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Journal of Virology, May 2002, p. 4267-4274, Vol. 76, No. 9
0022-538X/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.76.9.4267-4274.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Unit on Molecular Virology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Regulation, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Received 19 September 2001/ Accepted 17 January 2002
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In addition to FeLV-T, the phosphate transporter Pit1 has been proposed to serve as the receptor for gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV) (31), feline leukemia virus subgroup B (FeLV-B) (40), and murine leukemia virus (MLV) 10A1 (30, 43). GALV infects a wide variety of cell types (21) derived from diverse species (20). Because of its broad host range, GALV-based retroviral vectors have been developed for use in both in vivo and ex vivo gene transfer (29, 42). Although GALV is structurally related to MLVs, FeLVs, and other gammaretroviruses, GALV envelope proteins do not immunologically cross-react with reagents that detect these retroviral surface subunit (SU) proteins (M. V. Eiden, unpublished data). Due to the extreme lability of GALV envelope proteins, efforts to purify sufficient quantities of virus for development of the immunologically active reagents required for determining GALV particle formation and GALV receptor binding have been unsuccessful. We made a series of GALV SU proteins that have been truncated at various regions within the SU portion of the envelope downstream of the putative receptor-binding domain (RBD) and then fused to C-terminal epitope tags. Attachment of a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope tag to the C terminus of either amphotropic MLV (A-MLV) or FeLV-B SU envelope proteins generated soluble RBD proteins that efficiently bound the receptor (24). Similarly constructed truncated and tagged soluble GALV RBDs were not detectable by Western blot analyses of either transfected cell lysates or supernatants. In addition, unlike the results with MLV, for which functional chimeric envelope proteins have been created by reciprocal exchanges of portions of xenotropic, polytropic, ecotropic, and amphotropic MLV SU proteins (7, 33), none of the MLV-GALV chimeric SU proteins we have tested are incorporated into infectious particles (M. V. Eiden, unpublished data). Regions within various MLV and FeLV-B SU proteins that are specifically required for receptor binding and entry have been mapped by using a combination of SU chimeric and mutagenesis studies (2-9, 17, 18, 25-28, 32, 33, 37-39, 44-46). Similar studies have not been performed for GALV; therefore, little is known about the regions of GALV envelope protein that are involved in receptor binding, cell fusion, entry, and the pathogenicity of this virus.
Determination of the Pit1 virus-binding site has involved utilization of Pit1 mutant receptors and has been based on infectivity studies rather than binding analyses (10, 11, 13, 22, 35-39, 43; reviewed in reference 34). For example, it has been shown previously that murine MDTF (Mus dunni tail fibroblast) cells are resistant to GALV and can be rendered susceptible to GALV upon expression of the Pit1 cDNA (43). The validity of referring to Pit1 as a receptor capable of directly binding GALV has not been unequivocally determined, because heretofore GALV has not been shown to directly bind Pit1.
We report here the generation of functional tagged GALV envelope SU proteins by insertion of an 18-residue FeLV-B epitope tag, recognized by monoclonal antibody C11D8, into two separate regions of the proline rich region (PRR) of GALV; the tagged SUs are designated GALV I219 and GALV I264. Both are efficiently incorporated into infectious vector particles which bind Pit1. GALV SU proteins truncated at either residue 219 or residue 264 and bearing HA tags at their C termini retain the ability to bind Pit1. We used GALV I264 envelope as a template for mutagenesis studies in which we compared the effects of linker insertions on GALV envelope function to the effects of similar insertions in the FeLV-B envelope protein. Linker insertion mutagenesis studies of GALV SU, together with reports of previous work using MLVs as templates for linker insertion mutagenesis (17) and our present observations with FeLV-B, suggest that GALV is noticeably less tolerant of insertions in its SU region than either MLVs or FeLV-B. Finally, we introduced the C11D8 epitope into a region of GALV SU protein that has been shown in studies with mutant MLV envelopes (2-4, 12, 27, 45) to be critical for postentry virus fusion, and we assessed the effects of this mutation on GALV envelope function.
