Biomechanics of TIM Protein-Mediated Ebola Virus-Host Cell Adhesion

Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA

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Abstract

The most recent outbreak of the Ebola virus (EBOV) epidemic posed a major threat to the world. Because the mechanisms of EBOV infection remain obscure, there is still no specific treatment or vaccine for EBOV disease. While EBOV-host cell attachment has been shown to depend critically on the molecular biomechanics of interaction between receptors on the cell surface and the outer coat of the virus, the quantitative understanding essential for guiding the development of therapies is completely lacking. Recent work has established the importance of TIM family proteins and the geometry and mechanical properties of its mucin-like stalk domain (MLD). However, further progress building on these recent findings requires expertise in experimental and theoretical molecular biomechanics, different than that which has advanced our knowledge so far. This proposal takes advantage of the PIs? capabilities in single-molecule force spectroscopy (Zhang) and computational molecular adhesion mechanics (Jagota) to address the problem of establishing quantitative understanding of the molecular, cellular, and biomechanical mechanisms of EBOV attachment to a host cell. We hypothesize that quantitative knowledge about the biomechanical properties of the stalk presenting the ligand binding IgV domain, i.e., the length, rigidity and charge of the MLD of TIM, can be used to predict conditions for EBOV attachment. Aim 1 will utilize single-molecular force spectroscopy to characterize experimentally how TIM family proteins interact with EBOV in a rate- and force- dependent fashion, and how the interaction is influenced by the length, rigidity and charge of MLD. Aim 2 will test the hypothesis by developing biomechanical models that show how single-molecule biomechanical properties, and how the properties of the MLD, such as its length, rigidity, and charge density, control TIM mediated cellular/viral membrane adhesion and engulfment. Model development will be calibrated and validated through single-molecule measurements. The study will elucidate quantitatively?for the first time?the biomechanical mechanism of EBOV?host cell interaction, providing potential new targets for antiviral drug development.