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Journal of Virology, January 2004, p. 930-937, Vol. 78, No. 2
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.2.930-937.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Nuclear Localization of Avian Polyomavirus Structural Protein VP1 Is a Prerequisite for the Formation of Virus-Like Particles

Reimar Johne* and Hermann Müller

Institute for Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany

Received 13 June 2003/ Accepted 22 September 2003

Virions of polyomaviruses consist of the major structural protein VP1, the minor structural proteins VP2 and VP3, and the viral genome associated with histones. An additional structural protein, VP4, is present in avian polyomavirus (APV) particles. As it had been reported that expression of APV VP1 in insect cells did not result in the formation of virus-like particles (VLP), the prerequisites for particle formation were analyzed. To this end, recombinant influenza viruses were created to (co)express the structural proteins of APV in chicken embryo cells, permissive for APV replication. VP1 expressed individually or coexpressed with VP4 did not result in VLP formation; both proteins (co)localized in the cytoplasm. Transport of VP1, or the VP1-VP4 complex, into the nucleus was facilitated by the coexpression of VP3 and resulted in the formation of VLP. Accordingly, a mutant APV VP1 carrying the N-terminal nuclear localization signal of simian virus 40 VP1 was transported to the nucleus and assembled into VLP. These results support a model of APV capsid assembly in which complexes of the structural proteins VP1, VP3 (or VP2), and VP4, formed within the cytoplasm, are transported to the nucleus using the nuclear localization signal of VP3 (or VP2); there, capsid formation is induced by the nuclear environment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute for Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 29, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. Phone: 49(0)341-9738204. Fax: 49(0)341-9738219. E-mail: johne{at}vetmed.uni-leipzig.de.

Journal of Virology, January 2004, p. 930-937, Vol. 78, No. 2
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.2.930-937.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Johne, R., Muller, H. (2007). Polyomaviruses of Birds: Etiologic Agents of Inflammatory Diseases in a Tumor Virus Family. J. Virol. 81: 11554-11559 [Full Text]  
  • Johne, R., Paul, G., Enderlein, D., Stahl, T., Grund, C., Muller, H. (2007). Avian polyomavirus mutants with deletions in the VP4-encoding region show deficiencies in capsid assembly and virus release, and have reduced infectivity in chicken. J. Gen. Virol. 88: 823-830 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Johne, R., Wittig, W., Fernandez-de-Luco, D., Hofle, U., Muller, H. (2006). Characterization of two novel polyomaviruses of birds by using multiply primed rolling-circle amplification of their genomes.. J. Virol. 80: 3523-3531 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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