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The hepatitis B virus preS1 domain hijacks host trafficking proteins by motif mimicry

Nature Chemical Biology volume 9, pages 540–547 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an infectious, potentially lethal human pathogen. However, there are no effective therapies for chronic HBV infections. Antiviral development is hampered by the lack of high-resolution structures for essential HBV protein-protein interactions. The interaction between preS1, an HBV surface-protein domain, and its human binding partner, γ2-adaptin, subverts the membrane-trafficking apparatus to mediate virion export. This interaction is a putative drug target. We report here atomic-resolution descriptions of the binding thermodynamics and structural biology of the interaction between preS1 and the EAR domain of γ2-adaptin. NMR, protein engineering, X-ray crystallography and MS showed that preS1 contains multiple γ2-EAR–binding motifs that mimic the membrane-trafficking motifs (and binding modes) of host proteins. These motifs localize together to a relatively rigid, functionally important region of preS1, an intrinsically disordered protein. The preS1–γ2-EAR interaction was relatively weak and efficiently outcompeted by a synthetic peptide. Our data provide the structural road map for developing peptidomimetic antivirals targeting the γ2-EAR–preS1 interaction.

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Figure 1: Domain structure and topology for HBV surface proteins and γ2-adaptin.
Figure 2: Mapping the γ2-EAR–preS1 interaction using NMR spectroscopy and ITC.
Figure 3: CSPs induced in γ2-EAR amide resonances by binding to preS1 and preS1-derived peptides.
Figure 4: Crystal structures of wild-type γ2-EAR in complex with peptide ligands.
Figure 5: Backbone dynamics and conformational diversity of preS1.
Figure 6: Models of γ2-adaptin interactions leading to envelopment of HBV nucleocapsids.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank K. Nakayama (University of Kyoto) for the γ2-adaptin clone; J. Lyons (Trinity College Dublin) and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron–European Molecular Biology Laboratory beamline scientists for assistance with X-ray data collection; N. Moran (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) for access to biophysical instrumentation; M. Caffrey (Trinity College Dublin) for access to X-ray apparatus; and D. Shields and C. Mooney for bioinformatics help. This work was supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)–President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (09/YI/B1682 to N.F.), Stokes Lecturer Award (07/SK/B1224a to N.F.), Royal Irish Academy–Royal Society Exchange award (IE111031 to N.F. and A.E.A.), SFI grant (07/IN.1/B1836) and US National Institutes of Health grants (GM75915, P50GM073210 U54GM094599) to M. Caffrey (funding V.E.P. and X-ray generator). D.A.S. was funded by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council PhD Studentship. The Synapt mass spectrometer was purchased with Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council UK funds (BB/E012558/1).

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Author notes

  1. Gilles J P Rautureau & Valerie E Pye

    Present address: Present addresses: École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre de Résonance Magnétique Nucleaire à Très Hauts Champs, UMR 5280 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique–École Normale Supérieure, Villeurbanne, France (G.J.P.R.) and Clare Hall Laboratories, Cancer Research UK, Herts, UK (V.E.P.).,

  2. Maike C Jürgens and Judit Vörös: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Maike C Jürgens & Neil Ferguson

  2. School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Judit Vörös & Gilles J P Rautureau

  3. Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Dale A Shepherd & Alison E Ashcroft

  4. School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Valerie E Pye

  5. Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Jimmy Muldoon

  6. Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK

    Christopher M Johnson & Stefan M V Freund

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Contributions

M.C.J. purified proteins, performed ITC and NMR experiments, determined crystal structures, analyzed data and wrote the paper; J.V. purified proteins, performed ITC and NMR experiments, analyzed data and wrote the paper; G.J.P.R. performed and analyzed NMR experiments and wrote the paper; J.M. performed NMR experiments; D.A.S. performed and analyzed MS experiments and wrote the paper; V.E.P. determined crystal structures and wrote the paper; C.M.J. performed and analyzed calorimetry experiments; A.E.A. designed and interpreted MS experiments and wrote the paper; S.M.V.F. performed and analyzed NMR experiments and wrote the paper; N.F. directed research, designed and interpreted experiments and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Neil Ferguson.

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Jürgens, M., Vörös, J., Rautureau, G. et al. The hepatitis B virus preS1 domain hijacks host trafficking proteins by motif mimicry. Nat Chem Biol 9, 540–547 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1294

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