Pharmacologic hyperstabilisation of the HIV-1 capsid lattice induces capsid failure.

The HIV-1 capsid has emerged as a tractable target for antiretroviral therapy. Lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences, is the first capsid-targeting drug approved for medical use. Here, we investigate the effect of lenacapavir on HIV capsid stability and uncoating. We employ a single particle approach that simultaneously measures capsid content release and lattice persistence. We demonstrate that lenacapavir's potent antiviral activity is predominantly due to lethal hyperstabilisation of the capsid lattice and resultant loss of compartmentalisation. This study highlights that disrupting capsid metastability is a powerful strategy for the development of novel antivirals.

Negative Staining Transmission Electron Microscopy of HIV Viral Particles Permeabilized with PFO and Capsid Stabilized with IP6.

The human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) consists of a viral membrane surrounding the conical capsid. The capsid is a protein container assembled from approximately 1,500 copies of the viral capsid protein (CA), functioning as a reaction and transport chamber for the viral genome after cell entry. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a widely used technique for characterizing the ultrastructure of isolated viral capsids after removal of the viral membrane, which otherwise hinders negative staining of structures inside the viral particle for TEM. Here, we provide a protocol to permeabilize the membrane of HIV-1 particles using a pore-forming toxin for negative staining of capsids, which are stabilized with inositol hexakisphosphate to prevent premature capsid disassembly. This approach revealed the pleomorphic nature of capsids with a partially intact membrane surrounding them. The permeabilization strategy using pore-forming toxins can be readily applied to visualize the internal architecture of other enveloped viruses using TEM. Graphical abstract.

Virucidal Activity of the Pyridobenzothiazolone Derivative HeE1-17Y against Enveloped RNA Viruses.

Pyridobenzothiazolone derivatives are a promising class of broad-spectrum antivirals. However, the mode of action of these compounds remains poorly understood. The HeE1-17Y derivative has already been shown to be a potent compound against a variety of flaviviruses of global relevance. In this work, the mode of action of HeE1-17Y has been studied for West Nile virus taking advantage of reporter replication particles (RRPs). Viral infectivity was drastically reduced by incubating the compound with the virus before infection, thus suggesting a direct interaction with the viral particles. Indeed, RRPs incubated with the inhibitor appeared to be severely compromised in electron microscopy analysis. HeE1-17Y is active against other enveloped viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, but not against two non-enveloped viruses, suggesting a virucidal mechanism that involves the alteration of the viral membrane.

Tellurite Promotes Stress Granules and Nuclear SG-Like Assembly in Response to Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage.

Tellurium oxyanion, tellurite (TeO 3 -2), is a highly toxic compound for many organisms. Its presence in the environment has increased over the past years due to industrial manufacturing processes and has been associated with adverse effects on human health. Although tellurite induces the phosphorylation of eIF2α, DNA damage and oxidative stress, the molecular mechanisms related to the cellular responses to tellurite-induced stress are poorly understood. In this work, we evaluated the ability of tellurite to induce phosphorylation of eIF2α, stress granules (SGs) assembly and their relationship with DNA damage in U2OS cells. We demonstrate that tellurite promotes the assembly of bona fide cytoplasmic SGs. Unexpectedly, tellurite also induces the assembly of nuclear SGs. Interestingly, we observed that the presence of tellurite-induced nuclear SGs correlates with γH2AX foci. However, although H2O2 also induce DNA damage, no nuclear SGs were observed. Our data show that tellurite promotes the assembly of cytoplasmic and nuclear SGs in response to oxidative stress and DNA damage, revealing a new aspect of cellular stress response mediated by the assembly of nuclear stress granules.

Strategies for Success. Viral Infections and Membraneless Organelles.

Regulation of RNA homeostasis or "RNAstasis" is a central step in eukaryotic gene expression. From transcription to decay, cellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs) associate with specific proteins in order to regulate their entire cycle, including mRNA localization, translation and degradation, among others. The best characterized of such RNA-protein complexes, today named membraneless organelles, are Stress Granules (SGs) and Processing Bodies (PBs) which are involved in RNA storage and RNA decay/storage, respectively. Given that SGs and PBs are generally associated with repression of gene expression, viruses have evolved different mechanisms to counteract their assembly or to use them in their favor to successfully replicate within the host environment. In this review we summarize the current knowledge about the viral regulation of SGs and PBs, which could be a potential novel target for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral therapies.

Functional analysis of the secondary HIV-1 capsid binding site in the host protein cyclophilin A.

BACKGROUND: Efficient HIV-1 replication depends on interaction of the viral capsid with the host protein cyclophilin A (CypA). CypA, a peptidylprolyl isomerase, binds to an exposed loop in the viral CA protein via the enzyme's active site. Recent structural analysis of CypA in complex with CA tubes in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations identified a secondary CA binding site on CypA that allows a bridging interaction with two hexameric subunits of the assembled CA lattice, leading to capsid stabilization (Liu et al. in Nat Commun 7:10714, 2016). RESULTS: We performed mutational analysis of residues that have been proposed to mediate CA binding at the secondary binding site on CypA (A25, K27, P29 and K30) and tested the effects of the amino acid substitutions using interaction assays and HIV-1 infection assays in cells. The binding of recombinant CypA to self-assembled CA tubes or native HIV-1 capsids was measured in vitro using a quantitative fluorescence microscopy binding assay revealing that affinity and stoichiometry of CypA to the CA lattice was not affected by the substitutions. To test for functionality of the CypA secondary CA-binding site in HIV-1 infection, mutant CypA proteins were expressed in cells in which endogenous CypA was deleted, and the effects on HIV-1 infection were assayed. In normal HeLa-P4 cells, infection with HIV-1 bearing the A92E substitution in CA is inhibited by endogenous CypA and was inhibited to the same extent by expression of CypA mutants in CypA-null HeLa-P4 cells. Expression of the mutant CypA proteins in CypA-null Jurkat cells restored their permissiveness to infection by wild type HIV-1. CONCLUSIONS: The amino acid changes at A25, K27, P29 and K30 did not affect the affinity of CypA for the CA lattice and did not impair CypA function in infection assays suggesting that these residues are not part of a secondary CA binding site on CypA.

Fluorescence Microscopy Assay to Measure HIV-1 Capsid Uncoating Kinetics in vitro.

The stability of the HIV-1 capsid and the spatiotemporal control of its disassembly, a process called uncoating, need to be finely tuned for infection to proceed. Biochemical methods for measuring capsid lattice disassembly in bulk are unable to resolve intermediates in the uncoating reaction. We have developed a single-particle fluorescence microscopy method to follow the real-time uncoating kinetics of authentic HIV capsids in vitro. The assay utilizes immobilized viral particles that are permeabilized with the a pore-former protein, and is designed to (1) detect the first defect of the capsid by the release of a solution phase marker (GFP) and (2) visualize the disassembly of the capsid over time by "painting" the capsid lattice with labeled cyclophilin A (CypA), a protein that binds weakly to the outside of the capsid. This novel assay allows the study of dynamic interactions of molecules with hundreds of individual capsids as well as to determine their effect on viral capsid stability, which provides a powerful tool for dissecting uncoating mechanisms and for the development of capsid-binding drugs.

IP6 is an HIV pocket factor that prevents capsid collapse and promotes DNA synthesis.

The HIV capsid is semipermeable and covered in electropositive pores that are essential for viral DNA synthesis and infection. Here, we show that these pores bind the abundant cellular polyanion IP6, transforming viral stability from minutes to hours and allowing newly synthesised DNA to accumulate inside the capsid. An arginine ring within the pore coordinates IP6, which strengthens capsid hexamers by almost 10°C. Single molecule measurements demonstrate that this renders native HIV capsids highly stable and protected from spontaneous collapse. Moreover, encapsidated reverse transcription assays reveal that, once stabilised by IP6, the accumulation of new viral DNA inside the capsid increases >100 fold. Remarkably, isotopic labelling of inositol in virus-producing cells reveals that HIV selectively packages over 300 IP6 molecules per infectious virion. We propose that HIV recruits IP6 to regulate capsid stability and uncoating, analogous to picornavirus pocket factors. HIV-1/IP6/capsid/co-factor/reverse transcription.

Kinetics of HIV-1 capsid uncoating revealed by single-molecule analysis.

Uncoating of the metastable HIV-1 capsid is a tightly regulated disassembly process required for release of the viral cDNA prior to nuclear import. To understand the intrinsic capsid disassembly pathway and how it can be modulated, we have developed a single-particle fluorescence microscopy method to follow the real-time uncoating kinetics of authentic HIV capsids in vitro immediately after permeabilizing the viral membrane. Opening of the first defect in the lattice is the rate-limiting step of uncoating, which is followed by rapid, catastrophic collapse. The capsid-binding inhibitor PF74 accelerates capsid opening but stabilizes the remaining lattice. In contrast, binding of a polyanion to a conserved arginine cluster in the lattice strongly delays initiation of uncoating but does not prevent subsequent lattice disassembly. Our observations suggest that different stages of uncoating can be controlled independently with the interplay between different capsid-binding regulators likely to determine the overall uncoating kinetics.

Inhibition of the Hantavirus Fusion Process by Predicted Domain III and Stem Peptides from Glycoprotein Gc.

Hantaviruses can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans. To enter cells, hantaviruses fuse their envelope membrane with host cell membranes. Previously, we have shown that the Gc envelope glycoprotein is the viral fusion protein sharing characteristics with class II fusion proteins. The ectodomain of class II fusion proteins is composed of three domains connected by a stem region to a transmembrane anchor in the viral envelope. These fusion proteins can be inhibited through exogenous fusion protein fragments spanning domain III (DIII) and the stem region. Such fragments are thought to interact with the core of the fusion protein trimer during the transition from its pre-fusion to its post-fusion conformation. Based on our previous homology model structure for Gc from Andes hantavirus (ANDV), here we predicted and generated recombinant DIII and stem peptides to test whether these fragments inhibit hantavirus membrane fusion and cell entry. Recombinant ANDV DIII was soluble, presented disulfide bridges and beta-sheet secondary structure, supporting the in silico model. Using DIII and the C-terminal part of the stem region, the infection of cells by ANDV was blocked up to 60% when fusion of ANDV occurred within the endosomal route, and up to 95% when fusion occurred with the plasma membrane. Furthermore, the fragments impaired ANDV glycoprotein-mediated cell-cell fusion, and cross-inhibited the fusion mediated by the glycoproteins from Puumala virus (PUUV). The Gc fragments interfered in ANDV cell entry by preventing membrane hemifusion and pore formation, retaining Gc in a non-resistant homotrimer stage, as described for DIII and stem peptide inhibitors of class II fusion proteins. Collectively, our results demonstrate that hantavirus Gc shares not only structural, but also mechanistic similarity with class II viral fusion proteins, and will hopefully help in developing novel therapeutic strategies against hantaviruses.

Hantavirus Gn and Gc glycoproteins self-assemble into virus-like particles.

How hantaviruses assemble and exit infected cells remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the expression of Andes (ANDV) and Puumala (PUUV) hantavirus Gn and Gc envelope glycoproteins lead to their self-assembly into virus-like particles (VLPs) which were released to cell supernatants. The viral nucleoprotein was not required for particle formation. Further, a Gc endodomain deletion mutant did not abrogate VLP formation. The VLPs were pleomorphic, exposed protrusions and reacted with patient sera.