The Feline Calicivirus Leader of the Capsid Protein Has the Functional Characteristics of a Viroporin
Yoatzin Peñaflor-Téllez,
Bibiana Chávez-Munguía,
Anel Lagunes-Guillén,
Lizbeth Salazar-Villatoro,
Ana Lorena Gutiérrez-Escolano
Affiliations
Yoatzin Peñaflor-Téllez
Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Av. IPN 2508. Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
Bibiana Chávez-Munguía
Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Av. IPN 2508. Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
Anel Lagunes-Guillén
Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Av. IPN 2508. Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
Lizbeth Salazar-Villatoro
Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Av. IPN 2508. Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
Ana Lorena Gutiérrez-Escolano
Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Av. IPN 2508. Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
The leader of the capsid (LC) protein is exclusive to the Vesivirus genus, and it is needed for successful feline calicivirus (FCV) replication, as well as an efficient apoptosis induction through the mitochondrial pathway. In this work, we aimed to determine if the LC protein from the FCV is a viroporin. Although lacking in a transmembrane domain or an amphipathic helix, the LC protein from the FCV is toxic when expressed in bacteria and it oligomerizes through disulfide bonds, which are both key characteristics of viroporins. An electron microscopy analysis of LC-expressing E. coli cells suggest that the protein induces osmotic stress. Moreover, we found that the previously studied C40A LC mutant, that fails to induce apoptosis and that hinders the replication cycle, also oligomerizes but it has a reduced toxicity and fails to induce osmotic stress in bacteria. We propose that the LC protein is a viroporin that acts as a disulfide bond-dependent antimicrobial peptide, similar to the Ebola virus delta peptide.
