Viral entry is a major target of efforts to find inhibitors against
viral pathogens. Target-based approaches require detailed understanding
of the entry mechanism on a molecular level. However, the lack of
critical knowledge, such as the identity of the host membrane receptor,
can significantly hamper progress. Such is the case for Zika virus
(Figure 1
), a human
pathogen that received limited attention clinically and scientifically
until a recent epidemic and whose host receptor is poorly defined.
In this issue of ACS Central Science, Boxer et al.
address this limitation using their distinctive in vitro model system, which enables
quantitative analysis of viral membrane
fusion events even in the absence of host receptor.
1
Complementary DNA–lipid conjugates bypass the need
for viral–receptor interactions by bringing apposing membranes
into stable close proximity (Figure 2
). A pH drop mimics endosome acidification
and induces an active, fusion-competent state of the virus. Thus,
the system recapitulates crucial aspects of viral membrane fusion
while permitting single-particle analysis and experimental control
over components and conditions.
Figure 1
Zika virus. Illustration by David S. Goodsell.
2
The team of Boxer and Kasson previously established the so-called
“receptor-free” system using influenza and validated
many crucial factors and assumptions.
3
In
particular, at least for influenza, the rate-limiting step in pH-induced
membrane fusion is independent of host receptor binding, confirming
that long-lived proximity mediated by DNA oligonucleotide annealing
is sufficient to capture relevant parameters of the membrane fusion
process. In the current study, the authors build on this assumption
to provide mechanistic insights into Zika virus membrane fusion. Importantly,
low pH and membrane proximity were also sufficient to induce Zika
virus fusion, allowing detailed investigation of the process as a
function of pH. Single-particle analysis enabled the authors to draw
a distinction between fusion rate versus fusion efficiency, defined
as the extent of virus–vesicle fusion across the entire population
of bound virus. Although fusion efficiencies correlated strongly with
pH, fusion rates were largely pH-independent. Studies with related
viruses have shown that activation of E protein, a viral surface protein
and crucial mediator of membrane fusion, is pH-dependent; this is
mirrored in pH-dependent conformations of Zika E protein.
4
Thus, the current observations indicate that
E protein activation is not rate-limiting for Zika membrane fusion.
Another novel finding was a low but observable level of fusion at
neutral pH, which suggests that Zika virus could fuse in the early
endosome. This would contrast with fusion in related viruses, such
as Dengue, which are primarily active in the late endosome.
5
Using chemical kinetic modeling, the
authors confirmed that a reversible, pH-dependent activation step
followed by an irreversible pH-independent fusion step accurately
described the observed rates of fusion. However,
this model was not consistent with the observed fusion efficiencies. Accurate modeling
required, at minimum, the inclusion of a pH-independent,
off-pathway state that competes with the equilibrium between bound
and activated states (Figure 2
). More sophisticated cellular automaton modeling, which includes
factors such as protein distribution and activation, led to the same
conclusion. While little experimental information is available for
Zika virus, previous studies on the related West Nile virus suggest
that an off-pathway state could be related to inactivation of the
viral E protein following extension and insertion into the host membrane.
6
Figure 2
Key features of viral–host membrane fusion are
captured by a “receptor-free” in vitro model system. Target vesicles (bottom) represent
host cell membranes.
The virus and target vesicle bear complementary oligonucleotide DNA–lipid
conjugates that mediate stable close proximity between membranes in
the absence of host receptors. Unbound virus is washed away, so the
only initial state is bound (B). A subsequent pH drop mimics endosome
acidification that induces an active, fusion-competent state of the
virus (A). An increase in fluorescence indicates membrane fusion (F)
as dye–lipid conjugates at high concentration in the virus
dequench. A microfluidics setup and tethering to the solid support
enable rapid reagent and buffer exchange and quantitative imaging
of single particles. Unexpectedly, analysis of Zika virus fusion by
Rawle et al. revealed fusion rates and efficiencies that require,
at minimum, a pH-independent, off-pathway state (O). (Full membrane
fusion is depicted, but is not distinguishable from hemifusion in
this system.)
The success of this and
the earlier influenza study encourages the application of the DNA
tethering approach to other biological processes that depend on bringing
membranes into close proximity, but have eluded mechanistic study
because some components are unknown or difficult to reconstitute,
such as the fusion of exosomes to the plasma or the endosomal membrane.
Dissecting Zika and influenza fusion reactions benefitted from the
ability to decouple binding from fusion using the pH drop. Other membrane
fusion processes, including those of other viruses, may lack a clear
dependence on experimentally accessible factors, which would limit
the extent to which modeled parameters could be assigned to distinct
mechanistic steps. Nevertheless, this latest study further underscores
viral fusion as a rich area for exploration with this approach. Introducing
variables such as membrane lipid composition and the presence and
concentration of host receptors will uncover the contribution of these
additional factors to fusion for this and other enveloped viruses.
Also, exploration of various viruses even in the receptor-free setting
will provide well-controlled comparisons and test the assumption that
results can be extrapolated between individual related viruses, such
as among the flaviviruses to which Zika belongs.
Identification
of the off-pathway state is an unexpected result uniquely enabled
by access to fusion rates and efficiencies. A caveat of the model
is that the existence of an off-pathway state suggests that fusion
efficiency will depend on the length of time between the binding and
acidification steps, but this was not observed. Nevertheless, this
initial observation has intriguing implications. The model provides
a modified framework for interpreting, for example, structures of
different E protein conformations and their relevance to the fusion
reaction. Further down the road, the relationship of the off-pathway
state to viral inactivation, which may be irreversible, could present
an avenue of exploration for antiviral therapies. Acid trips tend
to have negative connotations, but discovering that Zika virus goes
off-pathway could prove advantageous for human health.