Evidence for the direct involvement of the rhinovirus canyon in receptor binding

Evidence is presented that indicates a deep crevice located on the surface of human rhinovirus type 14 is involved in virion attachment to cellular receptors. By using mutagenesis of an infectious cDNA clone, 11 mutants were created by single amino acid substitutions or insertions at positions 103, 155, 220, 223, and 273 of the structural protein VP1. Seven of the recovered mutants had a small plaque phenotype and exhibited binding affinities significantly lower than wild-type virus. One mutant, in which glycine replaced proline at amino acid position 155, showed a greatly enhanced binding affinity. Single-cycle growth kinetics suggested that 5 of the mutants had delayed growth cycles due to intracellular deficiencies apart from receptor binding.