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Mutagenesis. The sequence comprising the FeLV-B epitope, QVMTITPPQAMGPNLVLP, recognized by monoclonal antibody C11D8 (Custom Monoclonal Antibodies International, Sacramento, Calif.) was introduced into GALV envelope SU by PCR mutagenesis. GALV R213-230 was created by designing complementary overlapping synthetic oligonucleotides incorporating individual base changes necessary to convert GALV residues to FeLV-B residues. The GALV residue sequence LKITNMPAVAVGPDLVLV (amino acids 213 to 230) was replaced by the FeLV-B sequence QVMTITPPQAMGPNLVLP (amino acids 204 to 221). For the C11D8 epitope insertion mutants GALV I10, GALV I264, and GALV I219, complementary synthetic oligonucleotides encoding the C11D8 epitope (54 nucleotides) and the region of GALV SU flanking the insertion site were designed; two segments of GALV SU cDNA were amplified by using these primers plus upstream and downstream primers flanking the mutated region (oligonucleotide sequences are available upon request). These segments were annealed, after which a second round of PCR was carried out by using only the outer primers. The final PCR products were directly cloned into the TOPO TA pCR2.1 vector (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) and sequenced by Thermo Sequenase fluorescent labeled primer cycle sequencing on an ALF Express automated sequencer (Pharmacia/Amersham, Peapack, N.J.). After confirmation of the presence of the desired mutations and the absence of unscheduled PCR mutations, the mutant envelope cDNA was subcloned into the PCIneo (Promega, Madison, Wis.) vector carrying the GALV envelope cDNA (pCIGALV) to create plasmids pCIGALV I264, pCIGALV I219, and pCIGALV I10.
A series of GALV SU constructs containing 12-mer EcoRI linkers (CCGGAATTCCGG; New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.) were made by using pCIGALV I264 as a template. Partial digestion of the template with EcoRV, PvuII, or SmaI was performed, followed by isolation of full-length linear DNA. This was ligated to a 100-fold molar excess of the linker by using T4 DNA ligase. The resulting clones were screened by restriction enzyme digestion with EcoRI in order to identify those containing the linker and were then sequenced as described above, in order to locate the insertions within the SU genome. FeLV-B SU envelope constructs were created in the same manner, with EcoRI linkers inserted at corresponding positions of the SU protein.
Production of retroviral vectors and viral infection. Two days before transfection, 293T cells were seeded at a density of 106/10-cm dish. Transfection by the calcium phosphate precipitation method (Promega) was performed by using a three-plasmid system (41) including (i) a ß-galactosidase genome plasmid, pkat2ßgal (15); (ii) an MLV-based gag pol plasmid, pkatgagpolATG (15); and (iii) a plasmid expressing either GALV, GALV mutant, or FeLV-B 90Z envelope. Supernatant containing enveloped retroviral vectors was harvested 60 to 72 h posttransfection. For transductions, MDTF-Pit1 target cells were seeded 1 day in advance in a 24-well plate at 1.5 x 104 cells/well. Cells were exposed to a retroviral vector-containing supernatant that had been passed through a 0.45-µC Millipore (Bedford, Mass.) filter and were then adjusted to contain 10 µg of Polybrene/ml. Twenty-four hours later, the medium was changed and cells were cultured for an additional 24 to 48 h before analysis for expression of ß-galactosidase by histochemical staining with X-Gal (5-bromo-4 chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside), as previously described (43). Titers were determined by averaging the numbers of blue foci (BFU) obtained with vectors for each cell line tested in three or more independent experiments.
Vector particle binding assays. Viral vector supernatants harvested from transiently transfected 293T cells were concentrated 10-fold by centrifugation at 2,000 x g at 4°C for 30 to 60 min using Ultrafree 15-100 concentrators (Millipore). MDTF or MDTF-Pit1 target cells were detached from tissue culture flasks with Cellstripper (Mediatech, Reston, Va.) cell dissociation solution; 3 x 106 cells were used for each vector to be tested. Cells were suspended in 0.3 ml of concentrated supernatant in the presence of Polybrene (10 µg/ml) and incubated at 37°C for 1 h, followed by two washes in Hanks' buffered saline solution (HBSS) containing 1% fetal bovine serum. Bound virus was detected by incubating cells in HBSS containing 1.6 µg of monoclonal antibody C11D8/µl for 1 h at 4°C; cells were washed twice in HBSS and then incubated for 1 h at 4°C in the presence of 2 µg of fluorescein-conjugated goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG) (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.)/100 µl. Cells were fixed with 1% paraformaldehyde and then analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Binding results from three independent experiments are expressed as the average shift in fluorescence intensity observed with vector particles bound to MDTF-Pit1 cells, minus the background value obtained on negative-control MDTF cells, normalized to the value obtained with FeLV-B bound to MDTF-Pit1 cells.
Soluble protein binding assays. Binding assays using HA-tagged soluble FeLV-B1-144 (23), GALV1-219, or GALV1-264 SU glycoprotein were performed by harvesting supernatants from 293T cells transiently transfected, as described above, with pcDNA3.1/Zeo (Invitrogen) expressing the soluble protein. Target MDTF or MDTF-Pit1 cells were detached from tissue culture flasks with Cellstripper cell dissociation solution (Mediatech); 106 cells for each receptor cell line were suspended in 1 ml of supernatant containing soluble HA-tagged SU protein and were incubated at 37°C for 45 min. Cells were washed twice with HBSS containing 1% fetal bovine serum and then incubated in the presence of a 1:1,000 dilution of 5 mg of monoclonal antibody HA.11 (Covance/Babco, Richmond, Calif.)/ml in HBSS for 90 min at 4°C; after a wash with HBSS, cells were incubated for 1 h at 4°C in the presence of HBSS containing 2 µg of fluorescein-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Pierce)/100 µl. Cells were fixed in 1% paraformaldehyde and then analyzed by FACS.
Western blot analysis of cell lysates and viral pellets. For cell lysates, transiently transfected 293T cells were grown to confluency in a 10-cm dish and lysed in 1 ml of cold lysis buffer (150 mM NaCl, 1.0% NP-40, 50 mM Tris [pH 8.0], 10 µg of phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride/ml, 20 µg of aprotinin/ml, 20 µl of leupeptin/ml). Cells were scraped from the 10-cm dish and centrifuged at 16,000 x g for 10 min at 4°C. The supernatant was collected and analyzed by Western blotting. Viral particles were pelleted from 8 ml of cell-free virus supernatant through a 25% sucrose gradient in TNE buffer (10 mM Tris [pH 8.0], 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA) in a Beckman SW41 rotor at 30,000 rpm for 2 h at 4°C. Pellets were resuspended in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis sample loading buffer and analyzed by Western blotting. Viral pellets and cell lysates were detected by incubation with antibody C11D8 (3 µg/ml). After incubation with the second antibody, goat anti-mouse IgG conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (1:25,000) (Pierce), the signals were detected by chemiluminescence using the Renaissance Western Blot Chemiluminescence Reagent (NEN Life Science Products, Inc., Boston, Mass.) and exposure to Kodak X-Omat Blue XB-1 film.
C11D8 peptide neutralization assays. The peptide comprising the C11D8 epitope of FeLV-B (Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Belmont, Calif.) was added to the medium of MDTF-Pit1 target cells at different concentrations (10 to 100 µM) in order to determine if neutralization of vectors with envelopes containing the C11D8 epitope could be achieved. Before infection, target cells were incubated in the presence of a medium containing the peptide for 10 to 30 min at 35°C. The medium was removed and replaced with vectors containing the same concentration of peptide. After 3 to 15 h, the medium was removed, cells were washed with DMEM, and fresh DMEM was added; 48 h later, titers were determined by a ß-galactosidase histochemical assay (43).
Infection assays using soluble SU protein. Each of the soluble SU proteins FeLV-B1-444-HA (24), A-MLV1-448-HA (24), GALV1-264-HA RBD (residues 1 to 264, including variable region A [VRA], VRB, and the N-terminal half of the PRR), and GALV1-219-HA (residues 1 to 219, including VRA and VRB) was expressed in the supernatant of 293T cells transiently transfected with the cDNA of this protein, by using the calcium phosphate method described above. Target cells were incubated for 15 h at 35°C in the presence of GALV- or FeLV-B-enveloped viral vector particles bearing the genome for ß-galactosidase, either with or without the soluble protein component. After 48 to 72 h, the number of cells infected was evaluated by the ß-galactosidase histochemical assay described above.
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FIG. 1. The C11D8 epitope, QVMTITPPQAMGPNLVLP (residues 204 to 221), which derives from the amino terminus of the FeLV-B PRR, was substituted for LKITNMPAVAVGPDLVLV (residues 213 to 230) in a corresponding region of the GALV PRR. The relative positions of VRA, VRB, and the PRR within the envelope SU protein are shown.
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TABLE 1. Properties of mutant GALV SU proteins
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FIG. 2. Western blot detection, using antibody C11D8, of individual mutant GALV envelope SU proteins from transfected cell lysates (A) and in pelleted viral particles (B) harvested from the supernatant of vector-producing 293T cells. EcoRI linker insertion mutants are designated G47 through G439 (the number following "G" indicates the residue position of the insertion).
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TABLE 2. Properties of GALV I264 linker insertion mutant SU proteins
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TABLE 3. Properties of FeLV-B linker insertion mutant SU proteins
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FIG. 3. Western blot detection, using antibody C11D8, of individual mutant FeLV-B envelope SU proteins from transfected cell lysates (A) and in pelleted viral particles (B) harvested from the supernatant of vector-producing 293T cells. EcoRI linker insertion mutants are designated F47 through F422 (the number following "F" indicates the residue position of the insertion).
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FIG. 4. GALV envelopes containing the C11D8 epitope tag are assembled into viral particles. SU protein was detected in pelleted vector particles by Western blotting with antibody C11D8. (A) Lane 1, FeLV-B control; lane 2, GALV I10; lane 3, GALV I264. (B) Lane 1, FeLV-B control; lane 2, GALV I219.
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FIG. 5. Recognition of soluble HA-tagged GALV1-264 glycoprotein by monoclonal antibody HA.11 in a FACS-based assay of binding to MDTF (A) or MDTF-Pit1 (B) cells. Shaded areas represent control MDTF cells which were not exposed to GALV; areas under solid line represent cells exposed to GALV.
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It has been shown previously that supplying homologous RBD as a soluble protein can restore infectivity to EMO (3, 4, 25, 27) and FeLV-T (24) vector particles. The infectivity of ecotropic MLV (E-MLV) fusion mutant particles harboring insertions in the N-terminal region of SU proximal to the highly conserved PHQ motif or harboring a deletion of the H residues in this motif can be restored by incubating bound particles not only with RBDs derived from E-MLV but also, alternatively, with RBDs derived from MLVs that use receptors distinct from the E-MLV receptor (3, 27). We therefore preincubated MDTF-Pit1 cells with soluble RBD proteins derived from A-MLV or FeLV-B to determine if these RBDs could render GALV I10 vectors infectious. A-MLV utilizes a related phosphate transporter, designated Pit2, as a receptor. Pit2 does not function as a GALV receptor, and Pit1 does not function as an A-MLV receptor. As mentioned above, FeLV-B can use Pit1 as a receptor. To assess the ability of RBDs to rescue GALV I10 infectivity, target cells were exposed to GALV I10 vectors that had been preincubated with either GALV, FeLV-B, or A-MLV RBDs. As expected, incubation of GALV I10 particles combined with any one of the four RBDs did not render MDTF cells susceptible to infection. Titers of approximately 105 BFU/ml were obtained when MDTF-Pit1 cells were exposed to GALV I10 in the presence of HA-tagged GALV I1-219 or GALV I1-264 (Table 4). Incubation with either A-MLV or FeLV-B soluble protein had no effect on the ability of GALV I10 particles to infect MDTF-Pit1 cells (Table 4). These data suggest that binding to Pit1 is not sufficient for RBD-mediated rescue of GALV I10 vector infectivity in trans, as only GALV RBD, but not FeLV-B RBD, can complement the postbinding entry deficiency observed with GALV I10 particles.
