title: Structures of rotavirus reassortants demonstrate correlation of altered conformation of the VP4 spike and expression of unexpected VP4-associated phenotypes.
abstract: Numerous prior studies have indicated that viable rotavirus reassortants containing structural proteins of heterologous parental origin may express unexpected phenotypes, such as changes in infectivity and immunogenicity. To provide a structural basis for alterations in phenotypic expression, a three-dimensional structural analysis of these reassortants was conducted. The structures of the reassortants show that while VP4 generally maintains the parental structure when moved to a heterologous protein background, in certain reassortants, there are subtle alterations in the conformation of VP4. The alterations in VP4 conformation correlated with expression of unexpected VP4-associated phenotypes. Interactions between heterologous VP4 and VP7 in reassortants expressing unexpected phenotypes appeared to induce the conformational alterations seen in VP4.
authors.affiliation: Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Pesavento
authors.forename: Angela M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Billingsley
authors.forename: Ed J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Ramig
authors.forename: B V Venkataram
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Prasad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010641:Phenotype; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016865:Reassortant Viruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C060339:VP4 protein, Rotavirus; C061332:VP6 protein, Rotavirus; C050779:VP7 protein, Rotavirus