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Journal of Virology, July 2003, p. 7677-7681, Vol. 77, No. 13
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.13.7677-7681.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Replication-Competent Hybrids between Murine Leukemia Virus and Foamy Virus
Evelina Shikova-Lekova,1,
Dirk Lindemann,1,2 Thomas Pietschmann,2,
Thomas Juretzek,1 Wolfram Rudolph,1 Ottmar Herchenröder,1 Hans R. Gelderblom,3 and Axel Rethwilm1,2*
Institut für Virologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden,1
Institut für Virologie und Immunbiologie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg,2
Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany3
Received 2 December 2002/
Accepted 2 April 2003

ABSTRACT
Replication-competent chimeric retroviruses constructed of members
of the two subfamilies of
Retroviridae, orthoretroviruses and
spumaretroviruses, specifically murine leukemia viruses (MuLV)
bearing hybrid MuLV-foamy virus (FV) envelope (
env) genes, were
characterized. All viruses had the cytoplasmic tail of the MuLV
transmembrane protein. In ESL-1, a truncated MuLV leader peptide
(LP) was fused to the complete extracellular portion of FV Env,
and ESL-2 to -4 contained the complete MuLV-LP followed by N-terminally
truncated FV Env decreasing in size. ESL-1 to -4 had an extended
host cell range compared to MuLV, induced a cytopathology reminiscent
of FVs, and exhibited an ultrastructure that combined the features
of the condensed core of MuLV with the prominent surface knobs
of FVs. Replication of ESL-2 to -4 resulted in the acquisition
of a stop codon at the N terminus of the chimeric Env proteins.
This mutation rendered the MuLV-LP nonfunctional and indicated
that the truncated FV-LP was sufficient to direct Env synthesis
into the secretory pathway. Compared to the parental viruses,
the chimeras replicated with only moderate cell-free titers.

