9MLK
Post-fusion HERV-K Envelope Protein in complex with Kenv-4 Fab
Summary for 9MLK
| Entry DOI | 10.2210/pdb9mlk/pdb |
| EMDB information | 48374 |
| Descriptor | Kenv-4 Fab Heavy Chain, Kenv-4 Fab Light Chain, Transmembrane protein (3 entities in total) |
| Functional Keywords | human endogenous retrovirus k; glycoprotein; herv-k; envelope; post-fusion, viral protein |
| Biological source | Mus musculus More |
| Total number of polymer chains | 9 |
| Total formula weight | 265344.06 |
| Authors | Sun, C.,Shek, J.,Hastie, K.,Saphire, E.O. (deposition date: 2024-12-19, release date: 2025-07-30, Last modification date: 2025-09-03) |
| Primary citation | Shek, J.,Sun, C.,Wilson, E.M.,Moadab, F.,Hastie, K.M.,Rajamanickam, R.R.,Penalosa, P.J.,Harkins, S.S.,Parekh, D.,Hariharan, C.,Zyla, D.S.,Yu, C.,Shaffer, K.C.L.,Lewis, V.I.,Avalos, R.D.,Mustelin, T.,Saphire, E.O. Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) envelope structures in pre- and postfusion by cryo-EM. Sci Adv, 11:eady8168-eady8168, 2025 Cited by PubMed Abstract: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are remnants of ancient infections that comprise ~8% of the human genome. The HERV-K envelope glycoprotein (Env) is aberrantly expressed in cancers, autoimmune disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases, and is targeted by patients' own antibodies. However, a lack of structural information has limited molecular and immunological studies of the roles of HERVs in disease. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of stabilized HERV-K Env in the prefusion conformation, revealing a distinct fold and architecture compared to HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus. We also generated and characterized a panel of monoclonal antibodies with subunit and conformational specificity, serving as valuable research tools. These antibodies enabled structure determination of the postfusion conformation of HERV-K Env, including its unique "tether" helix, and antibody-bound prefusion Env. Together, these results provide a structural framework that opens the door to mechanistic studies of HERV-K Env and tools for its evaluation as a potential therapeutic target. PubMed: 40864726DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady8168 PDB entries with the same primary citation |
| Experimental method | ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (2.84 Å) |
Structure validation
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