Identification of the flavivirus conserved residues in the envelope protein hinge region for the rational design of a candidate West Nile live-attenuated vaccine.

The flavivirus envelope protein is a class II fusion protein that drives flavivirus-cell membrane fusion. The membrane fusion process is triggered by the conformational change of the E protein from dimer in the virion to trimer, which involves the rearrangement of three domains, EDI, EDII, and EDIII. The movement between EDI and EDII initiates the formation of the E protein trimer. The EDI-EDII hinge region utilizes four motifs to exert the hinge effect at the interdomain region and is crucial for the membrane fusion activity of the E protein. Using West Nile virus (WNV) NY99 strain derived from an infectious clone, we investigated the role of eight flavivirus-conserved hydrophobic residues in the EDI-EDII hinge region in the conformational change of E protein from dimer to trimer and viral entry. Single mutations of the E-A54, E-I130, E-I135, E-I196, and E-Y201 residues affected infectivity. Importantly, the E-A54I and E-Y201P mutations fully attenuated the mouse neuroinvasive phenotype of WNV. The results suggest that multiple flavivirus-conserved hydrophobic residues in the EDI-EDII hinge region play a critical role in the structure-function of the E protein and some contribute to the virulence phenotype of flaviviruses as demonstrated by the attenuation of the mouse neuroinvasive phenotype of WNV. Thus, as a proof of concept, residues in the EDI-EDII hinge region are proposed targets to engineer attenuating mutations for inclusion in the rational design of candidate live-attenuated flavivirus vaccines.

The Legionella pneumophila Metaeffector Lpg2505 (MesI) Regulates SidI-Mediated Translation Inhibition and Novel Glycosyl Hydrolase Activity.

Legionella pneumophila, the etiological agent of Legionnaires' disease, employs an arsenal of hundreds of Dot/Icm-translocated effector proteins to facilitate replication within eukaryotic phagocytes. Several effectors, called metaeffectors, function to regulate the activity of other Dot/Icm-translocated effectors during infection. The metaeffector Lpg2505 is essential for L. pneumophila intracellular replication only when its cognate effector, SidI, is present. SidI is a cytotoxic effector that interacts with the host translation factor eEF1A and potently inhibits eukaryotic protein translation by an unknown mechanism. Here, we evaluated the impact of Lpg2505 on SidI-mediated phenotypes and investigated the mechanism of SidI function. We determined that Lpg2505 binds with nanomolar affinity to SidI and suppresses SidI-mediated inhibition of protein translation. SidI binding to eEF1A and Lpg2505 is not mutually exclusive, and the proteins bind distinct regions of SidI. We also discovered that SidI possesses GDP-dependent glycosyl hydrolase activity and that this activity is regulated by Lpg2505. We have therefore renamed Lpg2505 MesI (metaeffector of SidI). This work reveals novel enzymatic activity for SidI and provides insight into how intracellular replication of L. pneumophila is regulated by a metaeffector.