SKM 2021 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 6: Membranes and Vesicles
BP 6.2: Vortrag
Donnerstag, 30. September 2021, 14:00–14:15, H6
Fusion of virus and host membranes - the role of virus geometry and matrix proteins — •Gonen Golani1, Sophie Winter2, Steffen Klein2, Petr Chlanda2, and Ulrich S. Schwarz1 — 1Institute for Theoretical Physics and BioQuant, Heidelberg University, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany — 2Schaller Research Groups, Department of Infectious Diseases-Virology, Heidelberg University Hospital, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Many medically important viruses are enveloped by a lipid membrane, therefore, a crucial step in the infection process is the fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. The fusion pathway involves a series of non-bilayer intermediates configurations: First, the monolayers of the two opposing membranes merge to form a hemifusion connection, referred to as the stalk. Next, expansion of the stalk brings the distal lipid monolayers together into a hemifusion diaphragm. Lastly, opening and expansion of a fusion pore within the diaphragm completes the fusion process. The formation of the stalk and expansion of the fusion pore constitute the two major energy barriers in the process. While formation of the stalk is directly driven by the viral fusion proteins and was extensity studied in the last decades, pore expansion is less well understood. Here we compute the stresses in the diaphragm and the resulting energy barrier to fusion pore expansion. We analyze, for the first time, effect of the virus geometry and membrane-matrix interaction on viral fusion rate. We also suggest a model for the role of interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) in inhibition of fusion by increasing the energy barrier of fusion pore expansion.