About
Remarkably, the membrane scission events occurring during cytokinetic abscission and of viral budding/release are topologically similar. We are currently unveiling that proteins involved in abscission beyond the ESCRT machinery are also required for the release of viruses at the plasma membrane, using HIV-1 and other enveloped viruses as models. The Flemmingsome (see Project 2) represents a promising resource to discover new mechanisms involved in viral budding.
The Flemmingsome also revealed an unexpected function of BST2/Tetherin —a protein known to retain viruses at the surface of infected cells— in tethering midbody remnants.
Model for MBR tethering by BST2. BST2 dimers present at the MBR transfer their GPI anchor to the plasma membrane of the recipient cell and enable MBR tethering to the recipient cell. Removal of both BST2 and Ca2+/Mg2+ leads to MBR release from cells.
To learn more, see our past publications:
Addi et al. Nature Communications 2020
Presle et al. Current Biology 2021
