Amino acid substitutions in the V domain of nectin-1 (HveC) that impair entry activity for herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 but not for Pseudorabies virus or bovine herpesvirus 1.

The entry of herpes simplex virus (HSV) into cells requires the interaction of viral glycoprotein D (gD) with a cellular gD receptor to trigger the fusion of viral and cellular membranes. Nectin-1, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, can serve as a gD receptor for HSV types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively) as well as for the animal herpesviruses porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV) and bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1). The HSV-1 gD binding domain of nectin-1 is hypothesized to overlap amino acids 64 to 104 of the N-terminal variable domain-like immunoglobulin domain. Moreover, the HSV-1 and PRV gDs compete for binding to nectin-1. Here we report that two amino acids within this region, at positions 77 and 85, are critical for HSV-1 and HSV-2 entry but not for the entry of PRV or BHV-1. Replacement of either amino acid 77 or amino acid 85 reduced HSV-1 and HSV-2 gD binding but had a lesser effect on HSV entry activity, suggesting that weak interactions between gD and nectin-1 are sufficient to trigger the mechanism of HSV entry. Substitution of both amino acid 77 and amino acid 85 in nectin-1 significantly impaired entry activity for HSV-1 and HSV-2 and eliminated binding to soluble forms of HSV-1 and HSV-2 gDs but did not impair the entry of PRV and BHV-1. Thus, amino acids 77 and 85 of nectin-1 form part of the interface with HSV gD or influence the conformation of that interface. Moreover, the binding sites for HSV and PRV or BHV-1 gDs on nectin-1 may overlap but are not identical.