M. Tsurudome et al., IDENTIFICATION OF REGIONS ON THE HEMAGGLUTININ-NEURAMINIDASE PROTEIN OF HUMAN PARAINFLUENZA VIRUS TYPE-2 IMPORTANT FOR PROMOTING CELL-FUSION, Virology, 213(1), 1995, pp. 190-203
The hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) glycoproteins of t
wo paramyxoviruses, human parainfluenza virus type 2 (PIV2) and simian
virus 41 (SV41), were expressed in HeLa cells by transfecting with re
combinant plasmid harboring each glycoprotein gene. Expressed F protei
ns could not induce cell fusion by themselves, but evoked prominent ce
ll fusion when coexpressed with homologous HN proteins. It was also pr
oved that PIV2 HN protein could weakly promote SV41 F-mediated cell fu
sion. By analyzing the fusion-promoting function of chimeric HN protei
ns of PIV2 and SV41, it was revealed that the N-terminal region (about
16% of total amino acids) of either PIV2 HN or SV41 HN protein could
define the type-specific fusion-promoting function for homologous F pr
otein. Analyses of additional chimeras indicated that the N-terminal r
egion in PIV2 HN protein (designated region I, consisting of 94 amino
acids) could be reduced to a 58-amino-acid region (region I') which wa
s located at the membrane-proximal end of the ectodomain. Furthermore,
PIV2 HN protein proved to promote cell fusion mediated by PIV4A F pro
tein. Unexpectedly, analyses of another set of chimeras revealed that
the promoting function of PIV2 HN protein for PIV4A F-mediated cell fu
sion was not merely carried by its region I but also by another region
ranging from residue 148 to 209 (region II). Finally, it was indicate
d that regions I' (in the presumed stalk domain) and II (in the globul
ar head) in PIV2 HN protein might play important roles in promoting ce
ll fusion mediated by the F proteins. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.