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Viruses Oct 2020One of the most important steps in any viral lifecycle is the production of progeny virions. For retroviruses as well as other viruses, this step is a highly organized... (Review)
Review
One of the most important steps in any viral lifecycle is the production of progeny virions. For retroviruses as well as other viruses, this step is a highly organized process that occurs with exquisite spatial and temporal specificity on the cellular plasma membrane. To facilitate this process, retroviruses encode short peptide motifs, or L domains, that hijack host factors to ensure completion of this critical step. One such cellular machinery targeted by viruses is known as the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRTs). Typically responsible for vesicular trafficking within the cell, ESCRTs are co-opted by the retroviral Gag polyprotein to assist in viral particle assembly and release of infectious virions. This review in the Viruses Special Issue "The 11th International Retroviral Nucleocapsid and Assembly Symposium", details recent findings that shed light on the molecular details of how ESCRTs and the ESCRT adaptor protein ALIX, facilitate retroviral dissemination at sites of viral assembly.
Topics: Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport; HIV-1; Nucleocapsid; Retroviridae; Ribonucleoproteins; Virus Assembly; Virus Release; gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
PubMed: 33092109
DOI: 10.3390/v12101188 -
Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and... 2017All viruses produce infectious particles that possess some degree of stability in the extracellular environment yet disassemble upon cell contact and entry. For the... (Review)
Review
All viruses produce infectious particles that possess some degree of stability in the extracellular environment yet disassemble upon cell contact and entry. For the alphaherpesviruses, which include many neuroinvasive viruses of mammals, these metastable virions consist of an icosahedral capsid surrounded by a protein matrix (referred to as the tegument) and a lipid envelope studded with glycoproteins. Whereas the capsid of these viruses is a rigid structure encasing the DNA genome, the tegument and envelope are dynamic assemblies that orchestrate a sequential series of events that ends with the delivery of the genome into the nucleus. These particles are adapted to infect two different polarized cell types in their hosts: epithelial cells and neurons of the peripheral nervous system. This review considers how the virion is assembled into a primed state and is targeted to infect these cell types such that the incoming particles can subsequently negotiate the diverse environments they encounter on their way from plasma membrane to nucleus and thereby achieve their remarkably robust neuroinvasive infectious cycle.
Topics: Alphaherpesvirinae; Animals; Cell Membrane; Cell Nucleus; Herpesviridae Infections; Humans; Virion; Virus Assembly
PubMed: 28528444
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-53168-7_8 -
Annual Review of Biophysics May 2019Viruses, entities composed of nucleic acids, proteins, and in some cases lipids lack the ability to replicate outside their target cells. Their components self-assemble... (Review)
Review
Viruses, entities composed of nucleic acids, proteins, and in some cases lipids lack the ability to replicate outside their target cells. Their components self-assemble at the nanoscale with exquisite precision-a key to their biological success in infection. Recent advances in structure determination and the development of biophysical tools such as single-molecule spectroscopy and noncovalent mass spectrometry allow unprecedented access to the detailed assembly mechanisms of simple virions. Coupling these techniques with mathematical modeling and bioinformatics has uncovered a previously unsuspected role for genomic RNA in regulating formation of viral capsids, revealing multiple, dispersed RNA sequence/structure motifs [packaging signals (PSs)] that bind cognate coat proteins cooperatively. The PS ensemble controls assembly efficiency and accounts for the packaging specificity seen in vivo. The precise modes of action of the PSs vary between viral families, but this common principle applies across many viral families, including major human pathogens. These insights open up the opportunity to block or repurpose PS function in assembly for both novel antiviral therapy and gene/drug/vaccine applications.
Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Evolution, Molecular; Humans; RNA Viruses; RNA, Viral; Virus Assembly
PubMed: 30951648
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-052118-115611 -
Nature Communications Oct 2022Enteroviruses are non-enveloped positive-sense RNA viruses that cause diverse diseases in humans. Their rapid multiplication depends on remodeling of cytoplasmic...
Enteroviruses are non-enveloped positive-sense RNA viruses that cause diverse diseases in humans. Their rapid multiplication depends on remodeling of cytoplasmic membranes for viral genome replication. It is unknown how virions assemble around these newly synthesized genomes and how they are then loaded into autophagic membranes for release through secretory autophagy. Here, we use cryo-electron tomography of infected cells to show that poliovirus assembles directly on replication membranes. Pharmacological untethering of capsids from membranes abrogates RNA encapsidation. Our data directly visualize a membrane-bound half-capsid as a prominent virion assembly intermediate. Assembly progression past this intermediate depends on the class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase VPS34, a key host-cell autophagy factor. On the other hand, the canonical autophagy initiator ULK1 is shown to restrict virion production since its inhibition leads to increased accumulation of virions in vast intracellular arrays, followed by an increased vesicular release at later time points. Finally, we identify multiple layers of selectivity in virus-induced autophagy, with a strong selection for RNA-loaded virions over empty capsids and the segregation of virions from other types of autophagosome contents. These findings provide an integrated structural framework for multiple stages of the poliovirus life cycle.
