Contact: Emil Venere
venere@purdue.edu
765-494-4709
Purdue University

Three-Dimensional Reconstructions of the West Nile Virus Attached to Fragments of an Antibody

Caption: Purdue researchers created these three-dimensional reconstructions of the West Nile virus attached to fragments of an antibody that neutralizes the virus and prevents infection. The reconstructions are based on images taken with a technique called cryoelectron microscopy. The image on the left shows a virus alone. The center image shows the virus attached to neutralizing antibody fragments. The viral surface is colored green and the antibody fragments are shown in light blue. Each antibody attaches to a protein called an E protein, for envelope protein, which makes up the virus' outer shell. There are 180 copies of the E protein symmetrically arranged in 60 sets of three, forming a geometric shape called an icosahedron, which is made up of triangular facets. The triangles in the images denote one of the 60 units that make up the icosahedron. The researchers were surprised to discover that only two antibody fragments are contained in a single triangle, meaning the antibody recognizes only two of the E proteins in each set of three. The researchers have discovered that one of the three E proteins in the triangular segments fails to be recognized by the antibody because the proteins crowd together, covering a critical binding site.

Credit: Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University

Usage Restrictions: None

Related news release: Research pinpoints West Nile virus antibody binding site