Binding of Alphaherpesvirus Glycoprotein H to Surface α4β1-Integrins Activates Calcium-Signaling Pathways and Induces Phosphatidylserine Exposure on the Plasma Membrane

Intracellular signaling connected to integrin activation is known to induce cytoplasmic Ca2+ release, which in turn mediates a number of downstream signals. The cellular entry pathways of two closely related alphaherpesviruses, equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4), are differentially regulated with respect to the requirement of interaction of glycoprotein H (gH) with alpha(4)beta(1)-integrins. We show here that binding of EHV-1, but not EHV-4, to target cells resulted in a rapid and significant increase in cytosolic Ca2+ levels. EHV-1 expressing EHV-4 gH (gH4) in lieu of authentic gH1 failed to induce Ca2+ release, while EHV-4 with gH1 triggered significant Ca2+ release. Blocking the interaction between gH1 and alpha(4)beta(1)-integrins, inhibiting phospholipase C (PLC) activation, or blocking binding of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) to its receptor on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) abrogated Ca2+ release. Interestingly, phosphatidylserine (PS) was exposed on the plasma membrane in response to cytosolic calcium increase after EHV-1 binding through a scramblase-dependent mechanism. Inhibition of both Ca2+ release from the ER and scramblase activation blocked PS scrambling and redirected virus entry to the endocytic pathway, indicating that PS may play a role in facilitating virus entry directly at the plasma membrane. IMPORTANCE Herpesviruses are a large family of enveloped viruses that infect a wide range of hosts, causing a variety of diseases. These viruses have developed a number of strategies for successful entry into different cell types. We and others have shown that alphaherpesviruses, including EHV-1 and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), can route their entry pathway and do so by manipulation of cell signaling cascades to ensure viral genome delivery to nuclei. We show here that the interaction between EHV-1 gH and cellular alpha(4)beta(1)-integrins is necessary to induce emptying of ER calcium stores, which induces phosphatidylserine exposure on the plasma membrane through a scramblase-dependent mechanism. This change in lipid asymmetry facilitates virus entry and might help fusion of the viral envelope at the plasma membrane. These findings will help to advance our understanding of herpesvirus entry mechanism and may facilitate the development of novel drugs that can be implemented for prevention of infection and disease.