To enter a cell and establish infection, HIV must first fuse its lipid envelope with the host cell plasma membrane. Whereas the process of HIV membrane fusion can be tracked by fluorescence microscopy, the 3D configuration of proteins and lipids at intermediate steps can only be resolved with cryo-electron tomography (cryoET). However, cryoET of whole cells is technically difficult. To overcome this problem, we have adapted giant plasma membrane vesicles (or blebs) from native cell membranes expressing appropriate receptors as targets for fusion with HIV envelope glycoprotein-expressing pseudovirus particles with and without Serinc host restriction factors. The fusion behavior of these particles was probed by TIRF microscopy on bleb-derived supported membranes. Timed snapshots of fusion of the same particles with blebs were examined by cryo-ET. The combination of these methods allowed us to characterize the structures of various intermediates on the fusion pathway and showed that when Serinc3 or Serinc5 (but not Serinc2) were present, later fusion products were more prevalent, suggesting that Serinc3/5 act at multiple steps to prevent progression to full fusion. In addition, the antifungal amphotericin B reversed Serinc restriction, presumably by intercalation into the fusing membranes. Our results provide a highly detailed view of Serinc restriction of HIV-cell membrane fusion and thus extend current structural and functional information on Serinc as a lipid-binding protein.
The priming of macrophages with IFN-γ prior to TLR stimulation results in enhanced and prolonged inflammatory cytokine production. Here, we demonstrate that following TLR stimulation, macrophages up regulate the adenosine 2b receptor (A2bR) to enhance their sensitivity to immunosuppressive extracellular adenosine. This up-regulation of A2bR leads to the induction of a macrophage with an immunoregulatory phenotype and the down regulation of inflammation. IFN-γ priming of macrophages, selectively prevents the induction of the A2bR in macrophages to mitigate sensitivity to adenosine and prevent this regulatory transition. IFN-γ-mediated A2bR blockade leads to a prolonged production of TNFα and IL-12 in response to TLR ligation. The pharmacological inhibition or the genetic deletion of the A2bR results in a hyper-inflammatory response to TLR ligation, similar to IFN-γ treatment of macrophages. Conversely, the overexpression of A2bR on macrophages blunts the IFN-γ effects and promotes the development of immunoregulatory macrophages. Thus, we propose a novel mechanism whereby IFN-γ contributes to host defense, by desensitizing macrophages to the immunoregulatory effects of adenosine. This mechanism overcomes the transient nature of TLR activation, and prolongs the anti-microbial state of the classically activated macrophage. This study may offer promising new targets to improve the clinical outcome of inflammatory diseases in which macrophage activation is dysregulated.
Insulin secretion from β-cells is reduced at the onset of type-1 and during type-2 diabetes. Although inflammation and metabolic dysfunction of β-cells elicit secretory defects associated with type-1 or type-2 diabetes, accompanying changes to insulin granules have not been established. To address this, we performed detailed functional analyses of insulin granules purified from cells subjected to model treatments that mimic type-1 and type-2 diabetic conditions and discovered striking shifts in calcium affinities and fusion characteristics. We show that this behavior is correlated with two subpopulations of insulin granules whose relative abundance is differentially shifted depending on diabetic model condition. The two types of granules have different release characteristics, distinct lipid and protein compositions, and package different secretory contents alongside insulin. This complexity of β-cell secretory physiology establishes a direct link between granule subpopulation and type of diabetes and leads to a revised model of secretory changes in the diabetogenic process.
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