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Structural basis for Fullerene geometry in a human endogenous retrovirus capsid

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journal contribution
posted on 2020-01-23, 13:31 authored by Oliver Acton, Tim Grant, Giuseppe Nicastro, Neil J Ball, David C Goldstone, Laura E Robertson, Kasim Sader, Andrea Nans, Andres Ramos, Jonathan P Stoye, Ian A Taylor, Peter B Rosenthal
The HML2 (HERV-K) group constitutes the most recently acquired family of human endogenous retroviruses, with many proviruses less than one million years old. Many maintain intact open reading frames and provirus expression together with HML2 particle formation are observed in early stage human embryo development and are associated with pluripotency as well as inflammatory disease, cancers and HIV-1 infection. Here, we reconstruct the core structural protein (CA) of an HML2 retrovirus, assemble particles in vitro and employ single particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine structures of four classes of CA Fullerene shell assemblies. These icosahedral and capsular assemblies reveal at high-resolution the molecular interactions that allow CA to form both pentamers and hexamers and show how invariant pentamers and structurally plastic hexamers associate to form the unique polyhedral structures found in retroviral cores.

Funding

Crick (Grant ID: 10143, Grant title: Rosenthal FC001143) Crick (Grant ID: 10178, Grant title: Taylor,I FC001178) Wellcome Trust (Grant ID: 108014/Z/15/Z, Grant title: WT 108014/Z/15/Z)

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