RESUMO
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes acute lower respiratory tract infections and is the leading cause of infant hospitalizations. Recently, a promising vaccine antigen based on the RSV fusion protein (RSV F) stabilized in the native prefusion conformation has been described. Here we report alternative strategies to arrest RSV F in the prefusion conformation based on the prevention of hinge movements in the first refolding region and the elimination of proteolytic exposure of the fusion peptide. A limited number of unique mutations are identified that stabilize the prefusion conformation of RSV F and dramatically increase expression levels. This highly stable prefusion RSV F elicits neutralizing antibodies in cotton rats and induces complete protection against viral challenge. Moreover, the structural and biochemical analysis of the prefusion variants suggests a function for p27, the excised segment that precedes the fusion peptide in the polypeptide chain.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Antígenos Virais/imunologia , Infecções por Vírus Respiratório Sincicial/prevenção & controle , Vacinas contra Vírus Sincicial Respiratório/imunologia , Vírus Sinciciais Respiratórios/imunologia , Proteínas Virais de Fusão/imunologia , Animais , Antígenos Virais/genética , Western Blotting , Cristalização , Cristalografia por Raios X , Eletroforese em Gel de Poliacrilamida , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Camundongos , Microscopia Eletrônica , Mutação , Conformação Proteica , Infecções por Vírus Respiratório Sincicial/imunologia , Vírus Sinciciais Respiratórios/genética , Sigmodontinae , Proteínas Virais de Fusão/genéticaRESUMO
AHNAK is a 700-kDa protein involved in cytoarchitecture and calcium signaling. It is secondarily reduced in muscle of dysferlinopathy patients and accumulates in muscle of calpainopathy patients, both affected by a muscular dystrophy. AHNAK directly interacts with dysferlin. This interaction is lost on cleavage of AHNAK by the protease calpain 3, explaining the molecular observations in patients. Currently, little is known of AHNAK regulation. We describe the self-regulation of multiple mRNA transcripts emanating from the AHNAK locus in muscle cells. We show that the AHNAK gene consists of a 17-kb exon flanked by multiple small exons. This genetic structure is shared by AHNAK2 and Periaxin, which share a common ancestor. Two major AHNAK transcripts are differentially expressed during muscle differentiation that encode for a small (17-kDa) and a large (700-kDa) protein isoform. These proteins interact in the cytoplasm, but the small AHNAK is also present in the nucleus. During muscle differentiation the small AHNAK is strongly increased, thereby establishing a positive feedback loop to regulate mRNA splicing of its own locus. A small 17-kDa isoform of Periaxin similarly traffics between the cytoplasm and the nucleus to regulate mRNA splicing. Thus, AHNAK constitutes a novel mechanism in post-transcriptional control of gene expression.