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Journal of Virology, February 2003, p. 1951-1963, Vol. 77, No. 3
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.3.1951-1963.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Program in Virology/Immunology, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
Received 16 July 2002/ Accepted 1 November 2002
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F proteins expressed on surfaces of infected cells direct cell-cell fusion, resulting in lateral spread of the infection through an organ or through a monolayer of tissue culture cells. Surface-expressed F proteins are also assembled into virus particles. With the goal of exploring the requirements for the synthesis of the metastable form of the paramyxovirus fusion protein required for cell-cell fusion or for virus assembly, we have characterized the NDV F protein made in a cell-free protein-synthesizing system containing membranes. We have made the unexpected observation that products of this reaction contain, in nearly equimolar amounts, two different topological forms.
The topologies of membrane proteins with respect to membranes have been classed into three broad categories (reviewed in references 10 and 20). Type 1 glycoproteins have amino-terminal signal sequences and are positioned such that the carboxyl terminus is located in the cytoplasm and the amino terminus is in the ectodomain. Type 2 glycoproteins have a sequence that serves both as a signal sequence and as a membrane anchor and are positioned with the amino terminus in the cytoplasm and the carboxyl terminus in the ectodomain. Other glycoproteins are polytopic and span membranes multiple times by using alternating signal and membrane anchor sequences; depending on the protein, the amino terminus and the carboxyl terminus may be either cytoplasmic or extracellular. The paramyxovirus F proteins are assumed to be type 1 glycoproteins. Indeed, many structural studies (reviewed in reference 17) including determination of the crystal structure of the F protein (3) confirm the type 1 classification.
There are, however, an increasing number of examples of glycoproteins that are expressed in different topological forms with separate functions. For example, ductin is found in two different orientations in membranes, one of which serves as the subunit of the vacuolar H-ATPase and the other serves as a component of the connexin channel of gap junctions (5). Other examples include the prion protein (11), the human P glycoprotein (33, 39), and aquaporin-1 (19). In addition, the hepatitis B virus surface L glycoprotein assumes different conformations within the membrane, which serve in virus assembly as a matrix-like protein or in virus entry as a receptor binding protein (reference 18 and references therein). An alternative, unglycosylated form of the hepatitis C virus envelope protein that interacts with protein kinase R (PKR) has also been detected (26).
We describe results here that suggest that the NDV F protein exists in at least two different topological forms after synthesis in a cell-free system containing membranes. One form is associated with membranes typical of a type 1 glycoprotein. The second form is partially translocated with only the F2 and the amino terminus of F1 inserted into membranes. In addition, cytoplasmic tail sequences are translocated, suggesting a polytopic conformation. We have also found evidence for this second form in cells expressing the F protein and evidence that this form may be involved in cell-cell fusion.
(The initial experiments were done in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral dissertation of J.N.R.)
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NDV strain AV (virulent) and strain B1 (avirulent) stocks (23, 34) were prepared by growth in eggs by standard protocols. AV stocks formed plaques in Cos cells, while B1 stocks did not, consistent with the expected phenotypes of the two strains of NDV. The F protein gene carried by purified NDV strain B1 virus was sequenced to verify the absence of a furin recognition sequence.
Cell-free translation. Transcription and translation reactions were done as recommended by the Promega Protocols and Application Guide. Transcription reaction mixtures (50 µl) contained 5 µg of linearized DNA, transcription buffer (Promega), dithiothreitol (10 mM), GTP (0.05 mM), UTP, ATP, CTP (each at 0.5 mM), RNasin (1 µl), CAP analogue (0.5 mM), and SP6 polymerase (0.8 U/µl) and were incubated for 40 min at 37°C. RNA transcripts were isolated using RNAeasy RNA Clean Up (Qiagen) as recommended by the manufacturer.
Cell-free translations reaction mixtures (25 µl) contained rabbit reticulocyte extract (17.5 µl) (Promega), amino acids (20 µM each) minus methionine, [35S]methionine (10 µCi) (New England Nuclear), RNasin (1 U/µl), potassium acetate (96 mM), and 0.2 µg of mRNA transcript and were incubated for 1 h at 30°C. Membranes (2 µl/reaction) were a generous gift from Reid Gilmore (37, 38). Translations in wheat germ extracts were accomplished as previously described (38).
Protease digestion of reaction products was accomplished by adding 10 µg of proteinase K per ml of reaction mixture and incubating for 30 min on ice. After digestion, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (0.1 M) was added. For subsequent immunoprecipitation, the reaction mixtures were made 1% with respect to Triton X-100 and 0.5% with respect to sodium deoxycholate.
All reaction products were resolved in 10 or 14% polyacrylamide gels in the with respect to presence of reducing agent. All polyacrylamide gels contained molecular weight marker proteins.
