Crystallization and preliminary diffraction studies of the ectodomain of the envelope glycoprotein D from herpes simplex virus 1 alone and in complex with the ectodomain of the human receptor HveA

Gycoprotein D (gD) is a glycoprotein expressed on the surface of several human and animal alpha herpes viruses. Binding of gD to cell-surface receptors has been shown to be necessary for herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) cell entry. The gD ectodomain consists of 316 residues and has no sequence homology to any other proteins of known structure. Two fragments of the HSV-1 gD ectodomain (gD_22-260: residues 22-260 and gD₂₈₅: residues 1-285) have been crystallized in two crystal forms. The complex between gD₂₈₅ and the ectodomain of HveA, a gD cellular receptor member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNFR) superfamily, has also been crystallized. Moreover, insect-cell-expressed selenomethionine-substituted gD₂₈₅ has been purified and crystallized alone and in complex with HveA.