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EWI-2 Inhibits Cell–Cell Fusion at the HIV-1 Virological Presynapse
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Abstract
Abstract Cell-to-cell transfer of virus particles through the virological synapse (VS) is a highly efficient mode of HIV-1 transmission. Formation of the VS, a transient multiform adhesion structure, is mediated through an interaction between the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) and the viral receptor CD4 on the surface of infected cell and target cell, respectively. Given that Env, unlike many other viral fusogens, can mediate the merger of membranes at neutral pH, the close encounter of infected and uninfected cells would seem prone to result in cell-cell fusion and thus the formation of syncytia. However, while it is being recognized now that small, T cell-based syncytia are indeed a defining feature of the natural history of HIV-1, the majority of VSs nevertheless resolve without fusion, thus securing continued virus spread. Gag, the main viral structural component, is partially responsible for restraining Env and preventing it from becoming fusogenic before being incorporated into particles. In addition, a few cellular factors, including tetraspanins and ezrin, have also been shown to inhibit Env’s activity while this fusogen is still part of the producer cell. Here, we identify EWI-2, a protein that was previously shown to associate with the tetraspanins CD9 and CD81 and also with ezrin, as a host factor that contributes to the inhibition of Envmediated cell-cell fusion. Using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and TZM-bl fusion assays, we show that EWI-2, comparable to tetraspanins, while overall being downregulated upon HIV-1 infection, accumulates at the producer cell side of the VS (i.e. the presynapse), where it contributes to the fusion-preventing activities of the other viral and cellular components.
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![Figure 2 EWI-2 accumulation takes place on the producer cell side of the VS. (A) To evaluate presynaptic accumulation of EWI-2, CEM-SS cells infected with HIV-1 NL-CI WT or ΔEnv were co cultured with CMAC (cyan) labeled TZM-bl target cells (which have nearly-undetectable EWI-2 surface levels compared to CEM-SS cells) for 2.5 h, and subsequently stained for surface EWI-2 (magenta) and Gag (yellow). EWI-2 enrichment was quantified as described in Figure 1. Quantification is the result of pooled VS/contacts from two independent biological replicates. (B) To evaluate postsynaptic accumulation of EWI-2, HeLa cells (which, like TZM-bl cells, also have nearly-undetectable EWI-2 surface levels) were transfected with HIV-1 NL-sfGI or NL-sfGI ΔEnv and cocultured with uninfected CEM-SS target cells (cyan) for 2–2.5 h. Cells were stained for surface EWI-2 (magenta) and Gag (yellow). Note that Gag expression in the ΔEnv condition was quite low, since Gag expression in this virus is already expected to be considerably reduced [55]. EWI-2 enrichment was calculated as described in Figure 1. Quantification is the result of pooled VSs/contacts from two independent biological replicates. Scale bars = 10 µm. In both data plots, each dot represents the EWI-2 enrichment value of one VS/contact. The dotted horizontal line indicates a theoretical fold enrichment of 1, which indicates no enrichment. Error bars = standard deviation of the mean (SD). p-values are the result of two-tailed non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests.](/paper-figures/ffc2f779c3db428db5bbbe24855ee883/ewi-2-inhibits-cellcell-fusion-at-the-hiv-1-virological-presynapse-figure-2.jpg)
![Figure 3 EWI-2 is downregulated from the surface of infected cells. (A) Abundance of EWI-2 in mock-infected (grey) versus WT HIV-infected (yellow) CEM-T4 T cells or primary human CD4+ T cells. Experiments were conducted in triplicate and whole cell lysates subjected to Tandem Mass Tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics 48 h after infection (reanalysis of data from [50,51]). Seven (CEM-T4 T cells) or six (primary human CD4+ T cells) unique peptides were used for EWI-2 quantitation. Mean relative abundances (fraction of maximum TMT reporter ion intensity) shown. (B) Cells were infected with NL-sfGI and surface-labeled for EWI-2, fixed, stained with DAPI (shown in cyan) and Alexa Fluor 594-conjugated secondary antibody, and imaged. GFP signal (yellow) was used to identify infected cells, and EWI-2-associated signal is shown pseudocolored in magenta. Representative cells are shown. Scale bars = 10 µm. (C) Cells were prepared as in (B) and EWI-2 levels at the plasma membrane in infected (Inf) and uninfected (Uninf) cells were measured by manually selecting the plasma membrane at the midline of each cell and quantifying the mean EWI-2-associated fluorescence intensity. Fluorescence intensity of each cell was normalized to the average intensity value of uninfected cells within the same imaging set. Data shown are pooled from two to three biological replicates, each consisting of two technical replicates. Only non-contact sites were quantified. Error bars = SD. p-values are the result of a two-tailed non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. (C-E) CEM2n cells were infected with NL-sfGI and surface-labeled for EWI-2, fixed, and stained with Alexa Fluor 647-conjugated secondary antibody, and analyzed by flow cytometry. (D) Representative histogram normalized to mode of the EWI-2 signal intensity at the cell surface for unstained controls (black outline), infected cells (yellow), and uninfected cells (cyan). The gates defining EWI-2high and EWI-2low cells are shown. (E) Data represent the percentage of uninfected and infected cells that fell into the EWI-2high gate shown in (d) from 3 independent biological replicates, averaged across two technical replicates within each. (F) EWI-2 surface expression was measured by mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of EWI-2-associated signal. In both panels, lines connect paired data points, i.e., infected cells and uninfected cells (within an infected tube) from the same biological replicate.](/paper-figures/81ca133455824ea8875d4027a3d1dc41/ewi-2-inhibits-cellcell-fusion-at-the-hiv-1-virological-presynapse-figure-3.jpg)
![Figure 4 Plasma membrane EWI-2 is downregulated by Vpu. (A) Temporal expression profiles of cell surface EWI-2 (red, upper panel) or indicated control proteins (blue/green/gold, lower panels) in WT HIV-1-infected CEM-T4 T cells (reanalysis of data from [53]). Plasma membrane proteins were subjected to TMT-based quantitative proteomics 0 (uninfected), 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after infection, or 72 h after infection in the presence of reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTi). Twelve unique peptides were used for EWI-2 quantitation. Relative abundances (fraction of maximum TMT reporter ion intensity) are shown. (B) Abundance of EWI-2 (red, upper panel) or indicated control proteins (blue/green/gold, lower panels) in control CEM-T4 T cells or CEM-T4 T cells infected with WT HIV-1 in the presence/absence of RTi, infected with Vpu- or Nef-deficient HIV-1, or transduced with Vpu or Nef as single genes (reanalysis of data from [53]). Plasma membrane proteins were subjected to Stable Isotope Labelling with Amino acids in Cell culture (SILAC)-based quantitative proteomics 72 h after infection (3 × 3-way comparisons). Twelve (WT HIV-1 +/− RTi), nine (∆Vpu/∆Nef HIV-1) or 14 (Vpu/Nef) unique peptides were used for EWI-2 quantitation. Ratios of abundances to mock-infected CEM-T4 T cells (WT HIV-1 +/- RTi and ∆Vpu/∆Nef HIV-1) or GFP-transduced CEM-T4 T cells (Vpu/Nef) are shown. Note that (A) and (B) show data from two different quantitative proteomic methods, as described above and in Materials and Methods.](/paper-figures/e9cb293793d14567bdc9f43fc0c8035d/ewi-2-inhibits-cellcell-fusion-at-the-hiv-1-virological-presynapse-figure-4.jpg)


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“However, during cell-to-cell transmission, this process is inhibited by cell membrane proteins that accumulate at the VS zone: tetraspanins [46], ezrin [47], and Ewi-2 [48].”
From HIV-1 and HTLV-1 Transmission Modes: Mechanisms and Importance for Virus Spread (2022) · cites this paper as [48]
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Whitaker, E. E., Matheson, N. J., Perlee, S., Munson, P. B., Symeonides, M., & Thali, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Vermont (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Thali, Markus
- ORCID
- Venue
- Viruses
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-11-20
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1082
- ISSN
- 1999-4915 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6950393
- OpenAlex
- W2990116699
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 71
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 0.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Viruses (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Apollo (cc-by)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R01-GM117839, P30-RR032135, P30-GM103498)
- University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine (Bridge Support Grant)
- University of Vermont Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics (Nicole J. Ferland Award)
- Medical Research Council (CSF MR/P008801/1)
- NHS Blood and Transplant (WPA15-02)
- NIHR Cambridge BRC (N/A)
- Wellcome Trust (Strategic Award)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Virology › HIV Research and Treatment
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and Retrovirus Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment
- Keywords
- HIV-1, cell-cell fusion, virological synapse, syncytia, tetraspanins, CD81, Vpu, fusion inhibition, HIV-1 transmission, host factors, ezrin
- MeSH terms
- Cell Fusion, Cell Line, Humans, Membrane Proteins, T-Lymphocytes, Virion, HIV-1, Down-Regulation, HIV Infections, Antigens, CD, Giant Cells, Presynaptic Terminals, RNA, Small Interfering
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