of mature RSV CA polyhedrons results from an unexpected, intrinsic CA hexamer flexibility. In contrast, the CA pentamer forms rigid units organizing the local architecture. These different features of hexamers and pentamers determine the structural mechanism to form CA polyhedrons of variable shape in mature RSV particles.

scholarly journals Biochemical Characterization of Rous Sarcoma Virus MA Protein Interaction with Membranes

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 6227-6238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Dalton ◽  
Paul S. Murray ◽  
Diana Murray ◽  
Volker M. Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Rous Sarcoma Virus ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Virus Assembly ◽  
Membrane Association ◽  
Host Cell Membrane ◽  
Rous Sarcoma ◽  
Sarcoma Virus

ABSTRACT The MA domain of retroviral Gag proteins mediates association with the host cell membrane during assembly. The biochemical nature of this interaction is not well understood. We have used an in vitro flotation assay to directly measure Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) MA-membrane interaction in the absence of host cell factors. The association of purified MA and MA-containing proteins with liposomes of defined composition was electrostatic in nature and depended upon the presence of a biologically relevant concentration of negatively charged lipids. A mutant MA protein known to be unable to promote Gag membrane association and budding in vivo failed to bind to liposomes. These results were supported by computational modeling. The intrinsic affinity of RSV MA for negatively charged membranes appears insufficient to promote efficient plasma membrane binding during assembly. However, an artificially dimerized form of MA bound to liposomes by at least an order of magnitude more tightly than monomeric MA. This result suggests that the clustering of MA domains, via Gag-Gag interactions during virus assembly, drives membrane association in vivo.

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