A protein coevolution method uncovers critical features of the Hepatitis C Virus fusion mechanism. Author Florian Douam, Floriane Fusil, Margot Enguehard, Linda Dib, Francesca Nadalin, Loïc Schwaller, Gabriela Hrebikova, Jimmy Mancip, Laurent Mailly, Roland Montserret, Qiang Ding, Carine Maisse, Emilie Carlot, Ke Xu, Els Verhoeyen, Thomas Baumert, Alexander Ploss, Alessandra Carbone, François-Loïc Cosset, Dimitri Lavillette Publication Year 2018 Type Journal Article Abstract Amino-acid coevolution can be referred to mutational compensatory patterns preserving the function of a protein. Viral envelope glycoproteins, which mediate entry of enveloped viruses into their host cells, are shaped by coevolution signals that confer to viruses the plasticity to evade neutralizing antibodies without altering viral entry mechanisms. The functions and structures of the two envelope glycoproteins of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), E1 and E2, are poorly described. Especially, how these two proteins mediate the HCV fusion process between the viral and the cell membrane remains elusive. Here, as a proof of concept, we aimed to take advantage of an original coevolution method recently developed to shed light on the HCV fusion mechanism. When first applied to the well-characterized Dengue Virus (DENV) envelope glycoproteins, coevolution analysis was able to predict important structural features and rearrangements of these viral protein complexes. When applied to HCV E1E2, computational coevolution analysis predicted that E1 and E2 refold interdependently during fusion through rearrangements of the E2 Back Layer (BL). Consistently, a soluble BL-derived polypeptide inhibited HCV infection of hepatoma cell lines, primary human hepatocytes and humanized liver mice. We showed that this polypeptide specifically inhibited HCV fusogenic rearrangements, hence supporting the critical role of this domain during HCV fusion. By combining coevolution analysis and in vitro assays, we also uncovered functionally-significant coevolving signals between E1 and E2 BL/Stem regions that govern HCV fusion, demonstrating the accuracy of our coevolution predictions. Altogether, our work shed light on important structural features of the HCV fusion mechanism and contributes to advance our functional understanding of this process. This study also provides an important proof of concept that coevolution can be employed to explore viral protein mediated-processes, and can guide the development of innovative translational strategies against challenging human-tropic viruses. Keywords Animals, Mice, Humans, Protein Binding, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Virus Replication, Hepacivirus, Hepatitis C, Virus Internalization, Evolution, Molecular, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Liver Neoplasms, Viral Envelope Proteins Journal PLoS Pathog Volume 14 Issue 3 Pages e1006908 Date Published 2018 Mar ISSN Number 1553-7374 DOI 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006908 Alternate Journal PLoS Pathog PMCID PMC5854445 PMID 29505618 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML