Molecular basis of dengue virus serotype 2 morphological switch from 29°C to 37°C.

ABSTRACT: The ability of DENV2 to display different morphologies (hence different antigenic properties) complicates vaccine and therapeutics development. Previous studies showed most strains of laboratory adapted DENV2 particles changed from smooth to "bumpy" surfaced morphology when the temperature is switched from 29°C at 37°C. Here we identified five envelope (E) protein residues different between two alternative passage history DENV2 NGC strains exhibiting smooth or bumpy surface morphologies. Several mutations performed on the smooth DENV2 infectious clone destabilized the surface, as observed by cryoEM. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated how chemically subtle substitution at various positions destabilized dimeric interactions between E proteins. In contrast, three out of four DENV2 cl

SUBMITTER: Lim XN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6752767 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature