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Journal of Virology, September 2005, p. 11766-11775, Vol. 79, No. 18
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.18.11766-11775.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Vimentin Rearrangement during African Swine Fever Virus Infection Involves Retrograde Transport along Microtubules and Phosphorylation of Vimentin by Calcium Calmodulin Kinase II

Sandra Stefanovic,^1, Miriam Windsor,¹ Koh-ici Nagata,² Masaki Inagaki,³ and Thomas Wileman^1*

Division of Immunology, Pirbright Laboratories, Institute for Animal Health, Surrey GU24 ONF, United Kingdom,¹ Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute for Developmental Research, Aichi Human Service Center, 713-8 Kamiya-Cho, Kasuagai, Aichi 480-0392, Japan,² Division of Biochemistry, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, 1-1 Kanokoden, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8681, Japan³

Received 3 February 2005/ Accepted 27 June 2005

African swine fever virus (ASFV) infection leads to rearrangement of vimentin into a cage surrounding virus factories. Vimentin rearrangement in cells generally involves phosphorylation of N-terminal domains of vimentin by cellular kinases to facilitate disassembly and transport of vimentin filaments on microtubules. Here, we demonstrate that the first stage in vimentin rearrangement during ASFV infection involves a microtubule-dependent concentration of vimentin into an "aster" within virus assembly sites located close to the microtubule organizing center. The aster may play a structural role early during the formation of the factory. Conversion of the aster into a cage required ASFV DNA replication. Interestingly, viral DNA replication also resulted in the activation of calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) and phosphorylation of the N-terminal domain of vimentin on serine 82. Immunostaining showed that vimentin within the cage was phosphorylated on serine 82. Significantly, both viral DNA replication and Ser 82 phosphorylation were blocked by KN93, an inhibitor of CaM kinase II, suggesting a link between CaM kinase II activation, DNA replication, and late gene expression. Phosphorylation of vimentin on serine 82 may be necessary for cage formation or may simply be a consequence of activation of CaM kinase II by ASFV. The vimentin cage may serve a cytoprotective function and prevent movement of viral components into the cytoplasm and at the same time concentrate late structural proteins at sites of virus assembly.

Present address: Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-2028.

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