Journal
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Volume 18, Issue 2, Pages 128-U183Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1967
Keywords
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Funding
- US National Institutes of Health [R01 CA90636]
- Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
- Mayo Graduate School
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The measles virus entry system, consisting of attachment (hemagglutinin, H) and fusion proteins, operates by means of a variety of natural and targeted receptors; however, the mechanism that triggers fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane is not understood. Here, we tested a model proposing that the two heads of an H dimer, which are covalently linked at their base, after binding two receptor molecules, move relative to each other to transmit the fusion-triggering signal. Indeed, stabilizing the H-dimer interface with additional intermolecular disulfide bonds prevented membrane fusion, an effect that was reversed by a reducing agent. Moreover, a membrane-anchored designated receptor efficiently triggered fusion, provided that it engaged the H dimer at locations proximal to where the natural receptors bind and distal to the H-dimer interface. We discuss how receptors may force H-protein heads to switch partners and transmit the fusion-triggering signal.
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