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Journal of Virology, August 2001, p. 7078-7085, Vol. 75, No. 15
Department of Neuropharmacology, Division of
Virology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California
92037,1 and Department of Molecular
Sciences, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis,
Tennessee 381632
Received 22 January 2001/Accepted 30 April 2001
Borna disease virus (BDV) surface glycoprotein (GP) (p56) has a
predicted molecular mass of 56 kDa. Due to extensive posttranslational glycosylation the protein migrates as a polypeptide of 84 kDa (gp84).
The processing of gp84 by the cellular protease furin generates gp43,
which corresponds to the C-terminal part of gp84. Both gp84 and gp43
have been implicated in viral entry involving receptor-mediated
endocytosis and pH-dependent fusion. We have investigated the domains
of BDV p56 involved in virus entry. For this, we used a pseudotype
approach based on a recently developed recombinant vesicular stomatitis
virus (VSV) in which the gene for green fluorescent protein was
substituted for the VSV G protein gene (VSV Borna disease virus (BDV) is the
causal agent of Borna disease, a frequently fatal meningoencephalitis
affecting mainly horses and sheep in certain regions of central Europe.
Experimentally, BDV can infect a remarkably large number of vertebrate
species. The infection is characterized by a variable period of
incubation with diverse clinical and pathological manifestations
(15, 25, 37), and behavioral disturbances are a hallmark
of BDV infection. Serological and molecular-epidemiology data indicate
that the host range, geographic distribution, and prevalence of BDV may be much broader than previously thought. There is also evidence that
BDV can infect humans and might be associated with some
neuropsychiatric disorders (1, 2, 9, 10, 18, 24, 28, 30, 38, 41). However, the prevalence and possible clinical significance of BDV in humans remain controversial (46).
BDV is an enveloped, nonsegmented, negative-strand (NNS) RNA virus
(8, 43). BDV has the smallest genome size, 8.9 kb, among
known mononegaviruses. Unlike what is found for all other NNS RNA
animal viruses, transcription and replication of the BDV genome take
place in the nucleus (3-5). BDV uses RNA splicing for the
regulation of its genome expression, which is also unique among known
mononegaviruses. Based on its unique biological and molecular-genetics
features, BDV is now considered to be the prototypic member of a new
family, Bornaviridae, within the order Mononegavirales.
The BDV genome contains six major open reading frames (ORFs). The
product of BDV ORF IV is the counterpart of the type I surface glycoproteins (GPs) found in other members of the Mononegavirales. BDV
GP (p56) has a predicted molecular mass of 56 kDa, but due to extensive
N glycosylation the protein migrates with an apparent molecular mass of
84 kDa (gp84). BDV GP is processed posttranslationally by the
subtilisin-like protease furin, resulting in two products (13,
31). The C-terminal portion has an apparent molecular mass of 43 kDa (gp43), whereas the N-terminal fragment (gp41) has not been
detected yet in BDV-infected cells. gp84 accumulates in the endoplasmic
reticulum and perinuclear region, but it is typically not detected on
the plasma membrane. In contrast, gp43 accumulates at the cell surface
(14).
Both gp84 and gp43 are associated with infectious BDV particles.
Moreover, antibodies to BDV p56 exhibit neutralizing activity, suggesting that gp84 or gp43 or both participate in viral entry. BDV
entry is via receptor-mediated endocytosis, and the fusion between
viral and cellular membranes occurs in the acidic environment of the
late endosome (13). Consistent with this, BDV-infected cells exhibit massive syncytium formation upon exposure to low-pH medium (13). This pH-dependent cell fusion event is likely
mediated by gp43 since it is the only membrane-anchored GP species
found on the plasma membrane. In addition, gp43 contains a hydrophobic sequence near its N terminus that has features similar to those of the
fusogenic peptide sequences described for paramyxoviruses and influenza
virus (42). However, the domains of BDV GP involved in
receptor recognition and cell entry have not been defined. Studies to
identify functional domains of BDV GP have been impaired by the
inability to grow cell-free infectious BDV to high titers (6,
7). To overcome this problem, we took advantage of the potential
that enveloped viruses have of incorporating heterologous surface GPs
into their lipidic envelopes. This process, known as pseudotyping,
allows a rapid analysis of the GP of interest.
Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), the prototype rhabdovirus, has been
widely used as a model system to study replication and assembly of
enveloped RNA virus due to its ability to grow to high titers in many
different cell lines. Furthermore, the availability of a reverse
genetic system for VSV (22, 51) has allowed the generation
of recombinant viruses that express foreign proteins, and several
heterologous GPs have been successfully incorporated into VSV particles
(17, 20, 32, 33, 48, 53). In this report we have used
recombinant VSV Cells and viruses.
Baby hamster kidney BHK-21 cells (ATCC
CCL 10) were maintained in high-glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle
medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum
(FCS; Life Technologies, Grand Island, N.Y.), 2 mM glutamine, 1×
tryptose phosphate broth (Life Technologies), 1 mM sodium pyruvate
(Life Technologies), and 0.5% glucose. Human embryonic kidney 293T
cells were maintained in DMEM supplemented with 2 mM glutamine and 10%
heat-inactivated FCS. Uninfected Vero cells and Vero cells persistently
infected with BDV strain He80 (44), designated VeroNKBV,
were maintained in 199 medium (Life Technologies) supplemented with 2 mM glutamine, 0.6% sodium bicarbonate, and 10% heat-inactivated FCS.
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.15.7078-7085.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
N-Terminal Domain of Borna Disease Virus G (p56)
Protein Is Sufficient for Virus Receptor Recognition and Cell
Entry


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ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
G*). Complementation of
VSV
G* with BDV p56 resulted in infectious VSV
G* pseudotypes that
contained both BDV gp84 and gp43. BDV-VSV chimeric GPs that
contained the N-terminal 244 amino acids of BDV p56 and amino acids 421 to 511 of VSV G protein were efficiently incorporated into VSV
G*
particles, and the resulting pseudotype virions were neutralized by
BDV-specific antiserum. These findings indicate that the N-terminal
part of BDV p56 is sufficient for receptor recognition and virus entry.
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
G* (47), in which the VSV G gene has
been replaced by the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, to
investigate the role of BDV p56 polypeptides in viral entry. Particles
released from VSV
G*-infected cells are not infectious unless an
envelope protein responsible for receptor binding and fusion is
provided in trans. We show here that both gp84 and gp43 can
be incorporated into VSV virions. Furthermore, using BDV-VSV chimeric
glycoproteins, we provide evidence that the amino-terminal region
(amino acids 1 to 244) of the BDV p56 glycoprotein is sufficient for
receptor recognition and for the promotion of entry of BDV into cells.
![]()
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
G* (47) were grown in BHK-21 cells
transfected with pCAGGS (29) expressing VSV G. Thirty-two
hours after transfection cells were infected with VSV
G* at a
multiplicity of infection of 3 PFU/cell for 1 h at 37°C.
Virus-containing culture supernatant was harvested after 20 h.
Antibodies. Anti-VSV antibodies used included murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against VSV nucleocapsid protein (10G4; anti-VSV N) and GP (I1; anti-VSV G) (23) and a hyperimmune rabbit serum against the carboxyl terminus of the VSV GP (anti-C tail [anti-CT]). The rabbit polyclonal antibody against VSV P was kindly provided by Jacques Perrault (San Diego State University, San Diego, Calif.). The anti-p56 rabbit serum was raised against a bacterially expressed truncated form of the BDV p56 glycoprotein (14).
For the preparation of pooled rat sera used in the neutralization assays, 5-week-old Lewis rats were inoculated intracerebrally with BDV He80 (1,000 focus-forming units [FFU]), and 30 days later blood samples were collected for serum preparation.Construction of expression vectors. All vectors for the expression of BDV p56 chimeras were derived from parental plasmid pCRIIp56 (14). Plasmid pCRIIp56 was obtained by cloning full-length ORF IV (BDV p56) into the pCRII vector (Invitrogen, La Jolla, Calif.). This plasmid was digested with EcoRI, and the resulting fragment containing the BDV p56 ORF was cloned into pCAGGS (29) to generate plasmid pCp56. Plasmid pCVSVG is the pCAGGS plasmid containing the full-length cDNA of the VSV G protein (Indiana serotype, San Juan strain) (36). Plasmid pCRIIp56N was obtained by cloning a DNA fragment corresponding to the first 244 amino acids of BDV p56 (p56N) into pCRII. This DNA fragment was produced by PCR using primers P56RIF (5'-GGAATTCCGCCATGGAGCTTTC-3') and P56BstBIR (5'-GTTCGAACAACTTGGACCGGCAGG-3'). The underlined ATG sequence in primer P56RIF corresponds to the AUG of the BDV p56 ORF. To generate construct pCp56/GS, p56N was excised from pCRIIp56N by digestion with EcoRI and BstBI and cloned into pCVSVG digested with the same two enzymes. A similar strategy was used in the construction of pCp56/GlyGS, with the only difference that primer P56GlyR (5'-GTTCGAATCCTCCTCCCAACTTGGACCGGCAG-3') was used instead of primer P56BstBIR. To generate plasmid p56N/G, a PCR fragment was made with primers P56RIF and P56RAvaII (5'-CAACTTGGACCGGCAGGACGAC-3') using p56N/GS as a template. The amplified fragment (710 bp) was digested with NcoI and AvaII. A second PCR product (230 bp) corresponding to the transmembrane (TM) and CT domain sequences of VSV G was generated using the pair of primers VSVFAvaII (5'-GGGCGGTCCAAGTTGAGTAGTTGGAAAAGC-3') and VSVRIR (5'-GGAATTCCCTCTTTGAGCATGGTATCAC-3') and digested with AvaII and EcoRI. Plasmid pTM1 (27) was digested with NcoI and EcoRI, treated with alkaline phosphatase, and ligated to the 710- and 230-bp PCR products in a three-way ligation to generate plasmid pTMp56N/G. A PCR was carried over pTMp56N/G using primers P56RIF and VSVRIR to amplify gene p56N/G. The resulting product was digested with EcoRI and cloned into pCAGGS linearized with EcoRI. This plasmid was denominated pCp56N/G. Correct orientation of the inserts was determined by restriction analysis and sequencing through the junction sites. Plasmid DNAs were prepared using Qiagen technology.
Expression of wild-type and chimeric GPs. The expression of the GPs was analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence and Western blotting. BHK-21 cells (105) were transfected with 0.4 µg of plasmid DNA and 1.2 µg of Lipofectamine (Life Technologies). After 48 h, cells were examined for protein expression. For immunofluorescence, transfected cells grown on coverslips were washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and fixed either with methanol-acetone (1:1) for 5 min for intracellular staining or with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 20 min at room temperature for surface antigen staining and processed for immunofluorescence as described previously (5). Briefly, after being blocked with 10% normal goat serum for 45 min at room temperature, cells were stained with primary antibodies for 1 h. Secondary fluorescent antibodies used were Texas red-labeled anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG) or anti-rabbit IgG (Cappel, West Chester, Pa.). The coverslips were mounted on microscope slides with Mowiol (Calbiochem, San Diego, Calif.) and viewed with a fluorescence microscope. For Western blot analysis, cells were harvested in sample buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8], 62.5 mM EDTA, 1% NP-40, 0.4% deoxycholate). Cell lysates were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-8 to 16% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-8 to 16% PAGE) by using the buffer system of Laemmli, and the proteins were transferred onto Immobilon-P membranes (Millipore, Bedford, Mass.) as described previously (39). Immunodetection of the proteins was done by using the BM chemiluminescence kit (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, Ind.).
Production of VSV pseudotypes.
293T cell monolayers in
six-well plates (80% confluent) were transfected with 2 µg of
plasmid DNA by using Lipofectamine as recommended by the manufacturer.
Thirty-two hours after transfection, cells were infected with VSV
G*
(47) at a multiplicity of infection of 3 PFU/cell for
1 h at 37°C. After a 1-h adsorption period, the inoculum was
removed, cells were extensively washed with DMEM, and fresh culture
medium was added. After 20 h of incubation at 37°C in a
CO2 incubator, culture supernatant was collected,
clarified by low-speed centrifugation, and stored at
70°C. Based on
the GP provided in trans by transfection, pseudotyped
viruses were designated VSV
G*-G, VSV
G*-p56, VSV
G*-p56/GS,
VSV
G*-p56/GlyGS, VSV
G*-p56/G, and VSV
G*.
Titration of pseudotyped virus. BHK-21 cells grown on 96-well plates were infected with 50 µl of serially diluted virus stock. After a 1-h adsorption period, the inoculum was removed and, after two washes, fresh culture medium was added and cells were incubated at 37°C in a CO2 incubator. At 20 h postinfection (p.i.), GFP-expressing cells were counted under an inverted fluorescence microscope. Doublets of GFP-expressing cells were counted as one infectious unit.
Neutralization of VSV pseudotypes. VSV pseudotypes (500 PFU) and BDV He80 (100 FFU) were incubated (60 min at 37°C) with serial dilutions of pooled sera from BDV-infected rats. Samples were then diluted to a final volume of 300 µl in DMEM and used to infect BHK-21 cells (105) grown in M24 wells (2 cm2). Cells infected with VSV pseudotypes were examined at 24 h p.i. based on GFP expression, whereas BDV-infected cells were examined at 72 h p.i. by using an immunofocus assay (14).
Treatment with NH4Cl. BHK-21 cells (105) in M24 wells (2 cm2) were treated for 2 h with NH4Cl at various concentrations (0 to 20 mM; in DMEM at 37°C in a CO2 incubator) and then infected with the VSV pseudotypes or with BDV He80. Infections were done in the presence of NH4Cl at various concentrations. After 24 h, infected cells were determined based on GFP expression for the VSV pseudotypes or by using an immunofocus assay for BDV He80 (14).
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RESULTS |
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Plasmid-mediated expression of wild-type and chimeric BDV GPs.
To analyze the role of BDV p56 in viral entry, we generated a series of
constructs that included both wild-type BDV p56 and a number of
chimeric GPs (Fig. 1). All the chimeric
GPs contained the 20-amino-acid TM domain and the 29-amino-acid CT of
VSV G. The TM domain and CT of VSV G protein were used to facilitate the expression of the chimeric GPs at the cell surface, which is
essential for incorporation of GPs into VSV particles. Initially we
cloned the full-length GP of BDV strain He80 into mammalian expression
vector pCAGGS (29). As already mentioned, BDV GP (p56) is
a type I integral membrane protein that is posttranslationally processed via cleavage at position 249 by the subtilisin-like protease
furin. The fragment of BDV p56 chosen to generate the chimeric GPs
comprised amino acids 1 to 244 of BDV p56. This fragment of BDV p56
contains the predicted signal peptide followed by the N-terminal part
of the p56 ectodomain up to the start of the furin recognition signal.
In construct p56/G, the N-terminal region of p56 was directly fused to
the TM domain and CT of VSV G. Recently, the extracellular
membrane-proximal stem region (GS) of VSV G has been reported to be
required for efficient VSV budding (34). Hence, we decided
to generate construct p56/GS, in which amino acids 1 to 244 were fused
to amino acid F421 of GS. Plasmids p56/GS and p56/GlyGS differ only in
the presence of a three-glycine hinge between the BDV p56 ectodomain
and the GS of VSV G. All the constructs were characterized by
restriction enzyme digestion and by nucleotide sequence analysis of the
junction region for the chimeric genes and of the furin site for the
wild-type gene.
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Production of VSV pseudotypes.
To determine if BDV p56 and the
chimeric proteins were able to rescue the infectivity of the VSV
G*
virus, we first analyzed the efficiency of incorporation of these
heterologous GPs into VSV particles. For this, we harvested culture
medium supernatant from 293T cells transfected with the different
plasmid-encoded chimeric GPs and subsequently infected with
VSV
G*. These supernatants were first clarified by centrifugation at
low speed, and the viral particles were then pelleted by
ultracentrifugation through a sucrose cushion. Viral particles in the
pellet produced by high-speed centrifugation were analyzed by
Western blotting using a polyclonal antibody specific for p56 (Fig.
3, top). All three chimeric GPs (Fig. 3,
lanes 3 to 5) were incorporated with higher efficiency than p56 (Fig.
3, lane 6). VSV pseudotype particles rescued from cells transfected
with p56 contained the BDV gp84 and gp43 polypeptides detected in cells
persistently infected with BDV (Fig. 3, lane 8). The total amount of
VSV particles produced did not appear to be affected by the
incorporation of the heterologous GPs, as suggested by the Western
blotting results with an antibody to VSV P (Fig. 3, bottom).
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G* particles
pseudotyped with the homologous VSV G had titers in the range of
107 to 108 IU/ml. VSV
G*
particles pseudotyped with BDV p56 or the chimeric GPs were also
infectious and exhibited titers above 105 IU/ml
(Fig. 4B). In contrast, VSV
G* particles in the supernatant of
cells transfected with the pCAGGS control plasmid had titers of
approximately 103 IU/ml, which represents the
residual inoculum remaining in the culture supernatant. Heat-treated
pooled sera from BDV-infected rats neutralized the infectivity of
VSV
G* particles pseudotyped with BDV p56 or p56/GS but not those
pseudotyped with VSV G (Fig. 5A). To
assess whether the chimeric GP-pseudotyped viruses entered the cell by
following the endocytic pathway described for BDV (13), we
treated the cells with well-characterized lysosomotropic agent
NH4Cl. Exposure of cells to
NH4Cl prevents endosomal acidification, thus
blocking the pH-dependant fusion between the virus envelope and the
intracellular endosomal membranes (35). Treatment with 20 mM NH4Cl caused complete inhibition of infection
by VSV
G* pseudotypes complemented with either VSV G or BDV p56 or
p56/GS (Fig. 5B).
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Cell surface expression of the BDV-VSV chimeric GPs.
To
investigate the reasons why the VSV
G* particles seemed to
incorporate significantly larger amounts of the chimeric GPs than of
BDV p56, we used indirect immunofluorescence (IF) procedures to
analyze the cell surface and intracellular expression of these GPs in
transfected BHK-21 cells (Fig. 6).
Transfected cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde (surface
staining; Fig. 6d to f, i, and j) or with methanol-acetone
(intracellular staining; Fig. 6a to c, g, and h) and then stained with
an anti-p56 rabbit serum (Fig. 6a to f) or a MAb to VSV G (Fig. 6g to
j), followed by a Texas red-conjugated second antibody.
Mock-transfected cells did not show any reactivity with the antibodies
used (Fig. 6a, d, g, and i). The chimeric proteins were efficiently
transported to the cell surface, as indicated by the staining of cells
that were fixed with paraformaldehyde and not permeabilized (Fig. 6e). In contrast, wild-type BDV p56 remained mainly intracellular and was
detected only in cells permeabilized with methanol (Fig. 6; compare
panels c and f). This finding indicates that the presence of the TM
domain and CT of VSV G enhanced the transport of the chimeric GPs to
the plasma membrane. Therefore, the lack of detectable cell surface
expression of BDV gp84 and gp43 in cells transfected with wt BDVp56 may
account for the poor incorporation of BDV p56 polypeptides into
VSV
G* particles. Results obtained by IF were confirmed by flow
cytometry analysis (data not shown).
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DISCUSSION |
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BDV has a single surface GP (gp84), which is processed via cleavage by the cellular protease furin (13, 31). Among the known mononegaviruses, only the filoviruses have a similar situation in which a single envelope GP that is responsible for both binding and membrane fusion becomes cleaved by cellular proteases (40, 49, 50). However, for BDV the predicted N-terminal part of p56 (gp41), which is generated upon cleavage by furin, has not been detected yet in BDV-infected cells. Both gp84 and gp43 are associated with cell-free infectious BDV particles and appear to participate in virus entry. A plausible model for BDV cell entry is that the N-terminal part of the virion-associated gp84 is involved in BDV receptor binding and endocytosis, whereas gp43 would mediate the pH-dependent fusion event required for BDV infection. The role of gp43 in membrane fusion is supported by the observations that it is the only known BDV polypeptide present at the cell surface and that fusion of BDV-infected cells occurs upon exposure to low pH (13). Interestingly, near the N terminus of gp43 there is a highly hydrophobic sequence that is reminiscent of the fusogenic domain described for the surface GPs of other enveloped viruses. Nonetheless, we cannot rule out the possibility that other viral proteins not expressed at the cell surface could influence fusion, as has been described for the herpes simplex virus gK (16). Intriguingly, the BDV matrix protein has also been implicated in virus entry, which represents a unique case among known mononegaviruses (19).
BDV entry might occur through a hetero-oligomeric complex of gp84 and
gp43, although the question as to the specific contribution of each GP
to entry remains. To investigate the role of the N-terminal part of
gp84 in virus entry, we used a pseudotype approach. We employed a
recombinant VSV (VSV
G*) lacking the G protein gene. Thus, the
pseudotype viruses are expected to enter cells using the G protein
provided in trans, with the subsequent intracellular steps
being those characteristic of the VSV replication cycle. Therefore, the
infectivity of these pseudotype viruses reflects the ability of
trans-complementing G proteins to mediate entry. To
facilitate expression of the BDV gp84 N-terminal part at the cell
surface and hence its incorporation into VSV particles, we generated a
BDV chimeric G comprising the N terminus of BDVgp84 and the TM domain
and CT of VSV. Some of the chimeric GPs also contained 42 amino acids
of GS of VSV G, which is a region that has been recently implicated in
high-efficiency viral budding (34). However, we observed
only a slight increase in the infectivity of the pseudotypes containing
chimeric p56/GS molecules compared to that of a chimera containing just
the VSV G TM domain and CT. Therefore, our results indicate that amino
acids 1 to 244 of BDV p56 contain a domain that is sufficient, in the
absence of gp43, for receptor recognition and cell entry.
In our experiments we observed a relatively large, yet consistent,
amount of "background" infectivity in the supernatants of
cells that were transfected with the empty pCAGGS plasmid and infected
with VSV G-complemented VSV
G* (VSV
G*-G) particles. In the
absence of a complementing GP, the supernatant of VSV
G*-G-infected cells contains primarily noncomplemented (bald) VSV
G*
particles but it can also contain some amount of residual input
VSV
G*-G virus that was not removed by washing. VSV G-mediated
infectivity contributed by the residual input VSV
G*-G virus,
together with some possible level of G-independent virus entry, likely
explains the infectivity associated with the negative-control
supernatants. This infectivity was considered the background level and
is unrelated to the properties of the complementing GP provided by transfection.
Two lines of evidence support our conclusion that the N-terminal part
of gp84 (amino acids 1 to 244 of BDV p56) is capable of mediating virus
entry. First, the infectivity of pseudotypes complemented with either
BDV p56 or any of the chimeric BDV-VSV GPs was 2 to 3 log units higher
than that of mock-complemented VSV
G* particles. Therefore, the
background infectivity represents only 1% of the infectivity present
in the supernatant of cells transfected with any of the BDV GP
constructs. Second, the infectivity of VSV
G* pseudotypes containing
either BDV p56 or any of the BDV-VSV chimeric GPs was neutralized with
a pooled sera from BDV-infected rats. Therefore, the infectivity
associated with pseudotyped particles was BDV specific. In addition,
the infectivity of pseudotype viruses complemented with any of the
BDV-VSV chimeric GPs exhibited a pattern of sensitivity to
NH4Cl similar to that seen with BDV He80
(13).
Both VSV G and the chimeric BDV-VSV GPs were expressed to similar levels in cell extracts from transfected cells, but supernatants containing pseudotypes complemented with the homologous VSV G protein had significantly higher titers than those found in the BDV-VSV pseudotype supernatants. This difference in titer is likely due to better incorporation of the homologous G protein into the VSV particles (data not shown). Another contributing factor could be that the VSV G protein may have a fusogenic activity stronger than that associated with the chimeric GPs.
One unexpected result obtained from our studies was that we detected gp84, but not gp43, in lysates from p56-transfected cells (Fig. 2A). However, both gp84 and gp43 were readily detected at similar levels on concentrated pseudotyped particle resulting from complementation with p56 (Fig. 3). The lack of gp43 detection was also observed in cells transfected with plasmids that used other RNA polymerase II (pol II) promoters to drive BDV p56 expression. In contrast, gp43 was detected at levels similar to those of gp84 in lysates of cells infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing p56 (14). The reasons for these differences remain unknown, but it is likely that they reflect a slow, and perhaps inefficient, processing of gp84 when expressed under the control of a pol II promoter. The detection of similar amounts of both gp84 and gp43 in pseudotype particles complemented with p56 may be explained by cleavage of gp84 once it is incorporated into viral particles. Alternatively, it might reflect the requirement of a physical interaction between gp84 and gp43 in such a way that the incorporation of gp84 into virions is dependent on the incorporation of gp43.
Although gp43 likely accounts for most of the fusogenic activity
associated with BDV G, it is possible that the N-terminal part of gp84
also has some fusion capability that would be manifested in the
chimeric GPs. For hepatitis C virus, both E1 and E2 GPs have been
reported to be independently competent in virus entry and fusion
(21, 26). For VSV G, the fusion peptide appears to reside
at an internal location, between amino acids 117 and 139, which is in
the N-terminal one-third of the ectodomain (11, 12, 52,
54). In addition, a region near the TM domain is highly
conserved in all vesiculovirus G proteins and appears to be important
for both VSV G-mediated fusion (45) and efficient virus
budding (34). However, this domain was not present in the
p56/G chimeric GP, whose incorporation into the VSV
G* pseudotypes resulted in titers similar to those produced by the p56/GS
chimeras that did contain this domain. Nevertheless, we cannot exclude the possibility that the TM domain and CT of VSV G could also influence
the fusogenic behavior of the chimeric GPs and contribute to the
infectivity observed.
The pseudotype approach described here may permit the investigation of
the functional domains of BDV G that are responsible for virus entry.
The use of VSV
G* pseudotypes complemented with BDV GP may also allow
the identification of cell lines resistant to BDV infection due to a
blockade in virus entry, thus facilitating the search for cellular
receptors for BDV.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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We thank Beatrice Cubitt and Calvin Ly for technical assistance and Diana Frye for editorial assistance.
This work was supported by NIH grant RO1 NS32355 to J.C.T. and GM-53726 to M.A.W. M.P. was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia of Spain.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Scripps Research Institute, IMM6, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037. Phone: (858) 784-9462. Fax: (858) 784-9981. E-mail: juanct{at}scripps.edu.
Publication 13774-NP from The Scripps Research Institute.
Present address: Department of Microbiology, Akita University
School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
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