Structural highlights
Function
[VP1_POVJC] Forms an icosahedral capsid with a T=7 symmetry and a 40 nm diameter. The capsid is composed of 72 pentamers linked to each other by disulfide bonds and associated with VP2 or VP3 proteins. Interacts with a N-linked glycoprotein containing terminal alpha(2-6)-linked sialic acids on the cell surface to provide virion attachment to target cell. The serotonergic receptor 5HT2AR also acts as a cellular receptor for JCV on human glial cells. Once attached, the virions enter predominantly by a ligand-inducible clathrin-dependent pathway and traffic to the ER. Inside the endoplasmic reticulum, the protein folding machinery isomerizes VP1 interpentamer disulfide bonds, thereby triggering initial uncoating. Next, the virion uses the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation machinery to probably translocate in the cytosol before reaching the nucleus. Nuclear entry of the viral DNA involves the selective exposure and importin recognition of VP2/Vp3 nuclear localization signal. In late phase of infection, neo-synthesized VP1 encapsulates replicated genomic DNA at nuclear domains called promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies, and participates in rearranging nucleosomes around the viral DNA.[1]
Publication Abstract from PubMed
The human JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is the causative agent of the fatal, demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The Mad-1 prototype strain of JCPyV uses the glycan lactoseries tetrasaccharide c (LSTc) and serotonin receptor 5-HT2A to attach to and enter into host cells, respectively. Specific residues in the viral capsid protein VP1 are responsible for direct interactions with the alpha2,6-linked sialic acid of LSTc. Viral isolates from individuals with PML often contain mutations in the sialic acid-binding pocket of VP1 that are hypothesized to arise from positive selection. We reconstituted these mutations in the Mad-1 strain of JCPyV and found that they were not capable of growth. The mutations were then introduced into recombinant VP1 and reconstituted as pentamers in order to conduct binding studies and structural analyses. VP1 pentamers carrying PML-associated mutations were not capable of binding to permissive cells. High-resolution structure determination revealed that these pentamers are well folded but no longer bind to LSTc due to steric clashes in the sialic acid-binding site. Reconstitution of the mutations into JCPyV pseudoviruses allowed us to directly quantify the infectivity of the mutants in several cell lines. The JCPyV pseudoviruses with PML-associated mutations were not infectious, nor were they able to engage sialic acid as measured by hemagglutination of human red blood cells. These results demonstrate that viruses from PML patients with single point mutations in VP1 disrupt binding to sialic acid motifs and render these viruses noninfectious. IMPORTANCE Infection with human JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is common and asymptomatic in healthy individuals, but during immunosuppression, JCPyV can spread from the kidney to the central nervous system (CNS) and cause a fatal, demyelinating disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Individuals infected with HIV, those who have AIDS, or those receiving immunomodulatory therapies for autoimmune diseases are at serious risk for PML. Recent reports have demonstrated that viral isolates from PML patients often have distinct changes within the major capsid protein. Our structural-functional approach highlights that these mutations result in abolished engagement of the carbohydrate receptor motif LSTc that is necessary for infection. Viruses with PML-associated mutations are not infectious in glial cells, suggesting that they may play an alternative role in PML pathogenesis.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy-associated mutations in the JC polyomavirus capsid disrupt lactoseries tetrasaccharide c binding.,Maginnis MS, Stroh LJ, Gee GV, O'Hara BA, Derdowski A, Stehle T, Atwood WJ MBio. 2013 Jun 11;4(3):e00247-13. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00247-13. PMID:23760462[2]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Pho MT, Ashok A, Atwood WJ. JC virus enters human glial cells by clathrin-dependent receptor-mediated endocytosis. J Virol. 2000 Mar;74(5):2288-92. PMID:10666259
- ↑ Maginnis MS, Stroh LJ, Gee GV, O'Hara BA, Derdowski A, Stehle T, Atwood WJ. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy-associated mutations in the JC polyomavirus capsid disrupt lactoseries tetrasaccharide c binding. MBio. 2013 Jun 11;4(3):e00247-13. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00247-13. PMID:23760462 doi:10.1128/mBio.00247-13
