title: Membrane fusion tropism and heterotypic functional activities of the Nipah virus and Hendra virus envelope glycoproteins.
abstract: Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) are novel paramyxoviruses from pigs and horses, respectively, that are responsible for fatal zoonotic infections of humans. The unique genetic and biological characteristics of these emerging agents has led to their classification as the prototypic members of a new genus within the Paramyxovirinae subfamily called HENIPAVIRUS: These viruses are most closely related to members of the genus Morbillivirus and infect cells through a pH-independent membrane fusion event mediated by the actions of their attachment (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins. Understanding their cell biological features and exploring the functional characteristics of the NiV and HeV glycoproteins will help define important properties of these emerging viruses and may provide new insights into paramyxovirus membrane fusion mechanisms. Using a recombinant vaccinia virus system and a quantitative assay for fusion, we demonstrate NiV glycoprotein function and the same pattern of cellular tropism recently reported for HeV-mediated fusion, suggesting that NiV likely uses the same cellular receptor for infection. Fusion specificity was verified by inhibition with a specific antiserum or peptides derived from the alpha-helical heptads of NiV or HeV F. Like that of HeV, NiV-mediated fusion also requires both F and G. Finally, interactions between the glycoproteins of the paramyxoviruses have not been well defined, but here we show that the NiV and HeV glycoproteins are capable of highly efficient heterotypic functional activity with each other. However, no heterotypic activity was observed with envelope glycoproteins of the morbilliviruses Measles virus and Canine distemper virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Katharine N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Bossart
authors.forename: Lin-Fa
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Flora
authors.forename: Kaw Bing
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: Sai Kit
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Bryan T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Broder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002460:Cell Line; D002642:Chick Embryo; D006224:Cricetinae; D015726:Giant Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D018098:Paramyxovirinae / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins