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Journal of Virology, December 1998, p. 10227-10233, Vol. 72, No. 12
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Functionality and Cell Anchorage Dependence of the
African Swine Fever Virus Gene A179L, a Viral
bcl-2 Homolog, in Insect Cells
Alejandro
Brun,
Fernando
Rodríguez,
José M.
Escribano, and
Covadonga
Alonso*
Centro de Investigación en Sanidad
Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
Received 3 June 1998/Accepted 20 August 1998
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ABSTRACT |
The African swine fever virus gene A179L has been shown
to be a functional member of the ced9/bcl-2 family of
apoptosis inhibitors in mammalian cell lines. In this work we have
expressed the A179L gene product (p21) under the control of
the baculovirus polyhedrin promoter using a baculovirus system.
Expression of the A179L gene neither altered the
baculovirus replication phenotype nor delayed the shutoff of cellular
protein synthesis, but it extended the survival of the infected insect
cells to very late times postinfection. The increase in cell survival
rates correlated with a marked apoptosis reduction after baculovirus
infection. Interestingly, prevention of apoptosis was observed when
recombinant baculovirus infections were carried out in monolayer cell
cultures but not when cells were infected in suspension, suggesting a
cell anchorage dependence for p21 function in insect cells. Cell
survival was enhanced under optimal conditions of cell attachment and
cell-to-cell contact as provided by extracellular matrix components or
poly-D-lysine. Since it was observed that cytoskeleton
organization varied depending on culture conditions of insect cells
(grown in monolayer versus grown in suspension), these results
suggested that A179L might regulate apoptosis in insect
cells only when the cytoskeletal support of intracellular signaling is
maintained upon cell adhesion. Thus, cell shape and cytoskeleton status
might allow variations in intracellular transduction of signals related
to cell survival in virus-infected cells.
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TEXT |
African swine fever virus (ASFV),
the causative agent for an important disease of swine, is a large
double-stranded DNA virus that replicates not only in members of the
Suidae family but also in soft ticks of the
Ornithodoros genus (24, 31, 41). ASFV infects a
variety of cells of the mononuclear phagocytic system and produces a
characteristic apoptotic cell death in infected swine macrophages and
bystander uninfected lymphocytes (33-35). Virus-induced
apoptosis in target cells is produced late during infection, suggesting
the existence of viral genes that prevent early apoptosis to support
the productive infection. An ASFV gene, 5HL
(A179L in Ba71V virus), with sequence similarity to the
ced9/bcl-2 gene family has been described (28).
This gene encodes a protein of approximately 21 kDa (p21) that is
synthesized in infected cells at both early and late times
postinfection (28). The similarity of this gene to
bcl-2 has pointed to its possible role in apoptosis inhibition during ASFV infection. We have recently demonstrated that
expression of the A179L gene by a recombinant vaccinia virus inhibits apoptosis mediated by the interferon-induced double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase in HeLa and BSC-40 cells (5). Also, the A179L product is able to suppress apoptotic cell
death in the FL5.12 mouse prolymphocytic cell line and in the K562
human myeloid leukemia cell line (1, 37). Thus, the ability
of the A179L gene to suppress apoptosis in mammalian cells
has been clearly shown. However, the function in insect cells of the
bcl-2 gene, the prototype of a death-regulator gene family,
remains controversial (3, 8, 11), and the function of
A179L during ASFV infection of nonmammalian cells is still
unknown. Other ASFV genes potentially involved in the regulation of
intracellular apoptosis pathways are A238L and
23NL, which have sequence similarity to the I
B factor
(32) and the ICP34.5 gene of herpes simplex virus
I (14, 40), respectively. The existence of an ASFV gene (A224L) with similarity to the iap family of
apoptosis inhibitors suggested that A179L and
A224L could function as host range genes (9).
Nevertheless, there are no current data supporting the function of
A224L as an apoptosis inhibitor, and studies conducted to
analyze its role during ASFV infection demonstrated that this gene is
dispensable for ASFV growth in swine macrophages (29).
Therefore, the study of the apoptosis regulatory functions of the
A179L gene in different cell lines and under different
culture conditions is important to an understanding of the role of this gene during ASFV infection in its different hosts. To examine these
functions, we have expressed the A179L gene in
Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells using a baculovirus
system. We demonstrated that this gene is functional and prevents
virus-induced apoptosis in these cells only when intracellular
signaling upon cell adhesion is maintained.
Expression of the A179L gene product in Sf9 cells.
The construction of recombinant baculovirus expressing the
A179L gene product was carried out as previously described
(21, 30). Briefly, DNA amplification of the A179L
gene from the ASFV isolate E70 was carried out by PCR with
ampliTaq DNA polymerase (Perkin-Elmer Cetus) with the
primers (i) 5'-AAATATAGGGATCCGCTATGGAGGG (5' primer) and
(ii) 5'-CCGCGTGGATCCTATATCAAATTGC (3' primer). Both primers contain the recognition sequence for the
BamHI restriction enzyme. The PCR product was digested with
BamHI and cloned into the BamHI site of the
baculovirus transfer vector pBacPAK8 (Clontech) under the control of
the polyhedrin promoter. The cloned gene was sequenced by the
dideoxynucleotide chain terminator method by using specific primers to
check possible sequence changes introduced by PCR amplification of the
gene. Then, Sf9 cells were cotransfected with the transfer
recombinant vector (pBacPAK-A179L) and the purified, noninfectious BacPAK6 DNA (Bsu36I digested), which contains the
-galactosidase gene under the control of the polyhedrin promoter. Isolation of recombinant baculovirus was achieved by negative selection
due to replacement of the
-galactosidase gene by the newly
introduced recombinant gene. The selected virus was further purified
after three successive plaque assays in Sf9 cells. The recombinant
baculovirus expressing the A179L gene was denominated BVA179L. Another recombinant baculovirus bearing the A179L
gene cloned in the opposite orientation (antisense, BVA179L-AS) was constructed by similar methods.
Expression of the A179L gene by the recombinant baculovirus
BVA179L was analyzed by Western blotting at 72 h postinfection (p.i.) in cells from suspension and monolayer cultures (Fig. 1A). Cell
extracts with similar numbers of infected cells from both cultures were
lysed, electrophoresed in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-15%
polyacrylamide gels, transferred to nitrocellulose filters (Bio-Rad),
and then incubated with a polyclonal antiserum raised against the
product of the ASFV gene 5HL expressed in Escherichia coli cells (28). The serum reacted with a 21-kDa
polypeptide (p21) but failed to react with any protein product of this
electrophoretic mobility in mock-infected cells (data not shown) or in
cells infected with the recombinant baculovirus BVA179L-AS (Fig.
1A).

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FIG. 1.
Expression of the ASFV A179L gene by using a
baculovirus system. (A) Western blot analysis of infected Sf9 cell
extracts. Cell lysates from Sf9 cells synchronously infected either
with the recombinant baculovirus BVA179L or with BVA179L-AS reacted at
72 h p.i. with a specific antiserum raised against the
A179L gene product expressed in E. coli cells.
(B) Immunofluorescence of BVA179L- or BVA179L-AS-infected insect cells
in suspension, analyzed at 72 h p.i. by using the same serum
against A179L stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate
(FITC). Green cytoplasmic fluorescence was detected only in cells
infected with BVA179L. The cell nucleus was contrasted with propidium
iodide (PI) (right). (C) Growth curves of BVA179L and BVA179L-AS
recombinant baculoviruses in Sf9 monolayer cell cultures. Extracellular
virus obtained from culture supernatants at the indicated time points
was titrated in a conventional plaque assay. Squares, BVA179L-AS;
circles, BVA179L.
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Indirect immunofluorescence of fixed and permeabilized BVA179L- or
BVA179L-AS-infected Sf9 cells, using the same anti-p21
serum, revealed
predominantly cytoplasmic staining for p21 (Fig.
1B, center), which
contrasted with the nuclear localization of
propidium iodide, a
DNA-intercalating agent (Fig.
1B, right).
This distribution of p21 was
similar in cells grown in suspension
or in adherent growth
conditions.
The effect of p21 expression on recombinant baculovirus growth was also
investigated (Fig.
1C). Cells were infected (multiplicity
of infection
[MOI], 2), supernatants were collected at different
times
postinfection for titration, and fresh medium was added
to the
cultures. Infection with BVA179L or BVA179L-AS yielded
similar
virus titers, suggesting that overexpression of the
A179L gene did not alter the baculovirus replication phenotype in Sf9
cells.
Maximum viral titers were reached at 48 h p.i. with both
recombinant viruses (Fig.
1C). As expected, virus yields dropped
drastically after this time point, because the experiment measured
virus release to the extracellular medium rather than virus
accumulation.
This result suggested the occurrence of a strong shutoff
of protein
synthesis due to baculovirus infection at late time
points.
In order to confirm this fact, long-term synthesis of
baculovirus-induced proteins in the presence of the apoptosis inhibitor
p21 was analyzed by metabolic pulse labeling of infected cells
at
different times postinfection. Sf9 cells (10
5) were mock
infected or infected at a MOI of 10 in 96-well culture
plates. At 22, 46, 70, and 94 h p.i. the medium was replaced with
Grace's medium
lacking methionine (Gibco) and maintained for 1
h prior to the
addition of fresh methionine-deficient medium containing
200 µCi of
[
35S]methionine/ml (>1,000 Ci/mmol). At the selected
time points
cell pellets were harvested, lysed in SDS buffer, and
analyzed
by autoradiography after SDS-polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis.
A strong shutoff of protein synthesis was observed
starting from
48 h p.i. in monolayer cultures infected with
BVA179L, BVA179L-AS,
or a baculovirus expressing

-galactosidase
(data not shown).
At 96 h p.i. no newly synthesized cellular or
viral-induced proteins
were detected in any infected
culture.
Functionality of the A179L gene in insect cells.
To determine the possible role of the A179L gene in
prevention of baculovirus-induced apoptosis, viability of cell cultures infected at MOI of 2, 10 and 100 was determined at various times postinfection by trypan blue exclusion by counting 1 × 103 to 1.4 × 103 cells in five
independent fields each (Fig. 2). High
MOI were used to assure a synchronized infection with 99% infected
cells. Viral infections on monolayer cell cultures were carried out in multiwell plastic dishes (Nunc). For the infection of suspension cultures, 250-ml flasks in a rotary shaker, with constant stirring at
80 rpm, were used. Both monolayer and suspension cultures were maintained in Grace's insect medium (Gibco-BRL) supplemented with 10%
fetal bovine serum. Cells were inoculated with extracellular, budded
virus, and viral titers were determined by plaque assay on
106 cells seeded onto 35-mm dishes and overlaid with a
mixture of 0.7% agarose (Sigma) in 10% fetal bovine serum-Grace's
medium. Infections with a control baculovirus expressing the reporter gene
-galactosidase at a MOI of 10 or higher yielded more than 95%
cells expressing the reporter gene in both monolayer and suspension (data not shown). With all recombinants, all cells showed a clear cytopathic effect characteristic of baculovirus productive infection.

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FIG. 2.
Effect of A179L gene expression on the
survival of baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells. Viability of insect cells
grown in monolayers (A) or in suspension (B) and infected with
BVA179L-AS (squares) or BVA179L (circles) at a MOI of 100 was
determined by trypan blue exclusion at different times postinfection.
Means and standard errors were calculated from three independent
experiments. (C) A representative field of trypan blue-stained
monolayer cultures of BVA179L- or BVA179L-AS-infected Sf9 cells at
144 h p.i. Original magnification, ×200.
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The viability levels of baculovirus-infected cells correlated with the
postinfection time. Differences in cell viability were
consistently
found after 48 h p.i., when viral yields reached
a maximum and
protein shutoff was more evident. In monolayer cultures
(Fig.
2A),
fewer than 20% of the BVA179L-AS-infected cells survived
to infection
at 144 h p.i. (Fig.
2A). In contrast, cells infected
with the
baculovirus expressing the
A179L gene presented only
a
slight decrease in viability at this time point (Fig.
2A). A
representative field of cells infected with recombinant baculoviruses
stained with trypan blue at 144 h p.i. is shown in Fig.
2C. Thus,
the expression of p21 at late times postinfection increased the
survival of baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells cultured in
monolayer.
However, in suspension, viability experiments carried out with cells
infected with either BVA179L or BVA179L-AS did not result
in
demonstrable differences in survival rates (Fig.
2B). High
proportions
of dead cells (about 50%) were found at 48 h p.i.
in spite of p21
expression. These discrepancies found between
monolayer and suspension
cultures suggested that the effect of
p21 expression on Sf9 viability
could be related to the lack of
cell attachment to a substrate in
suspended
cultures.
We then investigated whether the increased viability found in
BVA179L-infected cells in monolayer cultures was due to apoptosis
inhibition. Since both viruses expressed identical levels of
baculovirus
p35 at early times (
11), infection-induced
apoptosis should
be similar in both cases, thus minimizing the
differences in survival
rates before 48 h p.i. Beyond this time
point, when p35 is no
longer functional (
8,
11), differences
between BVA179L and
BVA179L-AS, not expressing p21, might become
evident. As programmed
cell death is relatively highly conserved during
evolution and
inhibitors of apoptosis are functionally interchangeable
among
distant species, it might be reasonable to suggest a function
for
A179L in insect cells similar to that displayed in mammalian
cells. However, the
bcl-2 homolog gene function in insect
cells
still remains controversial. Alnemri et al. (
3) found
that
overexpression of human
bcl-2 increased survival of
baculovirus-infected
Sf9 cells by prevention of apoptosis. Since the
gene encoding
p21 is a
bcl-2 homolog (
1,
5,
37),
it seems likely that
both genes act in similar apoptosis pathways.
Nevertheless, it
was reported that expression of
bcl-2 or
the adenovirus gene
E1B-19K
did not rescue the wild-type
phenotypes of baculoviruses lacking
the p35 gene (
8,
11), so
it was postulated that early apoptosis
induction prevented by p35
expression could be mediated by
bcl-2-independent
mechanisms
in Sf9 cells. Baculovirus infection could then trigger
two different
apoptosis mechanisms, an early apoptosis blocked
by p35 but not by
bcl-2 or its homologs, such as p21, and a late
apoptosis
induction in which p21/
bcl-2 might be
functional.
The chromatin fragmentation of baculovirus-infected cells by different
methods was then analyzed (Fig.
3A to C).
First we
carried out a comparative Hoechst 33258 staining of infected
cells
in monolayer at different hours postinfection with BVA179L or
BVA179L-AS viruses (Fig.
3A). Cells were methanol fixed for 10
min
before incubation with 10 µg of Hoechst dye per ml in
phosphate-buffered
saline for 30 min at room temperature.
BVA179L-AS-virus-infected
cells exhibited a chromatin fragmentation
pattern characteristic
of apoptosis (Fig.
3A, right) which increased in
a time-dependent
fashion (data not shown). In contrast, at 144 h
p.i. Sf9 cells
infected with the BVA179L virus presented very few
figures of
apoptosis (Fig.
3A, left). This result indicated a
correlation
between cell viability and occurrence of chromatin
fragmentation,
which was confirmed by DNA laddering analysis (Fig.
3C)
in 1.6%
agarose gels (
5). These experiments confirmed the
lack of apoptosis
prevention by p21 under nonadherent cell culture
growth conditions
(Fig.
3C, right).

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FIG. 3.
DNA fragmentation in infected Sf9 cells (MOI of 10). (A)
Hoechst 33258 staining of BVA179L- or BVA179L-AS-infected Sf9 cells
grown in plates at 144 h p.i. Original magnification, ×400. (B)
ELISA quantitation of the DNA linked to histone proteins in the
cytoplasmic fraction of apoptotic Sf9 cells infected in monolayer at
different time points. Squares: BVA179L-AS-infected cells; circles,
BVA179L-infected cells; triangles, mock-infected cells. Means and
standard errors were calculated from three independent experiments. (C)
Agarose gel electrophoresis of the internucleosomal DNA laddering
detected in infected or mock-infected Sf9 cells in monolayer cultures
at 96 and 144 h p.i. (left) or in suspension cultures at 96 h
p.i. (right). M, molecular size markers.
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Quantitation of histone-associated DNA fragments released to the
cytoplasm was carried out by a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay (ELISA) (Boehringer Mannheim) (
5). The results
obtained
after this analysis clearly indicated that expression of the
ASFV
gene
A179L prevented the onset of apoptosis induced by
baculovirus
infection of cells cultured in monolayer (Fig.
3B). In
contrast,
at 144 h p.i. BVA179L-AS-virus-infected cells (Fig.
3B)
yielded
higher apoptosis rates than cells expressing
p21.
The above results strongly suggest that the antiapoptotic function of
p21 is dependent on cell attachment, because in suspended
cells,
A179L expression was unable to prevent baculovirus-induced
apoptosis. Cell attachment is important for many cell functions.
In
fact, most types of normal cells require extracellular matrix
attachment to respond to growth factor stimulation and other signals
controlling cell proliferation or survival. When detached from
their
matrix, some cells undergo apoptosis (
7,
15,
19,
26).
Effect of cell attachment on p21 function.
In an attempt to
confirm if the activity of p21 was dependent on cell attachment, we
performed experiments by infecting Sf9 cells with recombinant
baculoviruses under conditions that improved cell adhesion to the
culture surface (Fig. 4A). Sf9 cells were cultured on extracellular matrix components, such as rat collagen type I and human fibronectin, or on poly-D-lysine-coated
glass plates (Falcon). Then, cells were infected with BVA179L or
BVA179L-AS viruses at a MOI of 10. Figure 4A shows the apoptosis
indices (AIs) of those cultures measured by anti-histone quantitative ELISA (inverse correlation). In BVA179L-infected cultures, apoptosis rate reduction was detected with all substrates that facilitated cell
attachment by any pathway. Either extracellular matrix components (collagen type I and fibronectin) that support integrin-mediated cell
adhesion or a substrate that mediates adhesion by nonspecific interactions (poly-D-lysine) enhanced apoptosis protection
with respect to apoptosis of cells grown on uncoated nonadherent glass surfaces (AI of
1). Interestingly, infections performed on cells on a
collagen type I matrix yielded more differences in apoptosis inhibition
by p21 (AI of
0.5) with respect to apoptosis of cells on untreated
surfaces (Fig. 4A). This could be related to the fact that Sf9 cells
grown on this type of surface also had increased cell-to-cell
interactions (not shown).

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FIG. 4.
(A) Apoptosis induction of Sf9 cells (expressing p21)
expressed as the ratio to that in BVA179L-AS-infected cells grown on
different substrates to improve adhesiveness, measured by ELISA. The AI
is given by the quotient (BVA179L-infected cells/BVA179L-AS-infected
cells) of mean absorbance values at 405 nm from two replicate
experiments at 96 h p.i. FN, human fibronectin; PDL,
poly-D-lysine; COLI, rat tail collagen type I; UNTREATED,
BVA179L-infected cells. (B) Actin cytoskeleton organization in adherent
insect cells (left). Cells cultured in suspended growth conditions
presented actin focalization (right). Cellular F-actin was stained with
phalloidin-tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate. (C) Characteristic
individual infected Sf9 cells cultured in monolayer (upper) or in
suspension (lower). Actin clumped in coarse fragments showed intense
red staining. Original magnification, ×600 (panels B and C).
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Cell attachment to underlying extracellular matrix is mediated by
specialized membrane proteins called integrins, which interact
with
determined extracellular matrix components (
6,
22).
Integrin-mediated cell adhesion initiates a cascade of events
that
allow the transduction of survival signals that can block
programmed
cell death (
13,
25). Induction of this survival
pathway
includes the upregulation of antiapoptotic proteins such
as
bcl-2 family members (
16,
27,
42,
43). Also,
cell-to-cell
interaction inversely correlates with apoptosis associated
with
bcl-2 protein expression (
4); in our
results, aggregation of
Sf9 cells plated on collagen I matrix resulted
in enhanced survival.
Apoptosis inhibition by p21 was also obtained
with a nonspecific
adhesive, such as poly-
D-lysine, a
synthetic compound altering
surface charge, that increases cell
adhesion not mediated by integrins.
Our results indicate that cell
attachment alone is sufficient
to allow for the antiapoptotic activity
of p21 in Sf9 cells infected
by baculovirus. In fact, recent findings
focus on cell shape changes
and cytoskeleton integrity as supportive of
rescue from apoptosis
(
10,
38).
Cytoskeleton organization in insect cells during infection with
baculovirus in presence of p21.
Since conditions of cell anchorage
may modify cytoskeleton organization, we analyzed the actin
cytoskeleton of insect cells cultured under adherent and suspended
growth conditions (Fig. 4). Sf9 cells were grown either directly on
96-well multiwell plates or in spinner flasks. Cells from suspension
cultures were removed and allowed to sediment on glass slides. In both
cases, cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, permeabilized in
0.1% Triton X-100 in phosphate-buffered saline, and stained for 30 min
with 1:300 phalloidin-tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate (Sigma), a
marker for F-actin. Uninfected Sf9 cells attached to a surface
displayed morphology different from that of cells that were grown in
suspension. A profuse and fine surface microvillar network present in
attached cells (Fig. 4B, left) was lacking in suspension. In contrast,
suspended cells showed marked focalization of actin staining,
indicating the occurrence of cytoskeleton reorganization (Fig. 4B,
right). Cells in suspension infected with either BVA179L or BVA179L-AS
baculoviruses showed irregular clumping of actin (Fig. 4C, lower).
Dense actin staining was found concentrated in coarse fragments, and
such elements were found in the cultures in proportions similar to that
in the nonviable cell fraction (Fig. 2A and B). However, this pattern
of actin clumping was not found in attached cells infected with BVA179L
(Fig. 4C, upper left). Moreover, in monolayer, the overall intensity of
actin staining decreased in a time-dependent manner in cells infected with BVA179L-AS, but it was maintained longer in infected cells expressing p21 (not shown). This result suggests that the expression of
p21 in BVA179L-infected cells could contribute to the preservation of
the cellular actin cytoskeleton at late postinfection times.
Cell adhesion to underlying extracellular matrix is mediated by sites
of tight adhesion, called focal adhesions, that develop
in cells in
culture (
12). Focal adhesions provide a structural
link
between the actin cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix
and are
regions of signal transduction related to gene expression,
growth
control, and cell survival. It was recently suggested that
cell
attachment to matrix or integrin binding per se is not sufficient
for
maintaining cell viability and that cells need to undergo
some minimal
degree of shape changes to survive (
10,
36,
38).
It was
recently reported that suspended endothelial cells acquired
rounded
shape, presented cytoskeleton disorganization, and underwent
apoptosis
(
36). In contrast, when cells were grown on fibronectin
or
vitronectin, they became flattened, showed actin microfilament
organization, and retained viability (
36). Interleukin
4, which
is able to activate neutrophil cytoskeletal
rearrangements, produces
a delay of apoptosis (
20). Also,
epithelial cells cultured on
extracellular matrix components or laminin
had a more well-developed
actin cytoskeleton than cells cultured on
noncoated dishes, which
underwent apoptosis (
2). The
organization of the actin cytoskeleton
in Sf9 cells grown attached to a
surface was quite different from
that displayed by cells grown in
suspension. Consequently, actin
organization and cell shape changes
might provide the conditions
for p21 protective
function.
The in vivo relevance of changes in cell anchorage has been mainly
focused on to date, either in the leukocyte movement out
of vessels
along endothelial cells in inflammation (
23,
39)
or in the
loss of adherence of transformed cells in metastasis
production
(
17,
18). Our findings suggest a role for cell
shape and
cytoskeleton status in viral diseases as well. Variations
in those
conditions in determined tissues or cell types in viral
infections
might explain differences in intracellular transduction
of signals
related to cell growth and survival. The cell anchorage
dependence
demonstrated by the ASFV
bcl-2 homolog could have important
consequences in the infection among the different cell compartments
in
vivo. Nevertheless, the physiological relevance of the biological
effects of a protein overexpressed to the levels reported here
should
be an object of future studies. Based on these findings,
it should be
further analyzed if the absence of function of
A179L apoptosis inhibitor in nonattached infected cells, such as circulating
cells, might favor an early apoptosis induction and death of those
cells. In fact, during in vivo infection with ASFV, only small
percentages of infected monocytes are detected in peripheral blood
(
33). In contrast, tissue-fixed macrophages attached to
extracellular
matrix could be more prone to support the function of the
bcl-2 viral homolog in vivo, leading to apoptosis inhibition
in these
cells, and could constitute a viral reservoir during
persistent
infection.
In conclusion, the above-presented data demonstrate that the product of
the ASFV
A179L gene, p21, is functional in insect
cells and
prevents late apoptosis after baculovirus infection.
p21 increases the
viability of infected cells in the context of
a strong shutoff of
protein synthesis and without modifying the
baculovirus infection
cycle. This suggests that p21 probably inhibits,
in a way similar to
human
bcl-2, a highly conserved component
of the apoptosis
execution
program.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
This work was supported by Instituto Nacional de
Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
grant SC97-066 and Programa Sectorial de Promoción General del
Conocimiento PB96-0105.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centro de
Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain. Phone: 34-91-6202300. Fax: 34-91-6202247. E-mail:
calonso{at}inia.es.
Present address: Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps
Research Institute, La Jolla, California.
 |
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Journal of Virology, December 1998, p. 10227-10233, Vol. 72, No. 12
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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