title: Structure of dengue virus: implications for flavivirus organization, maturation, and fusion.
abstract: The first structure of a flavivirus has been determined by using a combination of cryoelectron microscopy and fitting of the known structure of glycoprotein E into the electron density map. The virus core, within a lipid bilayer, has a less-ordered structure than the external, icosahedral scaffold of 90 glycoprotein E dimers. The three E monomers per icosahedral asymmetric unit do not have quasiequivalent symmetric environments. Difference maps indicate the location of the small membrane protein M relative to the overlaying scaffold of E dimers. The structure suggests that flaviviruses, and by analogy also alphaviruses, employ a fusion mechanism in which the distal beta barrels of domain II of the glycoprotein E are inserted into the cellular membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. rjkuhn@bragg.bio.purdue.edu
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rossmann
authors.forename: Sergei V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Pletnev
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corver
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lenches
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Suchetana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Chipman
authors.forename: Ellen G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Timothy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Strauss
mesh_terms: D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry; D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000502:physiology; D008958:Models, Molecular; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins