TY - JOUR A1 - Petrich, Annett A1 - Dunsing, Valentin A1 - Bobone, Sara A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Influenza A M2 recruits M1 to the plasma membrane BT - a fluorescence fluctuation microscopy study JF - Biophysical journal : BJ / ed. by the Biophysical Society N2 - Influenza A virus (IAV) is a respiratory pathogen that causes seasonal epidemics with significant mortality. One of the most abundant proteins in IAV particles is the matrix protein 1 (M1), which is essential for the virus structural stability. M1 organizes virion assembly and budding at the plasma membrane (PM), where it interacts with other viral components. The recruitment of M1 to the PM as well as its interaction with the other viral envelope proteins (hemagglutinin [HA], neuraminidase, matrix protein 2 [M2]) is controversially discussed in previous studies. Therefore, we used fluorescence fluctuation microscopy techniques (i.e., scanning fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy and number and brightness) to quantify the oligomeric state of M1 and its interactions with other viral proteins in co-transfected as well as infected cells. Our results indicate that M1 is recruited to the PM by M2, as a consequence of the strong interaction between the two proteins. In contrast, only a weak interaction between M1 and HA was observed. M1-HA interaction occurred only in the event that M1 was already bound to the PM. We therefore conclude that M2 initiates the assembly of IAV by recruiting M1 to the PM, possibly allowing its further interaction with other viral proteins. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.11.023 SN - 0006-3495 SN - 1542-0086 VL - 120 IS - 24 SP - 5478 EP - 5490 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Petazzi, Roberto Arturo A1 - Koikkarah Aji, Amit A1 - Tischler, Nicole D. A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Detection of envelope glycoprotein assembly from old world hantaviruses in the Golgi apparatus of living cells JF - Journal of virology N2 - Hantaviruses are emerging pathogens that occasionally cause deadly outbreaks in the human population. While the structure of the viral envelope has been characterized with high precision, protein-protein interactions leading to the formation of new virions in infected cells are not fully understood. We used quantitative fluorescence microscopy (i.e., number and brightness analysis and fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy) to monitor the interactions that lead to oligomeric spike complex formation in the physiological context of living cells. To this aim, we quantified protein-protein interactions for the glycoproteins Gn and Gc from Puumala and Hantaan orthohantaviruses in several cellular models. The oligomerization of each protein was analyzed in relation to subcellular localization, concentration, and the concentration of its interaction partner. Our results indicate that, when expressed separately, Gn and Gc form, respectively, homo-tetrameric and homo-dimeric complexes, in a concentration-dependent manner. Site-directed mutations or deletion mutants showed the specificity of their homotypic interactions. When both glycoproteins were coexpressed, we observed in the Golgi apparatus clear indication of GnGc interactions and the formation of Gn-Gc multimeric protein complexes of different sizes, while using various labeling schemes to minimize the influence of the fluorescent tags. Such large glycoprotein multimers may be identified as multiple Gn viral spikes interconnected via Gc-Gc contacts. This observation provides the possible first evidence for the initial assembly steps of the viral envelope within this organelle, and does so directly in living cells.
IMPORTANCE In this work, we investigate protein-protein interactions that drive the assembly of the hantavirus envelope. These emerging pathogens have the potential to cause deadly outbreaks in the human population. Therefore, it is important to improve our quantitative understanding of the viral assembly process in infected cells, from a molecular point of view. By applying advanced fluorescence microscopy methods, we monitored the formation of viral spike complexes in different cell types. Our data support a model for hantavirus assembly according to which viral spikes are formed via the clustering of hetero-dimers of the two viral glycoproteins Gn and Gc. Furthermore, the observation of large Gn-Gc hetero-multimers provide the possible first evidence for the initial assembly steps of the viral envelope, directly in the Golgi apparatus of living cells. KW - fluorescence fluctuation microscopy KW - number and brightness KW - virus KW - assembly KW - fluorescence correlation spectroscopy KW - protein-protein KW - interaction KW - fluorescence microscopy KW - fluorescent image analysis Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01238-20 SN - 1098-5514 VL - 95 IS - 4 PB - American Society for Microbiology CY - Baltimore, Md. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kolyvushko, Oleksandr A1 - Latzke, Juliane A1 - Dahmani, Ismail A1 - Osterrieder, Nikolaus A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore A1 - Azab, Walid T1 - Differentially-charged liposomes interact with alphaherpesviruses and interfere with virus entry JF - Pathogens N2 - Exposure of phosphatidylserine (PS) in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane is induced by infection with several members of the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily. There is evidence that PS is used by the equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) during entry, but the exact role of PS and other phospholipids in the entry process remains unknown. Here, we investigated the interaction of differently charged phospholipids with virus particles and determined their influence on infection. Our data show that liposomes containing negatively