Topics: Autophagy; Capsid; Class III Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Enterovirus Infections; Humans; Poliovirus; RNA; Virion; Virus Assembly
PubMed: 36216808
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33483-7 -
Current Opinion in Virology Aug 2018Virus assembly, a key stage in any viral life cycle, had long been considered to be primarily driven by protein-protein interactions and nonspecific interactions between... (Review)
Review
Virus assembly, a key stage in any viral life cycle, had long been considered to be primarily driven by protein-protein interactions and nonspecific interactions between genomic RNA and capsid protein. We review here a modelling paradigm for RNA virus assembly that illustrates the crucial roles of multiple dispersed, specific interactions between viral genomes and coat proteins in capsid assembly. The model reveals how multiple sequence-structure motifs in the genomic RNA, termed packaging signals, with a shared coat protein recognition motif enable viruses to overcome a viral assembly-equivalent of Levinthal's Paradox in protein folding. The fitness advantages conferred by this mechanism suggest that it should be widespread in viruses, opening up new perspectives on viral evolution and anti-viral therapy.
Topics: Binding Sites; Capsid Proteins; Evolution, Molecular; Genome, Viral; Models, Molecular; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Protein Binding; RNA Viruses; RNA, Viral; Virus Assembly
PubMed: 30078702
DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2018.07.003 -
MBio Apr 2024A member of the Retroviridae, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), uses the RNA genome packaged into nascent virions to transfer genetic information to its... (Review)
Review
A member of the Retroviridae, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), uses the RNA genome packaged into nascent virions to transfer genetic information to its progeny. The genome packaging step is a highly regulated and extremely efficient process as a vast majority of virus particles contain two copies of full-length unspliced HIV-1 RNA that form a dimer. Thus, during virus assembly HIV-1 can identify and selectively encapsidate HIV-1 unspliced RNA from an abundant pool of cellular RNAs and various spliced HIV-1 RNAs. Several "" features facilitate the packaging of a dimeric RNA genome. The viral polyprotein ag orchestrates virus assembly and mediates RNA genome packaging. During this process, Gag preferentially binds unpaired uanosines within the highly structured 5' untranslated region (UTR) of HIV-1 RNA. In addition, the HIV-1 unspliced RNA provides a scaffold that promotes Gag:Gag interactions and virus assembly, thereby ensuring its packaging. Intriguingly, recent studies have shown that the use of different uanosines at the junction of U3 and R as transcription start sites results in HIV-1 unspliced RNA species with 99.9% identical sequences but dramatically distinct 5' UTR conformations. Consequently, one species of unspliced RNA is preferentially packaged over other nearly identical RNAs. These studies reveal how conformations affect the functions of HIV-1 RNA elements and the complex regulation of HIV-1 replication. In this review, we summarize - and -acting elements critical for HIV-1 RNA packaging, locations of Gag:RNA interactions that mediate genome encapsidation, and the effects of transcription start sites on the structure and packaging of HIV-1 RNA.
Topics: Humans; HIV-1; RNA, Viral; Virus Assembly; Genome, Viral
PubMed: 38411060
DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00861-23 -
PLoS Pathogens Oct 2020HBV is an enveloped DNA virus that replicates its DNA genome via reverse transcription of a pregenomic (pg) RNA intermediate in hepatocytes. Interestingly, HBV RNA can...
HBV is an enveloped DNA virus that replicates its DNA genome via reverse transcription of a pregenomic (pg) RNA intermediate in hepatocytes. Interestingly, HBV RNA can be detected in virus-like particles in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patient serum and has been utilized as a biomarker for intrahepatic cccDNA activity in treated patients. However, the biogenesis and molecular characteristics of serum HBV RNA remain to be fully defined. In this study, we found that the encapsidated serum HBV RNA predominately consists of pgRNA, which are detergent- and ribonuclease-resistant. Through blocking HBV DNA replication without affecting pgRNA encapsidation by using the priming-defective HBV mutant Y63D or 3TC treatment, we demonstrated that the cell culture supernatant contains a large amount of pgRNA-containing nonenveloped capsids and a minor population of pgRNA-containing virions. The formation of pgRNA-virion requires both capsid assembly and viral envelope proteins, which can be inhibited by capsid assembly modulators and an envelope-knockout mutant, respectively. Furthermore, the pgRNA-virion utilizes the multivesicular body pathway for egress, in a similar way as DNA-virion morphogenesis. Northern blotting, RT-PCR, and 3' RACE assays revealed that serum/supernatant HBV pgRNA are mainly spliced and devoid of the 3'-terminal sequences. Furthermore, pgRNA-virion collected from cells treated with a reversible HBV priming inhibitor L-FMAU was unable to establish infection in HepG2-NTCP cells. In summary, serum HBV RNA is secreted in noninfectious virion-like particle as spliced and poly(A)-free pgRNA. Our study will shed light on the molecular biology of serum HBV RNA in HBV life cycle, and aid the development of serum HBV RNA as a novel biomarker for CHB diagnosis and treatment prognosis.
Topics: Capsid; Capsid Proteins; DNA, Viral; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatocytes; Humans; RNA, Viral; Reverse Transcription; Virus Assembly; Virus Replication
PubMed: 33079954
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008945 -
Reviews in Medical Virology May 2016Viral replication and spreading are fundamental events in the viral life cycle, accounting for the assembly and egression of nascent virions, events that are directly... (Review)
Review
Viral replication and spreading are fundamental events in the viral life cycle, accounting for the assembly and egression of nascent virions, events that are directly associated with viral pathogenesis in target hosts. These processes occur in cellular compartments that are modified by specialized viral proteins, causing a rearrangement of different cell membranes in infected cells and affecting the ER, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, vesicles and endosomes, as well as processes such as autophagic membrane flux. In fact, the activation or inhibition of membrane trafficking and other related activities are fundamental to ensure the adequate replication and spreading of certain viruses. In this review, data will be presented that support the key role of membrane dynamics in the viral cycle, especially in terms of the assembly, egression and infection processes. By defining how viruses orchestrate these events it will be possible to understand how they successfully complete their route of infection, establishing viral pathogenesis and provoking disease.
Topics: Animals; Cell Membrane; Humans; Virus Assembly; Virus Diseases; Virus Physiological Phenomena; Virus Release; Virus Replication
PubMed: 26817660
DOI: 10.1002/rmv.1872 -
Current Opinion in Virology Dec 2014Flaviviruses affect hundreds of millions of people each year causing tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide. This genus includes significant human pathogens such... (Review)
Review
Flaviviruses affect hundreds of millions of people each year causing tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide. This genus includes significant human pathogens such as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, tick-borne encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis virus among many others. The disease caused by these viruses can range from febrile illness to hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis. A deeper understanding of the virus life cycle is required to foster development of antivirals and vaccines, which are an urgent need for many flaviviruses, especially dengue. The focus of this review is to summarize our current knowledge of flaviviral replication and assembly, the proteins and lipids involved therein, and how these processes are coordinated for efficient virus production.
Topics: Flavivirus; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Lipid Metabolism; Viral Proteins; Virus Assembly; Virus Replication
PubMed: 25462445
DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2014.09.020 -
Viruses Sep 2020Nearly all retroviruses selectively package two copies of their unspliced RNA genomes from a cellular milieu that contains a substantial excess of non-viral and spliced... (Review)
Review
Nearly all retroviruses selectively package two copies of their unspliced RNA genomes from a cellular milieu that contains a substantial excess of non-viral and spliced viral RNAs. Over the past four decades, combinations of genetic experiments, phylogenetic analyses, nucleotide accessibility mapping, in silico RNA structure predictions, and biophysical experiments were employed to understand how retroviral genomes are selected for packaging. Genetic studies provided early clues regarding the protein and RNA elements required for packaging, and nucleotide accessibility mapping experiments provided insights into the secondary structures of functionally important elements in the genome. Three-dimensional structural determinants of packaging were primarily derived by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A key advantage of NMR, relative to other methods for determining biomolecular structure (such as X-ray crystallography), is that it is well suited for studies of conformationally dynamic and heterogeneous systems-a hallmark of the retrovirus packaging machinery. Here, we review advances in understanding of the structures, dynamics, and interactions of the proteins and RNA elements involved in retroviral genome selection and packaging that are facilitated by NMR.
Topics: Base Sequence; Genome, Viral; HIV-1; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Phylogeny; Protein Structure, Secondary; RNA, Viral; Retroviridae; Viral Genome Packaging; Virus Assembly
PubMed: 33008123
DOI: 10.3390/v12101115