Photo from wikipedia
Significance Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is a neuroinvasive alphavirus that causes severe neurological diseases. Entry of alphaviruses requires host–virus membrane fusion in endosomes to release the RNA genome into… Click to show full abstract
Significance Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is a neuroinvasive alphavirus that causes severe neurological diseases. Entry of alphaviruses requires host–virus membrane fusion in endosomes to release the RNA genome into the cytosol for virus replication. How alphaviruses utilize their structural proteins to facilitate membrane fusion remains unclear at a molecular level. This study presents cryoelectron microscopy structures of EEEV under acidic conditions that demonstrate conformational rearrangements of the E2 glycoproteins for the exposure of the E1 fusion loops, essential for membrane fusion. A protective antibody that stabilizes E2 blocks this “prefusion” structural rearrangement. These findings suggest that development of antibodies or agents that stabilize E2 may serve as strategies for treatments of diseases caused by EEEV and other alphaviruses.
Journal Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Year Published: 2022
Link to full text (if available)
Share on Social Media: Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!