Emerging Infections: To study the mechanism by which influenza virus strains can emerge as infectious to humans, we plan to examine the X-ray structure and function of hemagglutinins from viral strains apparently limited to infecting animal reservoirs and for comparison human infectious strains from the major pandemics. Preferences for different sialoside linkages on cellular receptors correlate with the spread of infection in animals versus humans. One goal is to help explain observations like why outbreaks in the past two years in Hong Kong of avian virus infections in humans did not spread into the human population. Viral Entry Mechanisms: To investigate membrane fusion by influenza virus, we plan crystal structure studies of protein/detergent complexes of intact HA and HA2 and mechanistic studies of the interaction of HA with membranes and of intermediates in the fusion reaction. The hypothesis that HA2 in the low pH conformation observed by crystallography is membrane fusion active will also be tested with intact recombinant HA2 molecules transfected in cells suitable for membrane fusion assays. The hypothesis that the N- and C-terminal segments of HA1 plus all of HA2 (BHA's stem) was an ancestral membrane fusion protein will be tested by engineering such a protein, testing whether it can be proteolytically primed and activated by low pH, and whether the HA1 segments have a role, such as in the assembly of a putative multi-trimer containing pore. M2 Ion Channel: To generate structural information about the ion channel protein M2 of influenza virus we propose crystallization in detergent of bacterially expressed and refolded M2 tetramers that we have produced; and/or a tetramer of a channel-active synthetic transmembrane helix. Complexes with the inhibitory drug, amantadine, will also be studied.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI013654-25
Application #
6372961
Study Section
Biophysical Chemistry Study Section (BBCB)
Program Officer
Lambert, Linda C
Project Start
1977-01-01
Project End
2005-07-31
Budget Start
2001-08-01
Budget End
2002-07-31
Support Year
25
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$163,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
071723621
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02138
Russell, R J; Gamblin, S J; Haire, L F et al. (2004) H1 and H7 influenza haemagglutinin structures extend a structural classification of haemagglutinin subtypes. Virology 325:287-96
Gamblin, S J; Haire, L F; Russell, R J et al. (2004) The structure and receptor binding properties of the 1918 influenza hemagglutinin. Science 303:1838-42
Swalley, Susanne E; Baker, Brian M; Calder, Lesley J et al. (2004) Full-length influenza hemagglutinin HA2 refolds into the trimeric low-pH-induced conformation. Biochemistry 43:5902-11
Ha, Ya; Stevens, David J; Skehel, John J et al. (2003) X-ray structure of the hemagglutinin of a potential H3 avian progenitor of the 1968 Hong Kong pandemic influenza virus. Virology 309:209-18
Ha, Ya; Stevens, David J; Skehel, John J et al. (2002) H5 avian and H9 swine influenza virus haemagglutinin structures: possible origin of influenza subtypes. EMBO J 21:865-75
Ha, Y; Stevens, D J; Skehel, J J et al. (2001) X-ray structures of H5 avian and H9 swine influenza virus hemagglutinins bound to avian and human receptor analogs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:11181-6
Chen, J; Skehel, J J; Wiley, D C (1998) A polar octapeptide fused to the N-terminal fusion peptide solubilizes the influenza virus HA2 subunit ectodomain. Biochemistry 37:13643-9
Martin, J; Wharton, S A; Lin, Y P et al. (1998) Studies of the binding properties of influenza hemagglutinin receptor-site mutants. Virology 241:101-11
Weissenhorn, W; Calder, L J; Wharton, S A et al. (1998) The central structural feature of the membrane fusion protein subunit from the Ebola virus glycoprotein is a long triple-stranded coiled coil. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95:6032-6
Weissenhorn, W; Carfi, A; Lee, K H et al. (1998) Crystal structure of the Ebola virus membrane fusion subunit, GP2, from the envelope glycoprotein ectodomain. Mol Cell 2:605-16

Showing the most recent 10 out of 36 publications