title: Structural Analysis of a Temperature-Induced Transition in a Viral Capsid Probed by HDX-MS.
abstract: Icosahedral viral capsids are made of a large number of symmetrically organized protein subunits whose local movements can be essential for infection. In the capsid of the minute virus of mice, events required for infection that involve translocation of peptides through capsid pores are associated with a subtle conformational change. In vitro, this change can be reversibly induced by overcoming the energy barrier through mild heating of the capsid, but little is known about the capsid regions involved in the process. Here, we use hydrogen-deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry to analyze the dynamics of the minute virus of mice capsid at increasing temperatures. Our results indicate that the transition associated with peptide translocation involves the structural rearrangement of regions distant from the capsid pores. These alterations are reflected in an increased dynamics of some secondary-structure elements in the capsid shell from which spikes protrude, and a decreased dynamics in the long intertwined loops that form the large capsid spikes. Thus, the translocation events through capsid pores involve a global conformational rearrangement of the capsid and a complex alteration of its equilibrium dynamics. This study additionally demonstrates the potential of hydrogen-deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry to explore in detail temperature-dependent structural dynamics in large macromolecular protein assemblies. Most importantly, it paves the way for undertaking novel studies of the relationship between structure, dynamics, and biological function in virus particles and other large protein cages.
authors.affiliation: Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Netherlands Proteomics Centre, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Michiel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van de Waterbeemd
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics of the Condensed Matter, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Llauró
authors.affiliation: Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Netherlands Proteomics Centre, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joost
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Snijder
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valbuena
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Huete
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel Angel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fuertes
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics of the Condensed Matter, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: de Pablo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mauricio G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mateu
authors.affiliation: Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Netherlands Proteomics Centre, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: A.J.R.Heck@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Albert J R
authors.initials: AJR
authors.lastname: Heck
mesh_terms: D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D041961:Deuterium Exchange Measurement; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016062:Porosity; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013696:Temperature