8.B.25 The Viral Glycoprotein N (GN; UL49.5) TAP Inhibitor (GN-I) Family

TAP translocates virus-derived peptides from the cytosol into the endoplasmic reticulum, where the peptides are loaded onto MHC class I molecules. This process is crucial for the detection of virus-infected cells by CTL that recognize the MHC class I-peptide complexes at the cell surface (Verweij et al. 2008). The varicellovirus bovine herpesvirus 1 encodes a protein, UL49.5 or GN-1, that acts as a potent inhibitor of TAP (TC# 3.A.1.209.1). UL49.5 acts in two ways: 1) by blocking conformational changes of TAP required for the translocation of peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum, and 2) by targeting TAP1 and TAP2 for proteasomal degradation. TAP is the target of UL49.5 within the peptide-loading complex. The presence of TAP1 and TAP2 is required for efficient interaction with UL49.5. The 6+6 trans-membrane core complex of TAP is sufficient for UL49.5 to interact with TAP and block its function.  However, UL49.5-induced inhibition of peptide transport was most efficient in cells expressing full-length TAP1 and TAP2. Inhibition by UL49.5 appeared to be independent of the presence of other peptide-loading complex components, including tapasin (Verweij et al. 2008). The N-terminus of the HSV-1-encoded UL49.5 adopts a highly flexible, unordered structure in the extracellular part due to the presence of a large number of proline and glycine residues (Karska et al. 2023). In contrast to the BoHV-1-encoded homolog, the transmembrane region of the HSV-1-encoded UL49.5 is formed by a single long transmembrane alpha-helix, rather than two helices oriented perpendicularly, while the cytoplasmic part of the protein (C-terminus) has a short unordered structure (Karska et al. 2023).


 

References:

Graul, M., N. Karska, M. Wąchalska, P. Krupa, M.J. Ślusarz, M. Lubocki, K. Bieńkowska-Szewczyk, S. Rodziewicz-Motowidło, A.K. Sieradzan, and A.D. Lipińska. (2023). The N-terminal Proline Hinge Motif Controls the Structure of Bovine Herpesvirus 1-encoded Inhibitor of the Transporter Associated with Antigen Processing Required for its Immunomodulatory Function. J. Mol. Biol. 435: 167964. [Epub: Ahead of Print]

Karska, N., I. Zhukov, A.D. Lipińska, S. Rodziewicz-Motowidło, and P. Krupa. (2023). Why does the herpes simplex 1 virus-encoded UL49.5 protein fail to inhibit the TAP-dependent antigen presentation? Biochim. Biophys. Acta. Biomembr 1865: 184200. [Epub: Ahead of Print]

Karska, N., M. Graul, E. Sikorska, I. Zhukov, M.J. Ślusarz, F. Kasprzykowski, A.D. Lipińska, and S. Rodziewicz-Motowidło. (2019). Structure determination of UL49.5 transmembrane protein from bovine herpesvirus 1 by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. Biomembr 1861: 926-938.

Ślusarz, M.J. and A.D. Lipińska. (2024). An intrinsic network of polar interactions is responsible for binding of UL49.5 C-degron by the CRL2 ubiquitin ligase. Proteins 92: 610-622.

Verweij, M.C., D. Koppers-Lalic, S. Loch, F. Klauschies, H. de la Salle, E. Quinten, P.J. Lehner, A. Mulder, M.R. Knittler, R. Tampé, J. Koch, M.E. Ressing, and E.J. Wiertz. (2008). The varicellovirus UL49.5 protein blocks the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) by inhibiting essential conformational transitions in the 6+6 transmembrane TAP core complex. J Immunol 181: 4894-4907.

Examples:

TC#NameOrganismal TypeExample
8.B.25.1.1

Viral protein inhibitor of the TAP ABC transporter (TC# 3.A.1.209.1) of 98 aas and 2 TMSs (Verweij et al. 2008).

Glycoprotein N of Suid herpesvirus 1 (SuHV-1) (Pseudorabies virus)

 
8.B.25.1.2

GN polyprotein protein product, UL49.5, of 96 aas and 2 TMSs, N- and C-terminal. It is an inhibitor of the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) system (TC# 3.A.1.209.1), and it's 3-D structure has been determined (Karska et al. 2019).  UL49.5 contains an extracellular region (residues 1-35) and a transmembrane-intracellular segment (residues 36-75), with a flexible membrane-proximal helical structure in the extracellular part, two short alpha-helices in the transmembrane region, and an unordered structure for the cytoplasmic part. Karska et al. 2019 propose three different orientations of UL49.5 when in complex with TAP.  Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) is a pathogen of cattle responsible for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis. The BoHV-1 UL49.5 binds to the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) and downregulates cell surface expression of the antigenic peptide complexes with the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I). KLHDC3 is a kelch domain-containing protein 3 and a substrate receptor of a cullin2-RING (CRL2) E3 ubiquitin ligase. CRL2KLHDC3 is responsible for UL49.5-triggered TAP degradation via a C-degron pathway, but the presence of the degron sequence does not lead to the degradation of UL49.5 itself. The network of polar interactions may be responsible for recognition and binding of the degron in KLHDC3. The interaction network within the binding pocket appears to be similar between two CRL2 substrate receptors: KLHDC3 and KLHDC2 (Ślusarz and Lipińska 2024).

GN of Bovine herpes virus

 
8.B.25.1.3

GN1 of 95 aas and 2 TM

GN1 of Feline herpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1) (Feline viral rhinotracheitis virus)

 
8.B.25.1.4

GN1 or UL49.5 of 87 aas and 2 TMSs.  May be N-terminally truncated.

GN1 of Human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3) (Varicella-zoster virus)

 
8.B.25.1.5

UL49.5 of 95 aas and 2 TMSs

UL49.5 of Gallid herpesvirus 3

 
8.B.25.1.6

Human herpes virus GN1 of 91 aas and 2 TMSs, N- and C-terminal. The proline hinge sequence with its highly rigid conformation serves as an anchor into the membrane. This anchor is responsible for the structural and dynamical behavior of the whole protein, constraining the mobility of the C-terminus, increasing the mobility of the transmembrane region, and controlling accessibility of the C-terminal residues to the cytoplasmic environment (Graul et al. 2023).

GN1 of Human herpesvirus 1 (HHV-1) (Human herpes simplex virus 1)

 
8.B.25.1.7

UL49.5 of 97 aas and 2 TMSs

UL49.5 of Leporid herpesvirus 4

 
8.B.25.1.8

Glycoprotein N of 78 aas and 2 TMSs

GN of Cercopithecine herpesvirus 16 (CeHV-16) (Herpesvirus papio 2)

 
Examples:

TC#NameOrganismal TypeExample
8.B.25.2.1

BLRF1 or GN of 102 aas and 2 TMSs

BLRF1 of Epstein-Barr virus (HHV-4) (Human herpesvirus 4)

 
8.B.25.2.2

Envelope glycoprotein N, UL73, of 104 aas and 2 TMSs

UL73 of Simian cytomegalovirus

 
8.B.25.2.3

gpUL73 of 134 aas and 2 TMSs

gpUL73 of Human cytomegalovirus (HHV-5) (Human herpesvirus 5)