In silico and in vitro analysis of boAP3d1 protein interaction with bovine leukaemia virus gp51
PLOS ONE
Authors: Patricia Corredor, Adriana; Gonzalez, Janneth; Alfredo Baquero, Luis; Curtidor, Hernando; Nathalia Olaya-Galan, Nury; Alfonso Patarroyo, Manuel; Fernanda Gutierrez, Maria
Abstract
The envelope glycoprotein 51 (gp51) is essential for bovine leukaemia virus (BLV) entry to bovine B-lymphocytes. Although the bovine adaptor protein 3 complex subunit delta-1 (boAP3D1) has been proposed as the potential receptor, the specific ligand-receptor interaction has not yet been completely defined and boAP3D1 receptor and gp51 3D structures have not been determined. This study was thus aimed at a functional annotation of boAP3D1 cellular adaptor protein and BLV gp51 and, proposing a reliable model for gp51-AP3D1 interaction using bioinformatics tools. The boAP3D1 receptor interaction patterns were calculated based on models of boAP3D1 receptor and gp51 complexes' 3D structures, which were constructed using homology techniques and data-driven docking strategy. The results showed that the participation of 6 key amino acids (aa) on gp51 (Asn170, Trp127, His115, Ala97, Ser98 and Glu128) and 4 aa on AP3D1 (Lys925, Asp807, Asp695 and Arg800) was highly probable in the interaction between gp51 and BLVR domains. Three gp51 recombinant peptides were expressed and purified to validate these results: the complete domain (rgp51), the N-terminal portion (rNgp51) and the C-terminal fragment (rCgp51); and binding assays to Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells were then carried out with each recombinant. It was found that rNgp51 preferentially bound to MDBK cells, suggesting this domain's functional role during invasion. The rNgp51-MDBK cell interaction was sensitive to trypsin (98% reduction) and chymotrypsin treatment (80% reduction). These results highlighted that the N terminal portion of gp51 interacted in vitro with the AP3D1 receptor and provides a plausible in silico interaction model.
Altered retinal cell differentiation in the AP-3 delta mutant (Mocha) mouse
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE
Authors: Baguma-Nibasheka, Mark; Kablar, Boris
Abstract
Adaptor-related protein complex 3 delta 1 (Ap3d1) encodes the delta 1 subunit of an adaptor protein regulating intracellular vesicle-mediated transport, and the Ap3d-deletion mutant (Mocha) mouse undergoes rapid photoreceptor degeneration leading to blindness soon after birth. Previous microarray analysis revealed Ap3d down-regulation in the retina of mouse embryos specifically lacking cholinergic amacrine cells as a result of the absence of skeletal musculature. To investigate the role of Ap3d in the determination of retinal cell fate, the present study examined retinal morphology in newborn Ap3d-/- mice. The Ap3d-/- retina showed a complete absence of cholinergic amacrine cells and a decrease in parvalburnin-expressing amacrine cells and syntaxin- and VC1.1-expressing amacrine precursor cells, but had a normal number of cell layers and number of cells in each layer with no detectable difference in cell proliferation or apoptosis. These findings indicate that, despite having no apparent effect on the basic spatial organization of the retina at this stage of development, Ap3d could be involved in the regulation of progenitor cell competence and the eventual ratio of resulting differentiated cells. Finding the mouse mutant which phenocopies the eye defect seen in fetuses with no striated muscle was accomplished by the Systematic Subtractive Microarray Analysis Approach (SSMAA), explained in the discussion section. (C) 2009 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.