Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, April 2002, p. 3892-3904, Vol. 76, No. 8
0022-538X/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.76.8.3892-3904.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287,1 Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 652122
Received 24 October 2001/ Accepted 10 January 2002
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
Recently, a novel subnuclear compartment was identified following infection by either of two highly related parvoviruses, MVM and H-1 (5, 14). This structure, termed autonomous parvovirus-associated replication (APAR) bodies, was identified at 15 h postinfection and was found to be distinct from most of the classically described nuclear bodies such as Cajal bodies, promyelocytic leukemia gene product (PML) oncogenic domains (PODs), and speckles (14). APAR bodies were shown to be active sites of viral replication and to contain cellular factors such as cyclin A, DNA polymerases
and
, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and replication protein A (4).
The eukaryotic nucleus is highly organized and contains numerous subnuclear compartments (34). Although nuclear bodies have been identified and classified based on their constituents, mounting evidence suggests that nuclear bodies and their contents are highly dynamic and can fluctuate in response to a variety of internal and external stimuli (28, 35, 46, 47). The functions of the various nuclear structures have been partially ascribed to their molecular constituents. For example, Cajal bodies are enriched in mature snRNPs and contain factors such as the survival motor neuron gene product (SMN), which is involved in snRNP biogenesis (9, 22, 29). PODs are distinct nuclear structures that are linked to transcription regulation and apoptosis and contain the PML protein, retinoblastoma protein Rb, Sp100, and PIC1/SUMO-1 (7, 45). Speckles or interchromatin granules are highly enriched in splicing factors, although it is unclear if these structures are storage sites for splicing factors or whether they actively participate in mRNA maturation (34, 36).
Now we show that MVM NS1 specifically interacts with a component of Cajal bodies, the SMN protein, and that SMN and NS1 colocalize in Cajal bodies following transient expression of NS1. As suggested by earlier results, at early time points following MVM infection of synchronized cells, NS1 and SMN fail to colocalize. However, at later time points (20 to 30 h postinfection) NS1 and SMN colocalize in large nuclear bodies that are the active sites of virus replication and viral capsid assembly. Unlike transfection of NS1 alone, at these later time points, MVM infection induces a massive nuclear reorganization in which constituents from Cajal bodies, PODs, interchromatin granules, and APAR bodies accumulate in multiple large nuclear bodies, termed SMN-associated APAR bodies (SAABs). These results highlight the dynamic nature of nuclear bodies and identify a novel structure generated in response to parvovirus infection. They also suggest that some feature(s) of virus replication other than merely expression of the viral nonstructural proteins is required for the observed nuclear reorganization following parvovirus infection.
|
|
|---|
Recombinant proteins. NS1 cDNA was cloned into glutathione S-transferase (GST) expression vector pGEX3X (Pharmacia). Wild-type SMN cDNA was cloned into the pET32c vector (Novagen). Transformed bacteria were induced with 1 mM isopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside for 4 h at 37°C. Expressed recombinant proteins were purified from inclusion bodies by sequential extraction with increasing urea concentrations (2, 4, 6, and 8 M) in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as previously described (52).
Transient transfections. Approximately 105 A92L cells were transiently transfected with 2 µg of pCI:HA-NS1 by using calcium phosphate (32).
Cellular extracts. Total cellular extracts were derived from approximately 105 A92L cells infected with MVM at 0 and 30 h postrelease. Total extracts were normalized, and equivalent levels were used for biomolecular interaction analysis experiments.
BIA. The BIAcore biosensor detects changes in total mass at the surface of a sensor chip by measuring variations of the critical angle needed to produce total internal refraction. The change in critical angle is proportional to the amount of bound protein and is expressed as resonance units (RU). In Fig. 1C, the shift in RU is plotted against time and is displayed as a sensorgram. Injected samples contain protein, urea, imidazole, and HEPES buffered saline (HBS) and therefore are denser than HBS running buffer. This increase in medium density during protein injections produces the large vertical spikes seen on the sensorgram (the initial vertical line indicates the start of an injection and the second vertical line indicates the end of an injection). The amount of bound protein following an injection is indicated by the increase in the horizontal baseline. A Cm5 sensor chip was covalently linked with rabbit anti-mouse immunoglobulin G by the amino-coupling protocol according to the manufacturer's instructions (BIAcore AB, Stevenage, Herts, United Kingdom). A BIAcore-X apparatus with an operating flow rate of 5 µl per min was used. All injected volumes were 10 µl. Concentrations of stock recombinant proteins for each reaction were determined prior to injection. Proteins were diluted in HBS to 10 µg/ml unless otherwise stated. During biomolecular interaction analysis (BIA) experiments, nonspecific interactions were ruled out by ensuring that neither SMN nor NS1 bound directly to the chip in the absence of specific antibodies or protein binding partners.
![]() View larger version (24K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. SMN and NS1 interact directly both in vitro and in vivo. (A) Western blot analysis of recombinant polyhistidine (six-His-)-tagged human SMN captured by GST-tagged NS1 immobilized on GST resin. The blot was developed with an anti-SMN monoclonal antibody. (B) Western blot analysis of NS1 coimmunoprecipitated with endogenous SMN from transfected A92L cells. Anti-SMN coprecipitated endogenous SMN, and anti-NS1 rabbit polyclonal sera detected NS1 complexed with SMN. NS1-SMN binding was not detected when the immunoprecipitating antibody (-) was omitted or when cells were not transfected with NS1 (mock). mAb, monoclonal antibody. (C) (Top) BIA of NS1 coimmunoprecipitated with endogenous SMN from MVM-infected double-blocked A92L cells. Total protein extracts from A92L cells 30 h postinfection were used. Anti-SMN (MANSMA3) coprecipitated SMN, and anti-NS1 rabbit polyclonal sera detected NS1 complexed with SMN. Levels of the captured anti-SMN antibody (A), SMN-NS1 complex (B), and anti-NS1 rabbit polyclonal antibody (C) are indicated. (Bottom) NS1 is not coprecipitated with SMN from double-blocked noninfected A92L cells. Total protein extracts from A92L cells 30 h after being released from the blocking process were used. Anti-SMN (MANSMA3) precipitated SMN, and anti-NS1 rabbit polyclonal sera detected no NS1 complexed with SMN. Levels the captured anti-SMN antibody (A), SMN (B), and anti-NS1 rabbit polyclonal antibody (C) are indicated.
|
Immunofluorescence experiments were repeated with various primary antibodies to eliminate epitope masking and cross-reaction during time courses. Western blotting was performed on total protein extracts from all infection time points to ensure that each NS1 and SMN antibody used was specific to the protein it was generated against. All other antibodies were obtained from commercial vendors and have been shown to have no nonspecific cross-reactivity. The antibodies used were as follows: anti-SMN antibodies MANSMA1 (exon 2 specific), MANSMA4 (exon 4 specific), and MANSMA3 (exon 5 specific); anti-NS1 (monoclonal antibody 3D9); anti-MVM VP1 (peptide polyclonal antibody); anti-capsid/assembled (monoclonal antibody D4H) (30); anti-SIP1 antibody (MANSIP1A); anti-p80 coilin antibody (5P10); anti-PML antibody (PG-M3; Santa Cruz Biotechnology); anti-cyclin A antibody (C-19; Santa Cruz Biotechnology); anti-cyclin E (N-20; Santa Cruz Biotechnology), anti-BrdU (Chemicon International); anti-SR (1H4; Zymed Laboratories); NS1 (rabbit polyclonal antibody M50); and anti-Sm (Y12; Neomarkers).
In vitro binding assays. GST and His-binding resins (Novagen) were washed three times in binding buffer (500 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.8], 0.2% NP-40) and incubated with recombinant proteins diluted to 100 µg/ml in binding buffer for 1 h at 4°C. The resins were washed three times with binding buffer and incubated with the respective binding proteins diluted to 100 µg/ml in binding buffer for 1 h at 4°C. Resins were washed three times with binding buffer, and bound fractions were resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
Protein concentrations were confirmed by Coomassie blue staining
|
|
|---|
BIA was performed to confirm and further characterize the NS1-SMN interaction in vivo. To determine whether SMN and NS1 form a complex during MVM infection, highly synchronized A92L cells (23) were harvested at 30 h postrelease. BIA was used to immunoprecipitate endogenous SMN with an anti-SMN monoclonal antibody. At 30 h postinfection, NS1 coprecipitated with endogenous SMN (Fig. 1C, top). NS1 is not coprecipitated with SMN from double-blocked noninfected A92L cells (Fig. 1C, bottom; compare the horizontal plateaus for peak C in the top and bottom sensorgrams). A thorough analysis of the SMN-NS1 interaction is the subject of a manuscript in preparation (P. J. Young, K. T. Jensen, D. J. Pintel, and C. L. Lorson, unpublished data). Taken together these results demonstrate that NS1 and SMN interact in vivo and in vitro and form a complex during viral infection.
NS1 localizes in SAABs in the later stages of MVM infection. Nuclear SMN accumulates within Cajal bodies and the nucleolus (51, 52). At early time points (pre-15 h) after infection, however, NS1 has been reported to localize in APAR bodies, nuclear structures distinct from Cajal bodies. Since NS1 and SMN interact avidly in vitro and in vivo during infection, we performed the following series of indirect double-label immunofluorescence experiments to address this apparent discrepancy. First, HA epitope-tagged NS1 was transiently transfected into A92L cells. Cajal bodies were identified using antibodies specific for SMN, SIP1, and the Cajal body marker protein, p80 coilin. By 30 h after transient NS1 transfection, NS1 colocalized with all three proteins within Cajal bodies (Fig. 2). As expected, Cajal bodies were positively stained for SMN and SIP1 in mock-transfected cells.
![]() View larger version (133K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Colocalization of SMN, p80 coilin, SIP1, and NS1 in transfected A92L cells. SMN (primary antibody: MANSMA1; secondary antibody: TRITC [red]), SIP1 (primary antibody: MANSIP1A; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate [red]), p80 coilin (primary antibody: 5P10 monoclonal antibody; secondary: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate [red]), and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate [green]) are indicated. Arrows, Cajal bodies containing NS1. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (52K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. SMN, p80 coilin, and NS1 colocalize in SAABs in MVM-infected A92L cells. SMN (primary antibody: anti-SMN monoclonal antibody MANSMA1; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate [red]), p80 coilin (primary antibody: 5P10 monoclonal antibody; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate [red]), and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate [green]) are indicated. Synchronized infections were obtained by performing an isoleucine-aphidicolin double block on A92L cells prior to infection. Immunofluorescence experiments were performed on infected cells 15, 20, 25, and 30 h after entry into S phase. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (63K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. SAAB formation is neither a consequence of the blocking process nor restricted to murine cell lines. (A) Double-label experiments were performed on infected and uninfected blocked A92L cells at 30 h postrelease. SMN (primary antibody: anti-SMN monoclonal antibody MANSMA1; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate) are indicated. Arrows indicate SMN-positive nuclear bodies. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm. (B) SMN (primary antibody: anti-SMN monoclonal antibody MANSMA1; secondary antibody: TRITC) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: FITC) are indicated. Experiments were performed on NB324K cells 0 and 30 h postinfection. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
PODs are nuclear structures originally identified in oncovirus infection which are distinct from Cajal bodies and other nuclear bodies such as interchromatin granules and gems. To determine the relationship between PODs and NS1-SMN-positive bodies double-label immunofluorescence experiments were performed on both HA-NS1-transfected and highly synchronized, MVM-infected A92L cells. In transfected A92L cells (30 h posttransfection) and in MVM-infected cells 15 h after release into S phase, PODs and NS1 bodies were identified as completely independent structures (Fig. 5). However, at 20 and 30 h postrelease, PML was present in the enlarged NS1-containing nuclear bodies (Fig. 5). Noninfected synchronized cells exhibited normal POD nuclear localization patterns (data not shown). To distinguish the previously described APAR bodies from the larger, POD-NS1-SMN-inclusive structures found later in infection, the latter have been termed SAABs. As with SMN and p80 coilin, BIA was used to determine whether the appearance of SAABs was accompanied by an increase in PML expression levels. Total protein extracts from A92L cells at 0 and 30 h postrelease were collected and assayed on a sensor chip containing a bound anti-PML monoclonal antibody. There was no difference in PML protein level between the two time points (data not shown), suggesting that our observations were due to relocalization rather than increased expression of PML.
