Analysis of the role of the membrane-spanning and cytoplasmic tail domains of herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein D in membrane fusion

Glycoprotein D (gD) of herpes simplex virus type 1 is a type 1 membrane protein in the virus envelope that binds to receptor molecules on the cell surface and which induces cell-cell fusion when co-expressed with gB, gH and gL. A chimeric gD molecule in which the membrane anchor and cytoplasmic tail domains were replaced with analogous regions from the human CD8 molecule was as competent as wild-type gD at mediating membrane fusion and virus entry. However, when gD was tethered to the membrane by means of a glycosylphosphaticlylinositol (gpi)-anchor sequence, which binds only to the outer leaflet of the lipid bilayer, it was unable to function in cell-cell fusion assays. This chimera was incorporated into virions as efficiently as wild-type gD and yet virus particles containing gpi-linked gD entered cells more slowly than virions containing wild-type gD in their envelopes, suggesting that gD must be anchored in both leaflets of a lipid bilayer for it to function in both cell fusion and virus entry.