Assembly of the Sindbis virus spike protein complex.

The Sindbis virus glycoproteins E1 and E2 are organized into 80 trimers of heterodimers within the virus envelope. Using pulse-chase protocols and chemical crosslinkers, we have found that E1 and E2 precursor, PE2, rapidly assemble into heterodimers and then into trimers of heterodimers after translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum. E1 folds into its mature conformation within the endoplasmic reticulum via at least three intermediates differing in the configurations of their disulfide bonds. PE2 can pair with the second of these E1 folding intermediates. The remaining E1 folding steps, therefore, occur after E1-PE2 multimers begin to form. Quaternary interactions between E1 and PE2 may help guide the folding of E1. While no PE2 folding intermediates have yet been detected, we have found that PE2 transiently enters into large, noncovalent complexes or aggregates with other PE2 molecules and/or with unknown host factors prior to pairing with E1.