Viral and cellular determinants of the hepatitis C virus envelope-heparan sulfate interaction

Barth, H., Schnober, E.K., Zhang, F., Linhardt, R.J., Depla, E., Boson, B., Cosset, F.-L., Patel, A.H. , Blum, H.E. and Baumert, T.F. (2006) Viral and cellular determinants of the hepatitis C virus envelope-heparan sulfate interaction. Journal of Virology, 80(21), pp. 10579-10590. (doi: 10.1128/jvi.00941-06) (PMID:16928753) (PMCID:PMC1641783)

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Abstract

Cellular binding and entry of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the first steps of viral infection and represent a major target for antiviral antibodies and novel therapeutic strategies. We have recently demonstrated that heparan sulfate (HS) plays a key role in the binding of HCV envelope glycoprotein E2 to target cells (Barth et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278:41003-41012, 2003). In this study, we characterized the HCV-HS interaction and analyzed its inhibition by antiviral host immune responses. Using recombinant envelope glycoproteins, virus-like particles, and HCV pseudoparticles as model systems for the early steps of viral infection, we mapped viral and cellular determinants of HCV-HS interaction. HCV-HS binding required a specific HS structure that included N-sulfo groups and a minimum of 10 to 14 saccharide subunits. HCV envelope binding to HS was mediated by four viral epitopes overlapping the E2 hypervariable region 1 and E2-CD81 binding domains. In functional studies using HCV pseudoparticles, we demonstrate that HCV binding and entry are specifically inhibited by highly sulfated HS. Finally, HCV-HS binding was markedly inhibited by antiviral antibodies derived from HCV-infected individuals. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that binding of the viral envelope to a specific HS configuration represents an important step for the initiation of viral infection and is a target of antiviral host immune responses in vivo. Mapping of viral and cellular determinants of HCV-HS interaction sets the stage for the development of novel HS-based antiviral strategies targeting viral attachment and entry.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Patel, Professor Arvind
Authors: Barth, H., Schnober, E.K., Zhang, F., Linhardt, R.J., Depla, E., Boson, B., Cosset, F.-L., Patel, A.H., Blum, H.E., and Baumert, T.F.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
Journal Name:Journal of Virology
Journal Abbr.:J. Virol.
Publisher:American Society for Microbiology
ISSN:0022-538X
ISSN (Online):1098-5514
Published Online:23 August 2006

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