title: Low pH-induced conformational changes in vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein involve dramatic structure reorganization.
abstract: Membrane fusion is the key step in the entry of enveloped animal viruses into their host cells. Fusion of vesicular stomatitis virus with membranes occurs at acidic pH and is mediated by its envelope glycoprotein, the G protein. To study the structural transitions induced by acidic pH on G protein, we have extracted the protein from purified virus by incubation with nonionic detergent. At pH 6.0, purified G protein was able to mediate fusion of either phospholipid vesicles or Vero cells in culture. Intrinsic fluorescence studies revealed that changes in the environment of Trp residues occurred as pH decreases. In the absence of lipidic membranes, acidification led to G protein aggregation, whereas protein-protein interactions were substituted by protein-lipid interactions in the presence of liposomes. 1,1'-Bis(4-aniline-5-naphthalene sulfonate) (bis-ANS) binding was utilized to probe the degree of exposure of hydrophobic regions of G protein during acidification. Bis-ANS binding was maximal at pH 6.2, suggesting that a hydrophobic segment is exposed to the medium at this pH. At pH 6.0, a dramatic decrease in bis-ANS binding was observed, probably due to loss of tridimensional structure during the conformational rearrangement. This hypothesis was confirmed by circular dichroism analysis at different pH values, which showed a great decrease in alpha-helix content at pH values close to 6.0, suggesting that a reorganization of G protein secondary structure occurs during the fusion reaction. Our results indicate that G protein undergoes dramatic structural changes at acidic pH and acquires a conformational state able to interact with the target membrane.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquimica Médica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21941-590 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ferradosa
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Da Poian
mesh_terms: D000817:Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008081:Liposomes / Q000378:metabolism; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000187:drug effects; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011485:Protein Binding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary / Q000187:drug effects; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000187:drug effects; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry; D014709:Vero Cells; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000817:Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates; C028391:G protein, vesicular stomatitis virus; D006023:Glycoproteins; D008081:Liposomes; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C035763:5,5'-bis(8-(phenylamino)-1-naphthalenesulfonate); D014364:Tryptophan