Spike (S) proteins, the defining projections of the enveloped coronaviruses (CoVs), mediate cell entry by connecting viruses to plasma membrane receptors and by catalyzing subsequent virus-cell membrane fusions. The latter membrane fusion requires an S protein conformational flexibility that is facilitated by proteolytic cleavages. We hypothesized that the most relevant cellular proteases in this process are those closely linked to host cell receptors. The primary receptor for the human severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS) CoV is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 immunoprecipitation captured transmembrane protease/ serine subfamily member 2 (TMPRSS2), a known human airway and alveolar protease. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 colocalized on cell surfaces and enhanced the cell entry of both SARS S-pseudotyped HIV and authentic SARS-CoV. Enhanced entry correlated with TMPRSS2-mediated proteolysis of both S and ACE2. These findings indicate that a cell surface complex comprising a primary receptor and a separate endoprotease operates as a portal for activation of SARS-CoV cell entry.Viruses exit from infected cells embedded with the energy required to enter new host cells. When viruses encounter new host cells, energy stored within metastable virus surface proteins is dissipated through protein refoldings and used to open the viruses and allow viral genomes to access the cell. This conversion from high-energy metastable to low-energy end stages is spatially and temporally regulated by a variety of triggers that are incorporated into the surface proteins. Depending on the virus, one or a combination of cell receptor bindings, protonations in the endosome, disulfide reductions, and proteolytic cleavages triggers viral protein refolding and opening. Insights into these activating conditions have advanced our understanding of virus-host interactions and have revealed new approaches for antiviral therapeutics.These activating virus entry events can be further dissected through research with the human CoVs (HCoVs). The HCoVs are notable pathogens (27, 48), with one of them accounting for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (12, 24). Evolution of the CoVs in their protruding surface or spike (S) proteins can change virus-activating conditions and permit zoonoses (30, 40) and virulence changes. Unraveling S protein activations is therefore central to understanding HCoV tropism, ecology, and pathogenesis.The S proteins include cell receptor-binding domains (RBDs) and virus-cell membrane fusion domains. Like other class I viral fusion proteins, the HCoV spikes require proteolytic priming to be activated (7). Notably, the majority of pathogenic HCoVs exit producer cells with unprimed S proteins (2, 34) and thus rely on target cell proteases for activation. Therefore, the HCoV cell entry factors on target cells include virus-binding agents (cell receptors) and also virus protein-cleaving agents (cell proteases).SARS-CoV binds to its ectopeptidase receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), with very high affinit...

Global health is threatened by emerging viral infections, which largely lack effective vaccines or therapies. Targeting host pathways that are exploited by multiple viruses could offer broad-spectrum solutions. We previously reported that AAK1 and GAK, kinase regulators of the host adaptor proteins AP1 and AP2, are essential for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but the underlying mechanism and relevance to other viruses or in vivo infections remained unknown. Here, we have discovered that AP1 and AP2 cotraffic with HCV particles in live cells. Moreover, we found that multiple viruses, including dengue and Ebola, exploit AAK1 and GAK during entry and infectious virus production. In cultured cells, treatment with sunitinib and erlotinib, approved anticancer drugs that inhibit AAK1 or GAK activity, or with more selective compounds inhibited intracellular trafficking of HCV and multiple unrelated RNA viruses with a high barrier to resistance. In murine models of dengue and Ebola infection, sunitinib/erlotinib combination protected against morbidity and mortality. We validated sunitinib- and erlotinib-mediated inhibition of AAK1 and GAK activity as an important mechanism of antiviral action. Additionally, we revealed potential roles for additional kinase targets. These findings advance our understanding of virus-host interactions and establish a proof of principle for a repurposed, host-targeted approach to combat emerging viruses.

Acetyl phosphate, the intermediate of the AckA-Pta pathway, acts as a global signal in Escherichia coli. Although acetyl phosphate clearly signals through two-component response regulators, it remains unclear whether acetyl phosphate acts as a direct phospho donor or functions through an indirect mechanism. We used two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography to measure the relative concentrations of acetyl phosphate, acetyl coenzyme A, ATP, and GTP over the course of the entire growth curve. We estimated that the intracellular concentration of acetyl phosphate in wild-type cells reaches at least 3 mM, a concentration sufficient to activate two-component response regulators via direct phosphoryl transfer.Bacterial cells must respond properly to diverse external and internal cues, a process that requires global signaling. The ideal global signal is metabolically inexpensive, short-lived, indicative only of significant changes, and capable of effecting the coordinated regulation of diverse cellular processes. Several lines of evidence suggest that the small molecule acetyl phosphate (acetyl-P) can serve as such a global signal.Acetyl-P is the high-energy, acid/base-labile intermediate of the reversible Pta-AckA pathway (Fig. 1). This pathway interconverts coenzyme A (HS-CoA), ATP, and acetate with acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), ADP, and orthophosphate (P i ) (9, 43). The reversibility of this pathway permits both acetyl-CoA synthesis (acetate activation) and acetate evolution (acetogenesis). During acetogenesis, Pta synthesizes acetyl-P and HSCoA from acetyl-CoA and P i , while AckA generates ATP from acetyl-P and ADP. Simultaneously, AckA produces acetate, which cells excrete into the environment. Thus, the steadystate concentration of acetyl-P depends upon the rate of its formation catalyzed by Pta and the rate of its degradation catalyzed by AckA (for reviews, see references 45 and 59).Acetyl-P has been proposed to act as a global regulator by direct phosphorylation of response regulators (RRs) of the family of two-component signal transduction (2CST) pathways (34, 55). The simplest of these 2CST pathways consists of a histidine kinase (HK) and an RR. Using ATP as its phosphoryl donor, the HK autophosphorylates a conserved histidine residue. In turn, the RR autophosphorylates a conserved aspartate residue, using its phosphorylated cognate HK as its phosphoryl donor. Experiments performed in vitro have clearly demonstrated that acetyl-P can donate its phosphoryl group to purified RRs but not to HKs (for reviews, see references 52 and 57). This ability arises from its capacity to store energy. Acetyl-P possesses a larger ⌬G°of hydrolysis (Ϫ43.3 kJ/mol) than ATP possesses (Ϫ30.5 kJ/mol in complex with Mg 2ϩ ). This difference forms the basis for the role of acetyl-P in generating ATP (for a review, see reference 59).Although acetyl-P can function as a phosphoryl donor in vitro, its ability to function in vivo as a global signal has remained essentially unproven, despite a wealth of seemingly supportive data (for a r...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry, translation, replication, and assembly occur with defined kinetics in distinct subcellular compartments. It is unclear how HCV spatially and temporally regulates these events within the host cell to coordinate its infection. We have developed a single molecule RNA detection assay that facilitates the simultaneous visualization of HCV (+) and (−) RNA strands at the single cell level using high-resolution confocal microscopy. We detect (+) strand RNAs as early as 2 hours post-infection and (−) strand RNAs as early as 4 hours post-infection. Single cell levels of (+) and (−) RNA vary considerably with an average (+):(−) RNA ratio of 10 and a range from 1–35. We next developed microscopic assays to identify HCV (+) and (−) RNAs associated with actively translating ribosomes, replication, virion assembly and intracellular virions. (+) RNAs display a defined temporal kinetics, with the majority of (+) RNAs associated with actively translating ribosomes at early times of infection, followed by a shift to replication and then virion assembly. (−) RNAs have a strong colocalization with NS5A, but not NS3, at early time points that correlate with replication compartment formation. At later times, only ~30% of the replication complexes appear to be active at a given time, as defined by (−) strand colocalization with either (+) RNA, NS3, or NS5A. While both (+) and (−) RNAs colocalize with the viral proteins NS3 and NS5A, only the plus strand preferentially colocalizes with the viral envelope E2 protein. These results suggest a defined spatiotemporal regulation of HCV infection with highly varied replication efficiencies at the single cell level. This approach can be applicable to all plus strand RNA viruses and enables unprecedented sensitivity for studying early events in the viral life cycle.

Enveloped viruses enter cells by viral glycoprotein-mediated binding to host cells and subsequent fusion of virus and host cell membranes. For the coronaviruses, viral spike (S) proteins execute these cell entry functions. The S proteins are set apart from other viral and cellular membrane fusion proteins by their extensively palmitoylated membrane-associated tails. Palmitate adducts are generally required for protein-mediated fusions, but their precise roles in the process are unclear. To obtain additional insights into the S-mediated membrane fusion process, we focused on these acylated carboxyl-terminal intravirion tails. Substituting alanines for the cysteines that are subject to palmitoylation had effects on both S incorporation into virions and S-mediated membrane fusions. In specifically dissecting the effects of endodomain mutations on the fusion process, we used antiviral heptad repeat peptides that bind only to folding intermediates in the S-mediated fusion process and found that mutants lacking three palmitoylated cysteines remained in transitional folding states nearly 10 times longer than native S proteins. This slower refolding was also reflected in the paucity of postfusion six-helix bundle configurations among the mutant S proteins. Viruses with fewer palmitoylated S protein cysteines entered cells slowly and had reduced specific infectivities. These findings indicate that lipid adducts anchoring S proteins into virus membranes are necessary for the rapid, productive S protein refolding events that culminate in membrane fusions. These studies reveal a previously unappreciated role for covalently attached lipids on the endodomains of viral proteins eliciting membrane fusion reactions.Biological membranes are configured in large part by protein-mediated fission and fusion reactions. Enveloped viruses can reveal the principles of these processes because their assembly and budding from infected cells requires membrane fissions, and their entry into susceptible cells depends on membrane fusions. Glycoproteins extending from virion surfaces mediate the fusion process. These specialized integral membrane proteins are in metastable high energy configurations on virus surfaces, and they drive coalescence of opposing virus and cell membranes by undergoing a series of energy-releasing unfolding and refolding events (1). The structural rearrangements are triggered by virus binding to cellular receptors (2) and by the acidic, proteolytic environments encountered after viruses are endocytosed (3-5). These reactions begin with an unfolding process that reveals hydrophobic fusion peptides (FPs) 2 that dagger into cellular membranes. This is then followed by a refolding process that, in analogy to a closing hairpin, brings FPs and associated cellular membranes toward the virion membranes, driving formation of a lipid stalk connecting the opposing outer membrane leaflets (6) and culminating in complete cell-virion membrane coalescence (7,8). For viral fusion proteins in the so-called "class I" category, the arms...