Mutations in the putative HR-C region of the measles virus F2 glycoprotein modulate syncytium formation

The fusion (F) glycoproteins of measles virus strains Edmonston (MV-Edm) and wtF (W-wtF) confer distinct cytopathic effects and strengths of hemagglutinin (H) interaction on a recombinant W-Edm virus. They differ in just two amino acids, V94 and V101 in F-Edm versus M94 and F101 in F-wtF, both of which lie in the relatively uncharacterized F-2 domain. By comparing the sequence of MV F with those of the parainfluenza virus SV5 and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) F proteins, the structures of which are known, we show that MV F-2 also possesses a potential heptad repeat (HR) C domain. In NDV, the N-terminal half of HR-C interacts with HR-A in F-1 while the C-terminal half is induced to kink outward by a central proline residue. We found that this proline is part of an LXP motif conserved in all three viruses. Folding and transport of NW F require this motif to be intact and also require covalent interaction of cysteine residues that probably support the potential HR-A-HR-C interaction. Amino acids 94 and 101, both located in "d" positions of the HR-C helical wheel, lie in the potentially outwardly kinked region. We demonstrate that their effect on MV fusogenicity and glycoprotein interaction is mediated solely by amino acid 94. Substitutions at position 94 with polar or charged amino acids are tolerated poorly or not at all, while changes to smaller and more hydrophillic amino acids are tolerated in both transiently expressed F protein and recombinant virus. MV F V94A and MV F V94G viruses induce extensive syncytium formation and are relatively, or almost completely, resistant to a known inhibitor of MV glycoprotein-induced fusion. We propose that the conformational changes in NIV F protein required to expose the fusion peptide involve the C-terminal half of the HR-C helix, specifically amino acid 94.