charged PS or positively charged DOTAP (N-[1-(2,3-Dioleoyloxy)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium) inhibited EHV-1 infection, while neutral phosphatidylcholine (PC) had no effect. Inhibition of infection with PS was transient, decreased with time, and was dose dependent. Our findings indicate that both cationic and anionic phospholipids can interact with the virus and reduce infectivity, while, presumably, acting through different mechanisms. Charged phospholipids were found to have antiviral effects and may be used to inhibit EHV-1 infection. KW - alphaherpesvirus KW - EHV-1 KW - phosphatidylserine KW - inhibition KW - pathogen host KW - interaction Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9050359 SN - 2076-0817 VL - 9 IS - 5 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Dunsing, Valentin A1 - Petrich, Annett A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Spectral detection enables multi-color fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy studies in living cells BT - Meeting abstract: 65th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), Feb. 22-26, 2021 T2 - Biophysical journal : BJ / ed. by the Biophysical Society Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2020.11.2206 SN - 0006-3495 SN - 1542-0086 VL - 120 IS - 3, Suppl. 1 SP - 356A EP - 356A PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Petazzi, Roberto Arturo A1 - Koikkarah Aji, Amit A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Fluorescence microscopy methods for the study of protein oligomerization JF - Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science N2 - Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are of fundamental importance in several cellular processes. While "classical" biochemical methods are commonly used to monitor protein multimerization in biological samples, fluorescence microscopy offers the possibility to investigate PPIs directly in living cells, even distinguishing among different cellular compartments. In this chapter, we shortly describe the most common procedures used to label proteins with fluorescent probes. Furthermore, we discuss a variety of fluorescence microscopy techniques that can be used to obtain quantitative information about protein multimerization. Special emphasis is given to fluorescence fluctuation techniques and their applications in the context of, e.g., receptor multimerization and virus assembly. Y1 - 2020 SN - 978-0-12-817929-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.12.001 SN - 1877-1173 SN - 1878-0814 VL - 169 SP - 1 EP - 41 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dunsing, Valentin A1 - Petrich, Annett A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Multicolor fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy in living cells via spectral detection JF - eLife N2 - Signaling pathways in biological systems rely on specific interactions between multiple biomolecules. Fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy provides a powerful toolbox to quantify such interactions directly in living cells. Cross-correlation analysis of spectrally separated fluctuations provides information about intermolecular interactions but is usually limited to two fluorophore species. Here, we present scanning fluorescence spectral correlation spectroscopy (SFSCS), a versatile approach that can be implemented on commercial confocal microscopes, allowing the investigation of interactions between multiple protein species at the plasma membrane. We demonstrate that SFSCS enables cross-talk-free cross-correlation, diffusion, and oligomerization analysis of up to four protein species labeled with strongly overlapping fluorophores. As an example, we investigate the interactions of influenza A virus (IAV) matrix protein 2 with two cellular host factors simultaneously. We furthermore apply raster spectral image correlation spectroscopy for the simultaneous analysis of up to four species and determine the stoichiometry of ternary IAV polymerase complexes in the cell nucleus. KW - fluorescence KW - optical microscopy KW - virus assembly KW - protein-protein KW - interactions KW - diffusion KW - Viruses Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.69687 SN - 2050-084X VL - 10 PB - eLife Sciences Publications CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schweighöfer, F. A1 - Moreno, J. A1 - Bobone, Sara A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore A1 - Herrmann, A. A1 - Hecht, S. A1 - Wachtveitl, Josef T1 - Connectivity pattern modifies excited state relaxation dynamics of fluorophore-photoswitch molecular dyads JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - In order to modulate the emission of BODIPY fluorophores, they were connected to a diarylethene (DAE) photoswitch via phenylene-ethynylene linkers of different lengths and orientations. The latter allowed for modulation of the electronic coupling in the prepared four BODIPY-DAE dyads, which were compared also to appropriate BODIPY and DAE model compounds by steady state as well as time-resolved spectroscopies. In their open isomers, all dyads show comparable luminescence behavior indicative of an unperturbed BODIPY fluorophore. In strong contrast, in the closed isomers the BODIPY emission is efficiently quenched but the deactivation mechanism depends on the nature of the linker. The most promising dyad was rendered water-soluble by means of micellar encapsulation and aqueous suspensions were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy. Our results (i) illustrate that the electronic communication between the BODIPY and DAE units can indeed be fine-tuned by the nature of the linker to achieve fluorescence modulation while maintaining photoswitchability and (ii) highlight potential applications to image and control biological processes with high spatio-temporal resolution. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c6cp07112k SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 SP - 4010 EP - 4018 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bobone, Sara A1 - Hilsch, Malte A1 - Storm, Julian A1 - Dunsing, Valentin A1 - Herrmann, Andreas A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Phosphatidylserine Lateral Organization Influences the Interaction of Influenza Virus Matrix Protein 1 with Lipid Membranes JF - Journal of virology N2 - Influenza A virus matrix protein 1 (M1) is an essential component involved in the structural stability of the virus and in the budding of new virions from infected cells. A deeper understanding of the molecular basis of virion formation and the budding process is required in order to devise new therapeutic approaches. We performed a detailed investigation of the interaction between M1 and phosphatidylserine (PS) (i.e., its main binding target at the plasma membrane [PM]), as well as the distribution of PS itself, both in model membranes and in living cells. To this end, we used a combination of techniques, including Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET), confocal microscopy imaging, raster image correlation spectroscopy, and number and brightness (N&B) analysis. Our results show that PS can cluster in segregated regions in the plane of the lipid bilayer, both in model bilayers constituted of PS and phosphatidylcholine and in living cells. The viral protein M1 interacts specifically with PS-enriched domains, and such interaction in turn affects its oligomerization process. Furthermore, M1 can stabilize PS domains, as observed in model membranes. For living cells, the presence of PS clusters is suggested by N&B experiments monitoring the clustering of the PS sensor lactadherin. Also, colocalization between M1 and a fluorescent PS probe suggest that, in infected cells, the matrix protein can specifically bind to the regions of PM in which PS is clustered. Taken together, our observations provide novel evidence regarding the role of PS-rich domains in tuning M1-lipid and M1-M1 interactions at the PM of infected cells. IMPORTANCE Influenza virus particles assemble at the plasma membranes (PM) of infected cells. This process is orchestrated by the matrix protein M1, which interacts with membrane lipids while binding to the other proteins and genetic material of the virus. Despite its importance, the initial step in virus assembly (i.e., M1-lipid interaction) is still not well understood. In this work, we show that phosphatidylserine can form lipid domains in physical models of the inner leaflet of the PM. Furthermore, the spatial organization of PS in the plane of the bilayer modulates M1-M1 interactions. Finally, we show that PS domains appear to be present in the PM of living cells and that M1 seems to display a high affinity for them. KW - influenza KW - assembly KW - confocal microscopy KW - fluorescence image analysis KW - lipid rafts KW - matrix protein KW - model membranes KW - phosphatidylserine KW - plasma membrane Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00267-17 SN - 0022-538X SN - 1098-5514 VL - 91 PB - American Society for Microbiology CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Dunsing, Valentin A1 - Magnus, Mayer A1 - Liebsch, Filip A1 - Multhaup, Gerhard A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore T1 - Direct Evidence of APLP1 Trans Interactions in Cell-Cell Adhesion Platforms Investigated via Fluorescence Fluctuation Spectroscopy T2 - Biophysical journal N2 - The Amyloid-precursor-like protein 1 (APLP1) is a neuronal type I transmembrane protein which plays a role in synaptic adhesion and synaptogenesis. Past investigations indicated that APLP1 is involved in the formation of protein-protein complexes that bridge the junctions between neighboring cells. Nevertheless, APLP1-APLP1 trans interactions have never been directly observed in higher eukaryotic cells. Here, we investigate APLP1 interactions and dynamics directly in living human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells, using fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy techniques, namely cross-correlation scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (sFCS) and Number&Brightness (N&B). Our results show that APLP1 forms homotypic trans complexes at cell-cell contacts. In the presence of zinc ions, the protein forms macroscopic clusters, exhibiting an even higher degree of trans binding and strongly reduced dynamics. Further evidence from Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles and live cell actin staining suggests that the presence of an intact cortical cytoskeleton is required for zinc-induced cis multimerization. Subsequently, large adhesion platforms bridging interacting cells are formed through APLP1-APLP1 direct trans interactions. Taken together, our results provide direct evidence that APLP1 functions as a neuronal zinc-dependent adhesion protein and provide a more detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving the formation of APLP1 adhesion platforms. Further, they show that fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy techniques are useful tools for the investigation of protein-protein interactions at cell-cell adhesion sites. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2017.11.2067 SN - 0006-3495 SN - 1542-0086 VL - 114 IS - 3 SP - 373A EP - 373A PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - GEN A1 - Luckner, Madlen A1 - Dunsing, Valentin A1 - Chiantia, Salvatore A1 - Hermann, Andreas T1 - Oligomerization and nuclear shuttling dynamics of viral proteins studied by quantitative molecular brightness analysis using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy T2 - Biophysical journal Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2017.11.1951 SN - 0006-3495 SN - 1542-0086 VL - 114 IS - 3 SP - 350A EP - 350A PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER -