Mechanism of action of the viral chemokine-binding protein E163 from ectromelia virus [Microbiology]

We report the identification of the GAG-binding regions in E163 and the generation of mutant forms deficient of GAG binding. Chemokine binding assays show that some of the E163 GAG-binding sites are also involved in the interaction with chemokines. By using recombinant GAG-binding mutant forms we demonstrate that E163 prevents the interaction of chemokines with cell-surface GAGs, providing mechanisms for the immunomodulatory activity of the viral chemokine-binding protein E163.
Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Immunology Source Type: research