![]() View larger version (100K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. PML colocalizes with NS1 in SAABs at 20 h postinfection but not in A92L cells transiently expressing HA-tagged NS1. Double-label experiments were performed on A92L cells transfected with HA-tagged NS1 (TF) and blocked A92L cells 15, 20, and 30 h after infection with MVM (IF). PML (primary antibody: anti-PML monoclonal antibody; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate) are indicated. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (71K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Cyclin A and cyclin E colocalize in SAABs. Double-label experiments were performed on A92L cells transfected with HA-tagged NS1 (TF) and blocked infected A92L cells 15 and 30 h after entry into S phase (IF). (Top) Cyclin A (CyA) colocalizes with NS1 in transfected and infected cells. Cyclin A (primary antibody: goat anti-cyclin A polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-goat FITC conjugate) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit TRITC conjugate) are indicated. (Bottom) Cyclin E (CyE) accumulates in SAABs at around 20 h postinfection. Cyclin E (primary antibody: goat anti-cyclin E polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-goat FITC conjugate) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit TRITC conjugate) are indicated. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (61K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 7. Cyclin A nuclear distribution is not altered by the blocking process. Double-label experiments were performed on noninfected A92L cells 0 and 30 h after release from the blocking process. Cyclin A (CyA; primary antibody: goat anti-cyclin A polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-goat FITC conjugate) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit TRITC conjugate) are indicated. In comparison, double-label experiments performed on blocked A92L cells 30 h postinfection are shown. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (101K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 8. Viral capsid components (VP1) and the assembled MVM capsid accumulate within SAABs. Double-label experiments were performed on blocked infected A9 cells 15 and 30 h postrelease. (A) NS1 and VP1 colocalize at the 15- and 30-h time points. NS1 (primary antibody: anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate) and VP1 (primary antibody: anti-VP1 polyclonal peptide antibody; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate) are indicated. (B) NS1 and the assembled MVM capsid colocalize at the 15- and 30-h time points. NS1 (primary antibody: anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate) and the capsid (primary antibody: anticapsid monoclonal antibody [30]; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate) are indicated. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (48K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 9. RNA splicing factors accumulate within SAABs. Double-label analysis was performed on blocked infected A92L cells 0, 15, 20, and 30 h after entry into S phase. Sm proteins (primary antibody: Y12; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate), SR proteins (primary antibody: anti-SR monoclonal antibody; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate), and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate) are indicated. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
![]() View larger version (102K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 10. SAABs are the sites of viral DNA replication. Double-label experiments were performed on BrdU-treated blocked infected A92L cells 15, 20, and 30 h after entry into S phase. Cells were labeled for 20 min with BrdU at a concentration of 10 µM. BrdU (primary antibody: anti-BrdU monoclonal antibody; secondary antibody: anti-mouse TRITC conjugate) and NS1 (primary antibody: rabbit anti-NS1 polyclonal; secondary antibody: anti-rabbit FITC conjugate) are indicated. Insets show nuclear regions of interest magnified by an additional factor of 2. Bar 30 µm.
|
|
|
|---|
APAR bodies are previously described nuclear bodies that appear immediately upon infection and that do not spatially colocalize with other known nuclear bodies such as Cajal bodies, PODs, and speckles (14). Localization in APAR bodies is likely the initial step in an MVM infection. At early time points, a fraction of NS1 was found in APAR bodies but there was also considerable diffuse cytoplasmic staining. As the infection progressed, however, essentially all detectable NS1 was concentrated within SAABs. Since NS1 is essential for several phases of the viral life cycle, including replication and transcriptional regulation of the capsid promoter, these results suggest that SAABs may play a role in the viral life cycle. The status of viral expression and replication past 20 h during synchronous infection, however, has not been well characterized. Alternatively, this massive nuclear aggregation may represent the beginnings of NS1-mediated cytotoxicity or a virus-induced cell death pathway.
