Berlin 2008 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 15: Single Molecules

BP 15.9: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 27. Februar 2008, 16:15–16:30, C 243

Effect of low pH on the Influenza virus membrane — •Frederic Eghiaian, Iwan A.T. Schaap, John J. Skehel, and Claudia Veigel — National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK

The Influenza virus is an enveloped virus from the Orthomyxovirus family. The protein-rich membrane of the viral particle needs to persist in the often hostile extracellular environment when the virus transfers from host to host, but, to allow infection, it also needs to permit membrane fusion within the acidic compartments of the target cell. To investigate how the virus negotiates these apparently conflicting demands on its rigidity, we developed methods to image this relatively large virus (~100 nm diameter) using an atomic force microscope, and to probe its mechanical properties under conditions mimicking the different stages of the viral life-cycle. We compared the complex response of the viral envelope with the behaviour of simplified model systems to understand the contribution of the various parts of the viral structure to its mechanical properties. In addition we investigated how the acid-induced conformational change of the Influenza Hemagglutinin protein (involved in membrane fusion) disturbs lipid membranes and we set out to identify the responsible parts of the protein (the fusion peptide or the transmembrane region).