γ2-Adaptin is functioning in the late endosomal sorting pathway and interacts with ESCRT-I and -III subunits.

γ2-Adaptin is a clathrin adaptor-related protein with unclear physiological function. Previous studies indicated that γ2-adaptin might act within the multivesicular body (MVB) protein-sorting pathway that is central to receptor down-regulation, lysosome biogenesis, and budding of enveloped viruses. Here, we have analyzed the effects of excess and deficit γ2-adaptin on exogenous and endogenous MVB cargoes and on the MVB machinery itself. Foreign cargoes, like retroviral Gags, are entrapped by overexpressed γ2-adaptin in detergent-insoluble polymers and blocked in budding. When viral budding involves MVB/endosomal structures, excess γ2-adaptin acts by accelerating lysosomal Gag destruction. Consistently, depletion of γ2-adaptin avoids Gag routing to the lysosome and increases viral production. Functional studies with natural MVB cargoes support a role of γ2-adaptin in MVB-to-lysosome transition. Furthermore, we show that different members of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) that drive sorting from endosomes to lysosomes are sequestered upon γ2-adaptin overexpression. If sequestered irreversibly, they are targeted to enhanced lysosomal degradation. The participation of γ2-adaptin in MVB sorting is further suggested by our finding that it specifically interacts with the ESCRT subunits Vps28 and CHMP2A. These observations identify γ2-adaptin as a critical factor in MVB trafficking, which likely is involved in endosome-to-lysosome maturation.

Hepatitis B virus maturation is sensitive to functional inhibition of ESCRT-III, Vps4, and gamma 2-adaptin.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an enveloped DNA virus that presumably buds at intracellular membranes of infected cells. HBV budding involves two endocytic host proteins, the ubiquitin-interacting adaptor gamma 2-adaptin and the Nedd4 ubiquitin ligase. Here, we demonstrate that HBV release also requires the cellular machinery that generates internal vesicles of multivesicular bodies (MVBs). In order to perturb the MVB machinery in HBV-replicating liver cells, we used ectopic expression of dominant-negative mutants of different MVB components, like the ESCRT-III complex-forming CHMP proteins and the Vps4 ATPases. Upon coexpression of mutated CHMP3, CHMP4B, or CHMP4C forms, as well as of ATPase-defective Vps4A or Vps4B mutants, HBV assembly and egress were potently blocked. Each of the MVB inhibitors arrested virus particle maturation by entrapping the viral core and large and small envelope proteins in detergent-insoluble membrane structures that closely resembled aberrant endosomal class E compartments. In contrast, HBV subvirus particle release was not affected by MVB inhibitors, hinting at different export routes used by viral and subviral particles. To further define the role gamma 2-adaptin plays in HBV formation, we examined the effects of its overexpression in virus-replicating cells. Intriguingly, excess gamma 2-adaptin blocked HBV production in a manner similar to the actions of CHMP and Vps4 mutants. Moreover, overexpressed gamma 2-adaptin perturbed the endosomal morphology and diminished the budding of a retroviral Gag protein, implying that it may act as a principal inhibitor of the MVB sorting pathway. Together, these results demonstrate that HBV exploits the MVB machinery with the aid of gamma 2-adaptin.