The requirement for the infection process in the formation of SAABs suggests that nuclear reorganization occurs in response to a step within the viral life cycle rather than simply in response to the expression of an individual protein. Whether this is a consequence of an early stimulus, such as the entering capsid, viral single-stranded DNA, or the hairpin structures, or whether the stimulus comes at some later time point is not known. There are mutations within the MVM NS2 protein and capsid genes that result in infections by viruses that are deficient in various stages of the viral life cycle, for example, the production of the monomer replicative form or progeny single-stranded template (10, 11, 38). Experiments to determine which of these steps is required for SAAB formation within the viral life cycle are ongoing.
PODs/PML bodies have been associated with transcription, cell growth, and antiviral responses (17, 19, 26). DNA and RNA viruses also frequently target PODs, presumably to facilitate the early stages of transcription and replication (1, 15, 18, 20, 50). PODs can also be targeted for reorganization following viral infection (20). For example, adenovirus protein E4-ORF3 localizes to PODs/PML bodies, thereby causing a physical restructuring of the bodies from spherical to extended fibril-like structures termed nuclear tracks (20). Additionally, many viral infections induce interferon expression, and these infections or treatment with exogenous interferon can increase the size and number of PODs (21, 26). Although parvovirus infection does not induce an interferon response, a dramatic relocalization of PODs is seen late in MVM infection.
The functional significance of the interaction between SMN and NS1 is still unknown. However, as SMN has been implicated in RNA transcription and processing, cellular transportation, and apoptosis (6, 9, 22, 25, 29), NS1 may sequester SMN to facilitate viral RNA processing or to inhibit host cell apoptosis, thus enabling efficient viral turnover. Consistent with the SMN-NS1 complex performing a role during the viral life cycle is the recent finding that novel heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein-like protein NS1-associated protein 1 (NSAP1) interacts with SMN and NS1 (24, 37). The functional significance of these interactions has not been determined. SMN is not required for the maintenance of nuclear structures such as Cajal bodies (51, 52); therefore it is unlikely that SMN is required for SAAB formation. It is possible, however, that SMN plays a role in targeting or retaining NS1 in SAABs. Alternatively, since SMN is involved in snRNP biogenesis and transcriptional regulation, the NS1-SMN interaction may facilitate an NS1 activity that is required at later time points in infection.
We have identified SAABs, a novel nuclear structure required for parvovirus infection, that contain factors typically associated with other distinct nuclear bodies. The site of this dramatic nuclear reorganization is also a site of viral replication and contains the viral capsids, demonstrating that SAABs may play a role in the viral life cycle. SAABs also contain cyclin A and cyclin E, suggesting that viral infection and viral cycle progression may be dependent on the ability to control specific stages of the cell cycle. Although it has been suggested that cyclin A is sequestered by APAR bodies early in viral infection to arrest the cell in the G1 phase, thus enabling efficient expression of NS1, the exact function of cyclin A and cyclin E in the latter stages of infection within SAABs has yet to be determined. These results highlight the fluidity and dynamic nature of nuclear structures and their contents and help address the functional significance of nuclear compartmentalization. In addition, while this study has no direct link with spinal muscular atrophy, identifying the role SMN plays in facilitating the course of viral infection may shed light on the cellular function of SMN.
We thank Glenn Morris, Angus Lamond, and Colin Parish for antibodies, Kori Wallace for technical assistance, and the W. M. Keck BioImaging Laboratory for confocal imaging.
P.J.Y. was supported by a fellowship from Families of SMA, and K.T.J. was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the University of Missouri Life Science Mission Enhancement Program. Funding for these studies was provided by Families of SMA (C.L.L.), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (C.L.L), and the National Institutes of Health (C.L.L., RO1 NS41584-01; D.J.P., RO1 AI21302 and RO1 AI46458).
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»