title: The central structural feature of the membrane fusion protein subunit from the Ebola virus glycoprotein is a long triple-stranded coiled coil.
abstract: The ectodomain of the Ebola virus Gp2 glycoprotein was solubilized with a trimeric, isoleucine zipper derived from GCN4 (pIIGCN4) in place of the hydrophobic fusion peptide at the N terminus. This chimeric molecule forms a trimeric, highly alpha-helical, and very thermostable molecule, as determined by chemical crosslinking and circular dichroism. Electron microscopy indicates that Gp2 folds into a rod-like structure like influenza HA2 and HIV-1 gp41, providing further evidence that viral fusion proteins from diverse families such as Orthomyxoviridae (Influenza), Retroviridae (HIV-1), and Filoviridae (Ebola) share common structural features, and suggesting a common membrane fusion mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, 320 Longwood Avenue Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weissenhorn
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Calder
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wharton
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Skehel
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wiley
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins