Widespread amyloid aggregates formation by Zika virus proteins and peptides

Abstract

Viral pathogenesis typically involves numerous molecular mechanisms. Protein aggregation is a relatively unknown characteristic of viruses, despite the fact that viral proteins have been shown to form terminally misfolded forms. Zika virus (ZIKV) is a neurotropic one with the potential to cause neurodegeneration. Its protein amyloid aggregation may link the neurodegenerative component to the pathogenicity associated with the viral infection. Therefore, we investigated protein aggregation in the ZIKV proteome as a putative pathogenic route and one of the alternate pathways. We discovered that it contains numerous anticipated aggregation‐prone regions in this investigation. To validate our prediction, we used a combination of supporting experimental techniques routinely used for morphological characterization and study of amyloid aggregates. Several ZIKV proteins and peptides, including the full‐length envelope protein, its domain III (EDIII) and fusion peptide, Pr N‐terminal peptide, NS1 β‐roll peptide, membrane‐embedded signal peptide 2K, and cytosolic region of NS4B protein, were shown to be highly aggregating in our study. Because our findings show that viral proteins can form amyloids in vitro, we need to do a thorough functional study of these anticipated APRs to understand better the role of amyloids in the pathophysiology of ZIKV infection.