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Structure and antigenicity of the divergent human astrovirus VA1 capsid spike.

ABSTRACT: Human astrovirus (HAstV) is a known cause of viral gastroenteritis in children worldwide, but HAstV can cause also severe and systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. There are three clades of HAstV: classical, MLB, and VA/HMO. While all three clades are found in gastrointestinal samples, HAstV-VA/HMO is the main clade associated with meningitis and encephalitis in immunocompromised patients. To understand how the HAstV-VA/HMO can infect the central nervous system, we investigated its sequence-divergent capsid spike, which functions in cell attachment and may influence viral tropism. Here we report the high-resolution crystal structures of the HAstV-VA1 capsid spike from strains isolated from patients with gastrointestinal and neuronal disease. The HAstV-VA1 spike forms a dimer and shares a core beta-barrel structure with other astrovirus capsid spikes but is otherwise strikingly different, suggesting that HAstV-VA1 may utilize a different cell receptor, and an infection competition assay supports this hypothesis. Furthermore, by mapping the capsid protease cleavage site onto the structure, the maturation and assembly of the HAstV-VA1 capsid is revealed. Finally, comparison of gastrointestinal and neuronal HAstV-VA1 sequences, structures, and antigenicity suggests that neuronal HAstV-VA1 strains may have acquired immune escape mutations. Overall, our studies on the HAstV-VA1 capsid spike lay a foundation to further investigate the biology of HAstV-VA/HMO and to develop vaccines and therapeutics targeting it.

SUBMITTER: Ghosh A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10950212 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Structure and antigenicity of the divergent human astrovirus VA1 capsid spike.

Ghosh Anisa A Delgado-Cunningham Kevin K López Tomás T Green Kassidy K Arias Carlos F CF DuBois Rebecca M RM

PLoS pathogens 20240228 2

Human astrovirus (HAstV) is a known cause of viral gastroenteritis in children worldwide, but HAstV can cause also severe and systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. There are three clades of HAstV: classical, MLB, and VA/HMO. While all three clades are found in gastrointestinal samples, HAstV-VA/HMO is the main clade associated with meningitis and encephalitis in immunocompromised patients. To understand how the HAstV-VA/HMO can infect the central nervous system, we investigated its ...[more]

PMID: 38416796

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Project description:Human astrovirus VA1 has been associated with neurological disease in immunocompromised patients, and its recent propagation in cell culture has opened the possibility to study its biology. Unlike classical human astroviruses, VA1 growth was found to be independent of trypsin during virus replication in vitro. In this work, we show that despite its independence on trypsin activation for cell infection, the VA1 capsid precursor protein, of 86 kDa (VP86), is processed intracellularly, and this proteolytic processing is important for astrovirus VA1 infectivity. Antibodies raised against different regions of the capsid precursor showed that the polyprotein can be processed starting at either its amino- or carboxy-terminal end, and they allowed us to identify those proteins of about 33 (VP33) and 38 (VP38) kDa constitute the core and the spike proteins of the mature infectious virus particles, respectively. The amino-terminal end of the spike protein was found to be Thr-348. Whether the protease involved in intracellular cleavage of the capsid precursor is of viral or cellular origin remains to be determined, but the cleavage is independent of caspases. Also, trypsin is able to degrade the capsid precursor but has no effect on VP33 and VP38 proteins when assembled into virus particles. These studies provide the basis for advancement of the knowledge of astrovirus VA1 cell entry and replication. IMPORTANCE Human astrovirus VA1 has been associated with neurological disease in immunocompromised patients. Its recent propagation in cell culture has facilitated the study of its biology. In this work, we show that despite the ability of this virus to grow in the absence of trypsin, a marked feature of human classical astroviruses, the capsid precursor protein of astrovirus VA1 is cleaved intracellularly to yield the mature infectious particles, formed by two polypeptides, VP33 that constitutes the core domain of the virus particle, and VP38 that forms the spike of the virus. These studies provide a platform to advance our knowledge on astrovirus VA1 cell entry and replication.

