鼠诺如病毒变构逃逸突变体模拟肠道激活。
Murine norovirus allosteric escape mutants mimic gut activation.
作者信息
Sherman Michael B, Smith Hong Q, Cox Faith, Wobus Christiane E, Lynch Gillian C, Pettitt B Montgomery, Smith Thomas J
机构信息
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
出版信息
J Virol. 2025 Jun 17;99(6):e0021925. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00219-25. Epub 2025 May 12.
Murine norovirus (MNV) undergoes large conformational changes in response to the environment. The T=3 icosahedral capsid is composed of 180 copies of ~58 kDa VP1 that has N-terminal (N), shell (S), and C-terminal protruding (P) domains. In phosphate-buffered saline, the P domains are loosely tethered to the shell and float ~15 Å above the surface. At conditions found in the gut (i.e., low pH with high metal ion and bile salt concentrations), the P domain rotates and drops onto the shell with intra P domain changes that enhance receptor interactions while blocking antibody binding. Two of our monoclonal antibodies (2D3 and 4F9) have broad strain recognition, and the only escape mutants, V339I and D348E, are located on the C'D' loop and ~20 Å from the epitope. Here, we determined the cryo-EM structures of V339I and D348E at neutral pH +/-metal ions and bile salts. These allosteric escape mutants have the activated conformation in the absence of gut triggers. Since this conformation is not recognized by antibodies, it explains how these mutants evade antibody recognition. Dynamic simulations of the P domain further suggest that movement of the C'D' loop may be the rate-limiting step in the conformational change and that V339I increases the motion of the A'B'/E'F' loops compared to the wild-type (WT), facilitating the transition to the activated state. These findings have important implications for norovirus vaccine design since they uncover a form of the viral capsid that should lend superior immune protection against subsequent challenge by wild-type virus.IMPORTANCEImmune protection from norovirus infection is notoriously transient in both humans and mice. Our results strongly suggest that this is likely because the "activated" form of the virus found in gut conditions is not recognized by antibodies created in the circulation. By reversibly presenting one structure in the gut and a completely different antigenic structure in circulation, the gut tissue can be infected in subsequent challenges, while extraintestinal organs are protected. We find here that allosteric escape mutants to the most broadly neutralizing antibodies thwart recognition by transitioning to the activated state without the need for gut triggers (i.e., bile, low pH, or metal ions). These findings are significant because it is now feasible to present the activated form of the virus to the immune system (for example, as a vaccine) to better protect the gut tissue for longer periods of time.
鼠诺如病毒(MNV)会根据环境发生大幅度的构象变化。T = 3二十面体衣壳由180个拷贝的约58 kDa的VP1组成,VP1具有N端(N)、壳(S)和C端突出(P)结构域。在磷酸盐缓冲盐溶液中,P结构域松散地连接在壳上,在表面上方约15 Å处浮动。在肠道中发现的条件下(即低pH值、高金属离子和胆汁盐浓度),P结构域旋转并落到壳上,同时P结构域内部发生变化,增强了受体相互作用,同时阻断了抗体结合。我们的两种单克隆抗体(2D3和4F9)具有广泛的毒株识别能力,唯一的逃逸突变体V339I和D348E位于C'D'环上,距离表位约20 Å。在这里,我们确定了V339I和D348E在中性pH值±金属离子和胆汁盐条件下的冷冻电镜结构。这些变构逃逸突变体在没有肠道触发因素的情况下具有活化构象。由于这种构象不被抗体识别,这就解释了这些突变体如何逃避抗体识别。P结构域的动态模拟进一步表明,C'D'环的移动可能是构象变化中的限速步骤,与野生型(WT)相比,V339I增加了A'B'/E'F'环的运动,促进了向活化状态的转变。这些发现对诺如病毒疫苗设计具有重要意义,因为它们揭示了一种病毒衣壳形式,这种形式应该能提供更好的免疫保护,抵御野生型病毒随后的攻击。
重要性
对诺如病毒感染的免疫保护在人类和小鼠中都是出了名的短暂。我们的结果强烈表明,这可能是因为在肠道条件下发现的病毒“活化”形式不被循环中产生的抗体识别。通过在肠道中可逆地呈现一种结构,在循环中呈现完全不同的抗原结构,肠道组织在随后的攻击中可能会被感染,而肠外器官则受到保护。我们在这里发现,对最广泛中和抗体的变构逃逸突变体通过转变为活化状态来阻止识别,而无需肠道触发因素(即胆汁、低pH值或金属离子)。这些发现具有重要意义,因为现在可以将病毒的活化形式呈现给免疫系统(例如作为疫苗),以更好地保护肠道组织更长时间。