Conserved Surface-Exposed K/R-X-K/R Motifs and Net Positive Charge on Poxvirus Complement Control Proteins Serve as Putative Heparin Binding Sites and Contribute to Inhibition of Molecular Interactions with Human Endothelial Cells: a Novel Mechanism for Evasion of Host Defense

Vaccinia virus complement control protein (VCP) has been shown to possess the ability to inhibit both classical and alternative complement pathway activation. The newly found ability of this protein to bind to heparin has been shown in previous studies to result in uptake by mast cells, possibly promoting tissue persistence. It has also been shown to reduce chemotactic migration of leukocytes by blocking chemokine binding. In addition, this study shows that VCP—through its ability to bind to glycosaminoglycans (heparin-like molecules) on the surface of human endothelial cells—is able to block antibody binding to surface major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. Since heparin binding is critical for many functions of this protein, we have attempted to characterize the molecular basis for this interaction. Segments of this protein, generated by genetic engineering of the DNA encoding VCP into the Pichia pastoris expression system, were used to localize the regions with heparin binding activity. These regions were then analyzed to more specifically define their properties for binding. It was found that the number of putative binding sites (K/R-X-K/R), the overall positive charge, and the percentage of positively charged amino acids within the protein were responsible for this interaction.