Project description:Astrovirus VA1/HMO-C (VA1; mamastrovirus 9) is a recently discovered astrovirus genotype that is divergent from the classic human astroviruses (mamastrovirus 1). The gastrointestinal tract is presumed to be the primary site of infection and pathogenicity for astroviruses. However, VA1 has been independently detected in brain tissue of five cases of human encephalitis. Studies of the pathogenicity of VA1 are currently impossible because there are no reported cell culture systems or in vivo models that support VA1 infection. Here, we describe successful propagation of VA1 in multiple human cell lines. The initial inoculum, a filtered clinical stool sample from the index gastroenteritis case cluster that led to the discovery of VA1, was first passaged in Vero cells. Serial blind passage in Caco-2 cells yielded increasing copies of VA1 RNA, and multistep growth curves demonstrated a >100-fold increase in VA1 RNA 72 h after inoculation. The full-length genomic and subgenomic RNA strands were detected by Northern blotting, and crystalline lattices of viral particles of ∼26-nm diameter were observed by electron microscopy in infected Caco-2 cells. Unlike other human astrovirus cell culture systems, which require addition of exogenous trypsin for continued propagation, VA1 could be propagated equally well with or without the addition of trypsin. Furthermore, VA1 was sensitive to the type I interferon (IFN-I) response, as VA1 RNA levels were reduced by pretreatment of Caco-2 cells with IFN-β1a. The ability to propagate VA1 in cell culture will facilitate studies of the neurotropism and neuropathogenesis of VA1.IMPORTANCE Astroviruses are an emerging cause of central nervous system infections in mammals, and astrovirus VA1/HMO-C is the most prevalent astrovirus in cases of human encephalitis. This virus has not been previously propagated, preventing elucidation of the biology of this virus. We describe the first cell culture system for VA1, a key step necessary for the study of its ability to cause disease.

Project description:UnlabelledHuman astrovirus (HAstV) is a leading cause of viral diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. HAstV is a nonenveloped virus with a T=3 capsid and a positive-sense RNA genome. The capsid protein (CP) of HAstV is synthesized as a 90-kDa precursor (VP90) that can be divided into three linear domains: a conserved N-terminal domain, a hypervariable domain, and an acidic C-terminal domain. Maturation of HAstV requires proteolytic processing of the astrovirus CP both inside and outside the host cell, resulting in the removal of the C-terminal domain and the breakdown of the rest of the CP into three predominant protein species with molecular masses of ∼34, 27/29, and 25/26 kDa, respectively. We have now solved the crystal structure of VP90(71-415) (amino acids [aa] 71 to 415 of VP90) of human astrovirus serotype 8 at a 2.15-Å resolution. VP90(71-415) encompasses the conserved N-terminal domain of VP90 but lacks the hypervariable domain, which forms the capsid surface spikes. The structure of VP90(71-415) is comprised of two domains: an S domain, which adopts the typical jelly-roll β-barrel fold, and a P1 domain, which forms a squashed β-barrel consisting of six antiparallel β-strands similar to what was observed in the hepatitis E virus (HEV) capsid structure. Fitting of the VP90(71-415) structure into the cryo-electron microscopy (EM) maps of HAstV produced an atomic model for a continuous, T=3 icosahedral capsid shell. Our pseudoatomic model of the human HAstV capsid shell provides valuable insights into intermolecular interactions required for capsid assembly and trypsin-mediated proteolytic maturation needed for virus infectivity. Such information has potential applications in the development of a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine as well as small-molecule drugs targeting astrovirus assembly/maturation.ImportanceHuman astrovirus (HAstV) is a leading cause of viral diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. As a nonenveloped virus, HAstV exhibits an intriguing feature in that its maturation requires extensive proteolytic processing of the astrovirus capsid protein (CP) both inside and outside the host cell. Mature HAstV contains three predominant protein species, but the mechanism for acquired infectivity upon maturation is unclear. We have solved the crystal structure of VP90(71-415) of human astrovirus serotype 8. VP90(71-415) encompasses the conserved N-terminal domain of the viral CP. Fitting of the VP90(71-415) structure into the cryo-EM maps of HAstV produced an atomic model for the T=3 icosahedral capsid. Our model of the HAstV capsid provides valuable insights into intermolecular interactions required for capsid assembly and trypsin-mediated proteolytic maturation. Such information has potential applications in the development of a VLP vaccine as well as small-molecule drugs targeting astrovirus assembly/maturation.

Dataset Information

Structure and antigenicity of the divergent human astrovirus VA1 capsid spike.

Publications

Structure and antigenicity of the divergent human astrovirus VA1 capsid spike.

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