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TABLE 4. Effect of soluble FeLV or GALV SU on GALV I10 vector infectivity
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Based on the previous observation that segments within the PRR of MLVs can be replaced with the 16-residue collagen-binding domain (45), we substituted the 18-residue C11D8 epitope (residues 204 to 221 of FeLV-B) for the corresponding region of GALV SU (residues 213 to 230). GALV R213-230 envelope proteins are incorporated into vector particles, but those particles are not capable of efficiently infecting target cells (Table 1). We next inserted the C11D8 epitope into the more variable region of the GALV PRR at position 264 and determined that vectors bearing this GALV I264 envelope protein are assembled (Fig. 4A) and are highly infectious (Table 1). Surprisingly, we were not able to detect bound GALV I264-enveloped vectors by either FACS-based virus-receptor binding or immunohistochemical assays (data not shown), suggesting that this region of the envelope is not accessible to antibody once it is bound to its receptor, Pit1. We have obtained similar results with receptor-bound vectors bearing A-MLV envelope proteins with the C11D8 epitope introduced into the corresponding region of the A-MLV PRR (W. Anderson and M. V. Eiden, unpublished data). These findings suggest that SU proteins bearing C11D8 epitope tags within the PRR undergo a conformational change upon binding to the receptor, which results in the C11D8 epitope being masked and occluded from the antibody. Antibody C11D8 neutralizes FeLV-B infection; this observation suggests that the N terminus of the PRR is directly involved in FeLV-B receptor binding (16). We have now determined that, in contrast to the results obtained with FeLV-B, infection by vectors bearing GALV I264 envelope proteins is not neutralized by either the C11D8 peptide or the C11D8 antibody.
GALV I264, although not useful in monitoring GALV vector particle binding, served as a template for linker insertion mutagenesis analyses. Mutagenesis experiments were designed to compare regions within the GALV and FeLV-B SUs that tolerate insertions without loss of particle assembly, the ability to be detected when bound to a receptor, or particle infectivity. All 12 of the mutant GALV SU proteins that were appropriately processed into gp70 were also incorporated into vector particles (Table 2); however, only 1 of these mutant envelope proteins, G219, was incorporated into infectious particles (Tables 1 and 2). Similarly, 14 of the 15 mutant FeLV-B proteins were synthesized. In contrast to the results obtained with GALV mutants, 7 of the 14 mutants were incorporated into infectious particles: F54, F137, F154, F210, F242, F259, and F422 (Table 3). These findings suggest that FeLV-B SU tolerates insertions within its RBD, PRR, and C-terminal region that are not tolerated by the GALV envelope SU protein without concomitant loss of function (Tables 2 and 3). Similar studies based on mutagenesis have been undertaken using the envelope gene of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) (17). Of the 20 linker insertions made in the SU portion of MoMLV, 11 were determined not to compromise envelope function. MoMLV VRA (79 residues) is larger than the VRAs of all other MLVs and larger than that of either FeLV-B or GALV (40 and 67 residues, respectively) (7). It has been suggested previously that not all of MoMLV VRA is required for receptor recognition and that therefore MoMLV VRA may be more tolerant of mutations than the VRAs of other gammaretroviruses (17). FeLV-B has a smaller VRA than either MoMLV or GALV, yet, as with MoMLV and in contrast to GALV, insertion mutations are tolerated in the VRAs of FeLV-B envelope glycoproteins (Tables 2 and 3). Seven MoMLV (17) and one FeLV-B envelope mutant containing insertions in the C terminus of SU were fully functional (Table 3), whereas all mutations in similar positions of GALV SU gave rise to nonfunctional envelope proteins (Table 2). With regard to mutations in the PRR, two out of four insertions in MoMLV, compared to three out of three in FeLV-B and only one out of three in GALV, resulted in fully functional SU proteins (Tables 2 and 3). Insertions in all other regions of GALV SU compromised the function of the envelope protein (Table 2). In summary, the SU proteins of MoMLV and FeLV-B, in contrast with that of GALV, tolerate insertions in the RBD, the PRR, and the extreme C terminus of SU without loss of function (17) (Tables 2 and 3).
