Solution dynamics of the oligosaccharide moiety of ganglioside GM1: comparison of solution conformations with the bound state conformation in association with cholera toxin B-pentamer

Binding of SV40's Viral Capsid Protein VP1 to Its Glycosphingolipid Receptor GM1 Induces Negative Membrane Curvature: A Molecular Dynamics Study

The binding of the pentameric capsid protein VP1 of simian virus 40 to its glycosphingolipid receptor GM1 is a key step for the entry of the virus into the host cell. Recent experimental studies have shown that the interaction of variants of soluble VP1 pentamers with giant unilamellar vesicles composed of GM1, DOPC, and cholesterol leads to the formation of tubular membrane invaginations to the inside of the vesicles, mimicking the initial steps of endocytosis. We have used coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the interaction of VP1 with GM1/DOPC/cholesterol bilayers. In the presence of one VP1 protein, we monitor the formation of small local negative curvature and membrane thinning at the protein binding site as well as reduction of area per lipid. These membrane deformations are also observed under cholesterol-free conditions. However, here, the number of GM1 molecules attached to the VP1 binding pockets increases. The membrane curvature is slightly increased for asymmetric GM1 distribution that mimics conditions in vivo, compared to symmetric GM1 distributions which are often applied in experiments. Slightly smaller inward curvature was observed in atomistic control simulations. Binding of four VP1 proteins leads to an increase of the average intrinsic area per lipid in the protein binding leaflet. Membrane fluctuations appear to be the driving force of VP1 aggregation, as was previously shown for membrane-adhering particles because no VP1 aggregation is observed in the absence of a lipid membrane.

Mutations in the GM1 binding site of simian virus 40 VP1 alter receptor usage and cell tropism

Polyomaviruses are nonenveloped viruses with capsids composed primarily of 72 pentamers of the viral VP1 protein, which forms the outer shell of the capsid and binds to cell surface oligosaccharide receptors. Highly conserved VP1 proteins from closely related polyomaviruses recognize different oligosaccharides. To determine whether amino acid changes restricted to the oligosaccharide binding site are sufficient to determine receptor specificity and how changes in receptor usage affect tropism, we studied the primate polyomavirus simian virus 40 (SV40), which uses the ganglioside GM1 as a receptor that mediates cell binding and entry. Here, we used two sequential genetic screens to isolate and characterize viable SV40 mutants with mutations in the VP1 GM1 binding site. Two of these mutants were completely resistant to GM1 neutralization, were no longer stimulated by incorporation of GM1 into cell membranes, and were unable to bind to GM1 on the cell surface. In addition, these mutant viruses displayed an infection defect in monkey cells with high levels of cell surface GM1. Interestingly, one mutant infected cells with low cell surface GM1 more efficiently than wild-type virus, apparently by utilizing a different ganglioside receptor. Our results indicate that a small number of mutations in the GM1 binding site are sufficient to alter ganglioside usage and change tropism, and they suggest that VP1 divergence is driven primarily by a requirement to accommodate specific receptors. In addition, our results suggest that GM1 binding is required for vacuole formation in permissive monkey CV-1 cells. Further study of these mutants will provide new insight into polyomavirus entry, pathogenesis, and evolution.

Structural basis of GM1 ganglioside recognition by simian virus 40

Simian virus 40 (SV40) has been a paradigm for understanding attachment and entry of nonenveloped viruses, viral DNA replication, and virus assembly, as well as for endocytosis pathways associated with caveolin and cholesterol. We find by glycan array screening that SV40 recognizes its ganglioside receptor GM1 with a quite narrow specificity, but isothermal titration calorimetry shows that individual binding sites have a relatively low affinity, with a millimolar dissociation constant. The high-resolution crystal structure of recombinantly produced SV40 capsid protein, VP1, in complex with the carbohydrate portion of GM1, reveals that the receptor is bound in a shallow solvent-exposed groove at the outer surface of the capsid. Through a complex network of interactions, VP1 recognizes a conformation of GM1 that is the dominant one in solution. Analysis of contacts provides a structural basis for the observed specificity and suggests binding mechanisms for additional physiologically relevant GM1 variants. Comparison with murine Polyomavirus (Polyoma) receptor complexes reveals that SV40 uses a different mechanism of sialic acid binding, which has implications for receptor binding of human polyomaviruses. The SV40-GM1 complex reveals a parallel to cholera toxin, which uses a similar cell entry pathway and binds GM1 in the same conformation.

Dissecting the cholera toxin-ganglioside GM1 interaction by isothermal titration calorimetry

The complex of cholera toxin and ganglioside GM1 is one of the highest affinity protein-carbohydrate interactions known. Herein, the GM1 pentasaccharide is dissected into smaller fragments to determine the contribution of each of the key monosaccharide residues to the overall binding affinity. Displacement isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) has allowed the measurement of all of the key thermodynamic parameters for even the lowest affinity fragment ligands. Analysis of the standard free energy changes using Jencks' concept of intrinsic free energies reveals that the terminal galactose and sialic acid residues contribute 54% and 44% of the intrinsic binding energy, respectively, despite the latter ligand having little appreciable affinity for the toxin. This analysis also provides an estimate of 25.8 kJ mol(-1) for the loss of independent translational and rotational degrees of freedom on complexation and presents evidence for an alternative binding mode for ganglioside GM2. The high affinity and selectivity of the GM1-cholera toxin interaction originates principally from the conformational preorganization of the branched pentasaccharide rather than through the effect of cooperativity, which is also reinvestigated by ITC.