EFFECTS OF MUTATIONS IN THE RUBELLA-VIRUS E1 GLYCOPROTEIN ON E1-E2 INTERACTION AND MEMBRANE-FUSION ACTIVITY

Rubella virus (RV) virions contain two glycosylated membrane proteins, E1 and E2, that exist as a heterodimer and form the viral spike compl exes on the virion surface. Formation of an E1-E2 heterodimer is requi red for transport of E1 out of the endoplasmic reticulum lumen to the Golgi apparatus and plasma membrane. To investigate the nature of the E1-E2 interaction, we have introduced mutations in the internal hydrop hobic region (residues 81 to 109) of E1. Substitution of serine at Cys 82 (mutant C82S) or deletion of this hydrophobic domain (mutant dt) of E1 resulted in a disruption of the E1 conformation that ultimately af fected E1-E2 heterodimer formation and cell surface expression of both E1 and E2, Substitution of either aspartic acid at Gly93 (G93D) or gl ycine at Pro104 (P104G) was found to impair neither E1-E2 heterodimer formation nor the transport of E1 and E2 to the cell surface. Fusion o f RV-infected cells is induced by a brief treatment at a pH below 6.0. To test whether this internal hydrophobic domain is involved in the m embrane fusion activity of RV, transformed BHK cell lines expressing e ither wild-type or mutant spike proteins were exposed to an acidic pH and polykaryon formation was measured, No fusion activity was observed in the C82S, dt, and G93D mutants; however, the wild type and the P10 4G mutant exhibited fusogenic activities,,vith greater than 60% and 20 to 40% of the cells being fused, respectively, at pH 4.8. These resul ts suggest that it is likely that the region of E1 between amino acids 81 and 109 is involved in the membrane fusion activity of RV and that it may be important for the interaction of that protein with E2 to fo rm the E1-E2 heterodimer.