It has been determined previously that insertions within the N-terminal region of MLV SU give rise to envelope glycoproteins that can be assembled into infectious vector particles. For example, vectors with E-MLV-based SU proteins containing either a 15-residue peptide that binds to the vitronectin receptor 
ß3 (44) or 208 residues of A-MLV envelope SU (12) introduced at the 6th residue of E-MLV SU retain their infectivity. Based on these findings, we inserted 18 residues comprising the C11D8 epitope into the analogous region of GALV SU. GALV envelopes bearing C11D8 epitope tags at the 10th residue (GALV I10) were incorporated into vectors. These vectors avidly bound the receptor but failed to infect cells, presumably due to a postbinding block to entry (Table 4). Our findings obtained with GALV I10-enveloped vectors differed from those obtained with MLV in that particles bearing GALV I10 were not infectious, whereas MLV particles bearing envelope glycoproteins with N-terminal insertions retained infectivity. MLV particles bearing envelope glycoproteins containing the 15-residue peptide insertion maintained wild-type titers when tested on NIH 3T3 cells (44), and MLV particles with the 208-residue insertion infected target cells with a diminished efficiency relative to that of wild-type MLV (12).
More recently, it has been shown that either deletion of the histidine in the PHQ motif present in the N terminus of MLV SU or insertions in regions adjacent to the PHQ motif result in fusion-defective MLV glycoproteins (2-4, 25, 27, 46). Particles bearing fusion mutant glycoproteins bind receptor, but their infectivity is blocked at a postbinding level of entry. Particle infectivity can be restored, in trans, by providing soluble RBD derived either from the wild-type form of the fusion mutant glycoprotein or from MLVs that use distinct receptors for virus binding and entry (3, 4, 25, 27). We found that particles containing GALV I10 glycoproteins, like those bearing these mutant MLV envelope proteins, were blocked at a postbinding level of entry. We therefore sought to determine if GALV I10 particle infectivity could be restored by incubation with soluble RBD derived from A-MLV, FeLV-B, or GALV. Experimental results showed that GALV I10 particle infectivity could be restored with either GALV I1-219 or GALV I1-264 RBDs but not FeLV-B1-444 or A-MLV1-448 RBDs, even though GALV and FeLV-B both utilize Pit1 for entry. Our results are similar to those reported for FeLV-T (24). FeLV-T is a naturally occurring feline retrovirus that is closely related to FeLV-B. FeLV-T, FeLV-B, and GALV use Pit1 as a primary receptor. FeLV-T SU differs from those of other gammaretroviruses in that it contains an asparagine in place of the histidine residue in its PHQ motif (1, 24). Lack of this histidine residue presumably renders FeLV-T incapable of Pit1-mediated entry in the absence of soluble FeLV RBD (1). FeLV-T infectivity is not restored by incubation with either GALV or MLV RBDs (24).
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that only MDTF cells expressing Pit1 bind GALV. We have also demonstrated that C11D8-tagged full-length GALV SU envelopes and soluble truncated GALV SUs with an HA tag can be used in Pit1 binding studies; they should prove invaluable as novel tools in the study of GALV-mediated entry. Finally, FeLV-T and GALV do not appear to use the common entry pathway shared among MLVs (3, 27). This pathway is activated by a feature conserved among MLV RBDs, but not between FeLV-B and GALV or among GALV, FeLV-T, and the MLVs. Therefore, both FeLV-T and fusion-defective GALV differ from MLVs in RBD-mediated entry.
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