Negative potentials across biological membranes promote fusion by class II and class III viral proteins.

ABSTRACT: Voltage was investigated as a factor in the fusion of virions. Virions, pseudotyped with a class II, SFV E1 or VEEV E, or a class III protein, VSV G, were prepared with GFP within the core and a fluorescent lipid. This allowed both hemifusion and fusion to be monitored. Voltage clamping the target cell showed that fusion is promoted by a negative potential and hindered by a positive potential. Hemifusion occurred independent of polarity. Lipid dye movement, in the absence of content mixing, ceased before complete transfer for positive potentials, indicating that reversion of hemifused membranes into two distinct membranes is responsible for voltage dependence and inhibition of fusion. Content mixing quickly followed lipid dye transfer for a negative potential, providing a direct demonstrat

SUBMITTER: Markosyan RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2883944 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature