Crystal structure of a novel conformational state of the flavivirus NS3 protein: implications for polyprotein processing and viral replication.
The flavivirus genome comprises a single strand of positive-sense RNA, which is translated into a polyprotein and cleaved by a combination of viral and host proteases to yield functional proteins. One of these, nonstructural protein 3 (NS3), is an enzyme with both serine protease and NTPase/helicase activities. NS3 plays a central role in the flavivirus life cycle: the NS3 N-terminal serine protease together with its essential cofactor NS2B is involved in the processing of the polyprotein, whereas the NS3 C-terminal NTPase/helicase is responsible for ATP-dependent RNA strand separation during replication. An unresolved question remains regarding why NS3 appears to encode two apparently disconnected functionalities within one protein. Here we report the 2.75-A-resolution crystal structure of full-length Murray Valley encephalitis virus NS3 fused with the protease activation peptide of NS2B. The biochemical characterization of this construct suggests that the protease has little influence on the helicase activity and vice versa. This finding is in agreement with the structural data, revealing a single protein with two essentially segregated globular domains. Comparison of the structure with that of dengue virus type 4 NS2B-NS3 reveals a relative orientation of the two domains that is radically different between the two structures. Our analysis suggests that the relative domain-domain orientation in NS3 is highly variable and dictated by a flexible interdomain linker. The possible implications of this conformational flexibility for the function of NS3 are discussed.
Assenberg
René
R
Division of Structural Biology, the Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, United Kingdom.
Mastrangelo
Eloise
E
Walter
Thomas S
TS
Verma
Anil
A
Milani
Mario
M
Owens
Raymond J
RJ
Stuart
David I
DI
Grimes
Jonathan M
JM
Mancini
Erika J
EJ
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D003460:Crystallization; D008958:Models, Molecular; D020815:Polyproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020365:RNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D020815:Polyproteins; D020365:RNA Helicases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C060028:NS3 protein, flavivirus; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases