Chaperone role for proteins p618 and p892 in the extracellular tail development of <em>Acidianus</em> two-tailed virus

The crenarchaeal Acidianus two-tailed virus (ATV) undergoes a remarkable morphological development, extracellularly and independently of host cells, by growing long tails at each end of a spindle-shaped virus particle. Initial work suggested that an intermediate filament-like protein, p800, is involved in this process. We propose that an additional chaperone system is required, consisting of a MoxR-type AAA ATPase (p618) and a von Willebrand domain A (VWA)-containing cochaperone, p892. Both proteins are absent from the other known bicaudavirus, STSV1, which develops a single tail intracellularly. p618 exhibits ATPase activity and forms a hexameric ring complex that closely resembles the oligomeric complex of the MoxR-like protein RavA (YieN). ATV proteins p387, p653, p800, and p892 interact with p618, and with the exception of p800, all bind to DNA. A model is proposed to rationalize the interactions observed between the different protein and DNA components and to explain their possible structural and functional roles in extracellular tail development

AP2 controls clathrin polymerization with a membrane-activated switch

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is vital for the internalization of most cell-surface proteins. In CME, plasma membrane-binding clathrin adaptors recruit and polymerize clathrin to form clathrin-coated pits into which cargo is sorted. Assembly polypeptide 2 (AP2) is the most abundant adaptor and is pivotal to CME. Here, we determined a structure of AP2 that includes the clathrin-binding beta 2 hinge and developed an AP2-dependent budding assay. Our findings suggest that an autoinhibitory mechanism prevents clathrin recruitment by cytosolic AP2. A large-scale conformational change driven by the plasma membrane phosphoinositide phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and cargo relieves this autoinhibition, triggering clathrin recruitment and hence clathrin-coated bud formation. This molecular switching mechanism can couple AP2's membrane recruitment to its key functions of cargo and clathrin binding

Clathrin-dependent Association of CVAK104 with Endosomes and the Trans-Golgi Network

CVAK104 is a novel coated vesicle-associated protein with a serine/threonine kinase homology domain that was recently shown to phosphorylate the β2-subunit of the adaptor protein (AP) complex AP2 in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that a C-terminal segment of CVAK104 interacts with the N-terminal domain of clathrin and with the α-appendage of AP2. CVAK104 localizes predominantly to the perinuclear region of HeLa and COS-7 cells, but it is also present on peripheral vesicular structures that are accessible to endocytosed transferrin. The distribution of CVAK104 overlaps extensively with that of AP1, AP3, the mannose 6-phosphate receptor, and clathrin but not at all with its putative phosphorylation target AP2. RNA interference-mediated clathrin knockdown reduced the membrane association of CVAK104. Recruitment of CVAK104 to perinuclear membranes of permeabilized cells is enhanced by guanosine 5′-O-(3-thio)triphosphate, and brefeldin A redistributes CVAK104 in cells. Both observations suggest a direct or indirect requirement for GTP-binding proteins in the membrane association of CVAK104. Live-cell imaging showed colocalization of green fluorescent protein-CVAK104 with endocytosed transferrin and with red fluorescent protein-clathrin on rapidly moving endosomes. Like AP1-depleted COS-7 cells, CVAK104-depleted cells missort the lysosomal hydrolase cathepsin D. Together, our data suggest a function for CVAK104 in clathrin-dependent pathways between the trans-Golgi network and the endosomal system