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Conserved cysteines in Mason-Pfizer monkey virus capsid protein are essential for infectious mature particle

Růžena Píchalová1, Tibor Füzik1, Barbora Vokatá1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic.

Virology
|June 16, 2018
PubMed

Insights

The conserved cysteines in Mason-Pfizer monkey virus capsid (CA) are essential for retrovirus assembly and infectivity. Mutations disrupting these cysteines prevent the formation of mature, infectious viral particles.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Structural Biology

Background:

  • Retrovirus assembly relies on Gag polyprotein oligomerization.
  • Capsid (CA) domains mediate protein-protein interactions during assembly.
  • Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) CA has three cysteines, two of which are highly conserved.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of conserved cysteines in M-PMV CA.
  • To determine the impact of cysteine mutations on M-PMV assembly and infectivity.

Main Methods:

  • Site-directed mutagenesis of M-PMV CA cysteines.
  • Expression of mutated proteins in bacterial and proviral vectors.
  • Analysis of M-PMV life cycle, assembly, and infectivity.

Main Results:

  • The presence of both conserved cysteines (C193 and C213) in M-PMV CA is critical.
  • Mutations affecting these cysteines impaired proper viral particle assembly.
  • Loss of conserved cysteines significantly reduced virus infectivity.

Conclusions:

  • Conserved cysteines in M-PMV CA play a vital role in retrovirus assembly.
  • These cysteines are necessary for the formation of infectious mature retroviral particles.
  • Understanding cysteine function aids in developing antiviral strategies.
Keywords:
Cysteine mutagenesisM-PMV capsidM-PMV infectivityRetrovirus assemblyVirus core stability

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