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. 2023 Jul 26;19(7):e1011217. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011217

Fig 2. Arenavirus VLPs undergo membrane permeabilization prior to fusion.

Fig 2

(A) Illustration of single VLP fusion labeled with NP-DmCherry/NP-DYFP. VLP is internalized, trafficked to acidic endosomes where the viral membrane is permeabilized, leading to acidification of the viral interior and quenching of YFP fluorescence. Subsequent fusion of VLP and endosomal membrane neutralizes the VLP interior and results in recovery of YFP signal. (B) A single Candid-1 VLP fusion event in A549 cell. Time-lapse images (top) and fluorescence traces (bottom) show VLP interior acidification (YFP quenching) at 12.1 min and fusion (YFP dequenching) at 33.4 min. (see S3 Movie). (C) A single LASV VLP fusion event in A549 cell. Time-lapse images (top) and fluorescence traces (bottom) show virus interior acidification (YFP quenching) at 34.0 min and fusion (YFP dequenching) at 57.9 min. (D) A single JUNV VLP fusion event in A549 cell. Time-lapse images (top) and fluorescence traces (bottom) show VLP interior acidification (YFP quenching) at 7.3 min and fusion (YFP dequenching) at 25.6 min. (E) A single MACV VLP fusion event in A549 cell. Time-lapse images (top) and fluorescence traces (bottom) show virus interior acidification (YFP quenching) at 4.0 min and fusion (YFP dequenching) at 8.7 min.