This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Johannes, L Articles by Meier, E Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Johannes, L Articles by Meier, E

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Virol. 1993 March; 67(3): 1653-1657

Switch in antiviral specificity of a GTPase upon translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus.

Laboratory of Viral and Molecular Pathogenesis, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.

ABSTRACT

The Mx2 protein of rats is a cytoplasmic GTPase that protects cells against vesicular stomatitis virus but not against influenza virus. Since vesicular stomatitis virus replicates in the cytoplasm and influenza virus replicates in the nucleus, it was possible that the antiviral specificity of rat Mx2 protein was determined solely by the protein's subcellular localization. Here, we found that, indeed, rat Mx2 protein lost its anti-vesicular stomatitis virus activity and gained anti-influenza virus activity when it was directed to the nucleus by way of a foreign nuclear-transport signal appended to its amino terminus. These data show that rat Mx2 protein possesses an antiviral activity that is revealed only when the protein is shuttled to the nucleus.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Landis, H., Simon-Jodicke, A., Kloti, A., Di Paolo, C., Schnorr, J.-J., Schneider-Schaulies, S., Hefti, H. P., Pavlovic, J. (1998). Human MxA Protein Confers Resistance to Semliki Forest Virus and Inhibits the Amplification of a Semliki Forest Virus-Based Replicon in the Absence of Viral Structural Proteins. J. Virol. 72: 1516-1522 [Abstract] [Full Text]