title: Structural and functional analysis of human cytomegalovirus US3 protein.
abstract: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) unique short region 3 (US3) protein, a type I membrane protein, prevents maturation of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules by retaining them in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and thus helps inhibit antigen presentation to cytotoxic T cells. US3 molecules bind to class I MHC molecules in a transient fashion but retain them very efficiently in the ER nonetheless. The US3 luminal domain is responsible for ER retention of US3 itself, while both the US3 luminal and transmembrane domains are necessary for retaining class I MHC in the ER. We have expressed the luminal domain of US3 molecule in Escherichia coli and analyzed its secondary structure by using nuclear magnetic resonance. We then predicted the US3 tertiary structure by modeling it based on the US2 structure. Unlike the luminal domain of US2, the US3 luminal domain does not obviously interact with class I MHC molecules. The luminal domain of US3 dynamically oligomerizes in vitro and full-length US3 molecules associate with each other in vivo. We present a model depicting how dynamic oligomerization of US3 may enhance its ability to retain class I molecules within the ER.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Misaghi
authors.forename: Zhen-Yu J
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: Rachelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gaudet
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Hidde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ploegh
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C095111:US3 protein, cytomegalovirus