Identification of a cell surface 30 kDa protein as a candidate receptor for Hantaan virus

Cellular receptors play an important role in virus pathogenesis. As a first step in virus infection, viruses attach to specific receptors on the surface of cells; Hantaan virus infects susceptible cells by attaching to a receptor located on the cell surface. To date, the identity of the Hantaan virus host cell receptor remains unknown. To determine the protein on the cell surface to which Hantaan virus binds, a virus overlay protein-binding assay was performed with radiolabelled virus. A 30 kDa (30K) protein was identified as a putative receptor for Hantaan virus. The specificity of virus interactions with this protein was demonstrated with a competition assay using unlabelled Hantaan virus and poliovirus. Unlabelled Hantaan virus inhibited the binding of radiolabelled Hantaan virus to this 30 kDa protein, whereas poliovirus did not. A polyclonal antibody against the 30K protein blocked binding of Hantaan virus to Vero-E6 cells and, consequently, virus infection. Blocking with the anti-30K antibody reduced virus infection of cells by 70%. These data strongly suggest that the 30 kDa surface protein is a putative receptor for Hantaan virus.