TEXT
Foamy viruses (FVs) are complex retroid viruses with a unique
replication strategy different from that of orthoretroviruses
and hepadnaviruses (
18,
25). FVs, like the morphological type
B and D orthoretroviruses, have their cores preformed in the
cytoplasm of cells before budding at the plasma membrane (
5,
13). Primate FV budding, however, takes place preferentially
at intracellular membranes in addition to the plasma membrane
(
5,
13).
There are a number of unusual features of the prototypic FV (PFV) Env protein (15). The C terminus of the PFV transmembrane protein (TM) bears an endoplasmic reticulum retrieval signal that is responsible for the endoplasmic reticulum localization of its glycoprotein precursor gp130Env (7-9). Furthermore, PFV is unable to release particles without the coexpression of cognate Env protein (1, 2, 23). The specificity of Env incorporation into PFV cores is mediated by the leader peptide, which appears to have more unexpected features (16). The PFV LP is cleaved from the main surface (SU)-TM part of Env only very late in morphogenesis and constitutes the integral gp18 of the virion (16).
Previous studies showed that PFV Env can pseudotype murine leukemia virus (MuLV) particles in a transient cotransfection system with a MuLV vector and a Gag/Pol packaging construct (14). An enhancement of pseudotyping was achieved by replacing the cytoplasmic domain (CyD) of PFV TM with the corresponding MuLV domain (14). While removal of amino acids (aa) 2 to 25 from the PFV LP resulted in the complete loss of Env incorporation into PFV cores, pseudotyping of MuLV cores was enhanced regardless of the above-mentioned substitution of the CyD (16). These results prompted us to investigate the possibility of generating replication-competent MuLV hybrids expressing PFV Env.
Experimental design.
All plasmids analyzed in this study were based on the infectious MuLV molecular clone pAMS (21). To enhance the transient production of virus after transfection of 293T cells with full-length plasmids, the immediate-early gene enhancer/promoter of human cytomegalovirus was substituted for the authentic 5' U3 region of the long terminal repeat. The resulting plasmid, pcAMS, was the backbone of the recombinant molecular clones shown in Fig. 1. pESL-1 harbors the PFV Env with inactivating mutations of the env gene-located splice sites, which are normally used by transcripts originating from the PFV internal promoter (17). In addition, in pESL-1 the CyD of the MuLV TM was inserted in place of the PFV TM CyD. Virus derived from pESL-1 contains two consecutive LP sequences at the Env N terminus. The first, a truncated LP sequence of 21 aa, was derived from MuLV to which the original start of PFV Env was fused in frame (Fig. 1). We therefore created a number of clones which harbored the complete MuLV LP of 33 aa in length plus 3 aa beyond the cleavage site followed by deletions of portions of PFV Env (28, 29). A total of 9, 20, 45, 100, and 148 aa of PFV Env were deleted from the N terminus in pESL-2, -3, -4, -5, and -6, respectively (Fig. 1).
Analysis of the replication competence of hybrid viruses.
To analyze replication competence, 293T cells were transiently
transfected with the molecular clones and cell-free culture
supernatants were used to infect
Mus dunni-LacZ cells (
3). At
4 days later, virus yields in the cultures were determined by
analyzing the transfer rate of the MuLV LacZ vector integrated
in the
M. dunni-LacZ cells on
M. dunni cells by X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-
D-galactopyranoside)
staining. While after this time no infectivity was found in
ESL-5- and -6-infected cells, the vector transfer of the other
cultures was low but reproducibly detectable. Cell-free titers
of copackaged LacZ vector were 1 to 2 IU/ml for ESL-2 and 8
to 15 IU/ml for ESL-1, -3, and -4. As shown in Fig.
2, titers
increased over time and reached 1 to 2
x 10
3 IU/ml in ESL-1-
and -3-infected cells at 30 days postinfection and 5 to 6
x 10
3 IU/ml in ESL-4- and -2-infected cells at 15 and 60 days
postinfection, respectively. For AMS, the control virus, titers
of 10
4 to 10
5 IU/ml were measured.
Analysis of the genetic stability of the replication-competent mutants.
To investigate whether recombinations occurred in the replicating
hybrids and to verify that the PFV
env gene or its deletion
mutants were still present in the recombinants, DNA from infected
M. dunni-LacZ cells was analyzed by PCR and sequencing. PCR
amplimers, which were generated on DNA extracted from cells
on days 20 and 90 postinfection, matched perfectly to the original
plasmid's fragment length (data not shown). DNA sequencing revealed
the authentic sequence except for a G-to-A mutation in the third
position of the 17th codon of the MuLV LP in ESL-2, -3, and
-4 virus genomes (Fig.
3). This transition led to the introduction
of a TGA stop codon in place of an original TGG encoding tryptophan
(Fig.
3). The following two potential ATG start codons are located
6 and 14 triplets downstream (Fig.
3). No differences were found
between sequences from viruses of day 20 or 90 after replication
in cell culture.
Processing and incorporation of PFV Env into hybrid viruses.
Using a PFV LP-specific rabbit antiserum (
16) to analyze biochemically
the expression, processing, and incorporation of PFV Env into
MuLV particles, lysates from infected
M. dunni-LacZ cells and
from virions purified by ultracentrifugation through sucrose
cushions were subjected to immunoblotting. Recent studies of
PFV Env documented N-terminal cleavage with the appearance of
cellular gp18 and p14 and viral gp18, gp28, and gp32 products
(
16). Proteins of similar sizes were present in MuLV/PFV hybrid
viruses. Two bands, corresponding to the unprocessed PFV Env
precursor (gp130) and the major LP cleavage product (gp18),
were detected in cellular lysates from ESL-1-, ESL-2-, and ESL-3-infected
cells (Fig.
4). However, p14, the unglycosylated form of gp18,
was not found in these samples. Further, proteins comparable
in size to those reported for the PFV particle-associated LP
cleavage products (gp18, gp28, and gp32) were seen in ESL-1,
-2, and -3 virion preparations (Fig.
4). As the N-terminal 21-aa
fragment of MuLV Env is fused to PFV Env in ESL-1, the LP-related
bands observed with this virus exhibited slower mobilities than
the corresponding bands of wild-type PFV. The premature termination
of the MuLV LP and consequently the truncations that occurred
in the N-terminal region of LP in ESL-2 and -3, respectively,
caused the LP products of these viruses to migrate slightly
faster than those of ESL-1 and wild-type PFV (Fig.
4). For ESL-4,
from which the first 45 aa of the PFV LP were removed, no Env
precursor and LP cleavage product expression was observed in
immunoblotting (Fig.
4), although virus production was detected
by the vector transfer assay. Most likely, due to removal of
more than 50% of the N-terminal 86-aa fragment of PFV Env (against
which the antiserum was generated [
16]), the viral proteins
did not react with this PFV LP-specific serum.
Host cell range and cytopathogenicity of hybrid viruses.
To determine the host cell range of the hybrid viruses, mouse
NIH 3T3, bovine MDBK, hamster BHK-21, and human HT1080 and HeLa
cells were inoculated with supernatants from infected
M. dunni-LacZ
cells and the cells were subjected to X-Gal staining to test
for the transfer of the MuLV lacZ vector. Blue cells were observed
in all cell lines, indicating that the hybrids were able to
enter into and express genes in these cells. In contrast to
results for the hybrid viruses and in accordance with the well-known
entry blocking of amphotropic MuLV into these cell lines (
29),
no blue BHK-21 and MDBK cells were detected upon infection with
parental AMS virus and X-Gal staining.
A cytopathic effect characterized by the formation of multinucleated giant cells was observed in ESL-1- to -4-infected HT1080, M. dunni, and NIH 3T3 cells (data not shown). Taken together, these results indicate that the hybrid viruses have a broadened host cell range compared to the parental AMS virus and induce a cytopathology similar to that of PFV (10, 13, 24).
Ultrastructure of hybrid viruses.
MuLV and PFV show characteristic, distinct ultrastructural morphologies (Fig. 5 a and b) (2, 4, 6). While the cores of MuLV as typical mammalian type C retroviruses are assembled concomitantly with the budding process, the cores of FVs are preassembled in the cytoplasm, i.e., they become enveloped only after cores are completely assembled (4). In contrast, a structural reorganization of orthoretroviruses takes place after release of the immature virion, which leads to maturation (6). In mature MuLV virions, a polygonal, fully condensed, and centered core often can be seen, while the cores of infectious PFV usually appear less condensed (5, 6). Another major morphological difference is the length of the SU glycoprotein structures. PFV has very prominent club-like knobs about 12 nm in length. MuLV knobs, in contrast, measure only 5 nm in length and are, therefore, barely detectable by thin-section transmission electron microscopy (4, 6). Accordingly, we expected the replication-competent hybrid viruses ESL-1 to -3 to combine the morphological features of both virus subfamilies, i.e., mammalian C-type virus cores with FV-like knobs on the envelope. As shown in Fig. 5, this is what we observed in ultrathin sections of HT1080 cells producing the wild-type and recombinant viruses. While wild-type MuLV particles are studded with barely detectable knobs (Fig. 5b), the recombinants show much longer spikes (Fig. 5c to f) which are comparable to the wild-type PFV knobs (Fig. 5a). However, differences were noted regarding the density of the hybrid spikes (compare Fig. 5a and f). This suggested that the hybrid glycoproteins are more easily shed from MuLV than are the authentic knobs from PFV.
Conclusions.
The overall replication strategies, assembly pathways, and morphogenesis
characteristics of spuma- and orthoretroviruses differ significantly
from each other (
19,
25). While PFV capsids specifically incorporate
only the cognate Env protein, MuLV cores tolerate the incorporation
of a wide spectrum of heterologous glycoproteins (
16,
20,
23).
Transient cotransfection studies of packaging and vector constructs,
on the other hand, suggested that PFV Env can efficiently pseudotype
MuLV cores when modified in the CyD of TM or partially deleted
in the LP sequence, which has been shown to mediate the specificity
of FV Env in interactions with its cognate capsid protein (
14,
16). We have now extended these studies by generating MuLVs
containing hybrid Env proteins. Several conclusions can be drawn
from those hybrids, which were replication competent. (i) The
deletion of 45 aa of the PFV LP still results in a functional
Env protein that is able to pseudotype MuLV cores. (ii) The
occurrence of a nonsense mutation in the
env gene early during
replication of ESL-2 to -4, all of which contain the complete
MuLV LP sequence (
11,
12,
28,
29), indicates that two consecutive
LP sequences are not well tolerated by the chimeric Env proteins.
(iii) Amphotropic MuLV does not readily infect hamster and bovine
cell lines, while cells refractory to PFV infection are not
known to date (
10,
13,
15,
22,
24,
27). The extended host range
of the ESL viruses provides ultimate proof for their hybrid
Env nature. (iv) Cleavage and particle association of the LP
has previously been shown only in the native context of FV particles
(
16). The incorporation of the LP into the chimeric viruses
is direct evidence for the inherent property of PFV LP to be
a membrane-spanning particle-associated protein. (v) MuLV and
PFV are relatively unrelated but both parental viruses replicate
in mice (
26). The chimeric viruses characterized here are interesting
tools for the investigation of the pathogenicity and immunogenicity
of individual retroviral gene blocks in the living host.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We particularly thank S. Kanzler (TU Dresden) for expert technical
assistance throughout the project, F. Kaulbars (Robert Koch-Institut)
for her reliable work in thin section EM, and R. Riebe (Bundesforschungsanstalt
für Viruserkrankungen der Tiere) for the gift of cell lines.
This work was funded by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship from the EU (contract QLK5-CT-1999-51410) and grant support from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to D.L. (Li 621/2-3) and A.R. (RE 627/6-3), the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BEO31/32/0312191), the Bayerische Forschungsstiftung (Forgen), and the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Landwirtschaft (66-8802.3527/62 and 13-8811.61/142).

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Virologie, Medizinische Fakultät "Carl Gustav Carus," Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany. Phone: 49-351-458-6200. Fax: 49-351-458-6314. E-mail:
Axel.Rethwilm{at}mailbox.tu-dresden.de.

Permanent address: Department of Oncovirology, Institute of Experimental Pathology and Parasitology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria. 
Present address: Institut für Molekulare Virologie, Universität Heidelberg, Germany. 

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Journal of Virology, July 2003, p. 7677-7681, Vol. 77, No. 13
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.13.7677-7681.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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