The Antiviral Mechanism of an Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein-Specific Single-Domain Antibody Fragment
Author(s)
Hanke, Leo; Brewer, R. Camille; van Diest, Eline; Schmidt, Florian I.; Schwartz, Thomas; Knockenhauer, Kevin Edward; Ploegh, Hidde; ... Show more Show less
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Alpaca-derived single-domain antibody fragments (VHHs) that target the influenza A virus nucleoprotein (NP) can protect cells from infection when expressed in the cytosol. We found that one such VHH, αNP-VHH1, exhibits antiviral activity similar to that of Mx proteins by blocking nuclear import of incoming viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs) and viral transcription and replication in the nucleus. We determined a 3.2-Å crystal structure of αNP-VHH1 in complex with influenza A virus NP. The VHH binds to a nonconserved region on the body domain of NP, which has been associated with binding to host factors and serves as a determinant of host range. Several of the NP/VHH interface residues determine sensitivity of NP to antiviral Mx GTPases. The structure of the NP/αNP-VHH1 complex affords a plausible explanation for the inhibitory properties of the VHH and suggests a rationale for the antiviral properties of Mx proteins. Such knowledge can be leveraged for much-needed novel antiviral strategies.
Date issued
2016-12Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchJournal
mBio
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Citation
Hanke, Leo et al. “The Antiviral Mechanism of an Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein-Specific Single-Domain Antibody Fragment.” mBio 7.6 (2016): e01569-16.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2150-7511