Membrane fractionation. To separate extracts into membrane and soluble fractions, reticulocyte extracts with or without membranes were diluted in cell fractionation buffer (250 mM sucrose, 10 mM triethanolamine, 1 mM EDTA) and centrifuged for 30 min at 10,000 x g to generate a nonmembrane (soluble) and membrane (pellet) fractions. The pellet fractions were resuspended in cell fractionation buffer.
Transfections. Transfections using Lipofectamine (Invitrogen) were done as recommended by the manufacturer. Cos-7 cells were plated at 3 x 105 per 35-mm plate. After 20 h, a mixture of DNA (0.5 µg) in 0.1 ml OptiMEM (Gibco/Invitrogen) and 10 µl of Lipofectamine in 0.2 ml of OptiMEM was incubated at room temperature for 40 min, diluted with 0.7 ml of OptiMEM, and added to a 35-mm plate previously washed with OptiMEM. The cells were incubated for 5 h, the Lipofectamine-DNA complexes were removed, and then 2 ml of supplemented DMEM was added.
Antibodies. Anti-Ftail was raised against a synthetic peptide with the sequence of the cytoplasmic tail of the fusion protein as previously described (36) and prepared by the Peptide Core Facility of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Anti-NDV is a polyclonal antiserum raised in rabbits against UV-inactivated virions by standard methods. Anti-HR1 was raised against a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein that contained sequences from amino acids 130 to 173 of the F protein cloned in frame to the carboxyl terminus of GST (using BamHI and EcoRI sites in the pGEX-2T vector [Amersham Biosciences]). Anti-F3b was raised against a GST fusion protein that contained sequences from amino acids 306 to 421 of the F protein similarly cloned in frame to the carboxyl terminus of GST. The GST fusion polypeptides were purified by standard methods recommended in the Novagen Applications Guide. Antibody was raised in rabbits by standard methods by Capralogics, Inc. (Hardwick, Mass.).
Immunofluorescence. Cos-7 cells were plated in 35-mm plates containing glass coverslips and transfected as described above. After 48 h, the cells were washed twice with ice-cold IF buffer (phosphate-buffered saline [PBS] containing 1% bovine serum albumin, 0.02% sodium azide, and 0.01% CaCl2) and incubated for 1 h at 4°C in IF buffer containing antibody (diluted 1:100). The cells were washed three times with ice-cold IF buffer and incubated for 1 h on ice with IF buffer containing Alexa 488 (Molecular Probes)-labeled anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) (Molecular Probes). They were washed with ice-cold IF buffer, fixed with 2% paraformaldehyde, and mounted for microscopy in IF buffer.
Flow cytometry. Transfected cells, incubated overnight in DMEM without CaCl2 were removed from plates with cell dissociation buffer (Sigma Co.), washed in FACS buffer (PBS containing 1% bovine serum albumin and 0.02% azide), and incubated for 1 h at 4°C with anti-Ftail antibody diluted in FACS buffer. After being washed three times with FACS buffer, the cells were incubated for 1 h at 4°C with goat anti-rabbit IgG coupled to Alexa 488 diluted in FACS buffer. After three washes in FACS buffer, the cells were resuspended in PBS containing 2% paraformaldehye and subjected to flow cytometry (University of Massachusetts Medical School Flow Cytometry Facility).
Preparation of extracts and Western analysis. Cos-7 cells infected with NDV for 5 to 7 h (multiplicity of infection of 10) were washed in PBS and lysed in RSB buffer (0.01 M Tris-HCl [pH 7.4], 0.01 M NaCl) containing 1% Triton X-100, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 2 mg of N-ethylmaleimide per ml, and 0.2 mg of DNase per ml. Freshly made total-cell extracts, diluted in sample buffer containing ß-mercaptoethanol, were loaded onto 10% polyacrylamide gels without boiling. Molecular weight markers (Amersham Biosciences) were included in each gel. After electrophoresis, the gels were equilibrated in transfer buffer (25 mM Tris, 192 mM glycine, 15% methanol [pH 8.2]) and transferred to Immobilon-P (Millipore Corp.) membranes. The membranes were blocked overnight at 4°C in PBS containing 0.5% Tween 20 and 10% nonfat dried milk. They were then washed in PBS-Tween 20 and incubated for 2 h at room temperature with primary antibody diluted in PBS-Tween 20 and 0.5% nonfat milk. They were washed and then incubated for 2 h at room temperature in secondary antibody, anti-rabbit IgG coupled to horseradish peroxidase (Amersham Biosciences) diluted in PBS-Tween 20-0.5% nonfat milk. The membranes were washed extensively and bound antibody was detected using the ECL Western blotting detection reagent system (Amersham Biosciences).
Fusion assays using R18 labeled RBC. The method used for the fusion assays was similar to that previously described (13, 14). Avian red blood cells (RBC) (Crane Laboratories) were washed in PBS, resuspended in PBS, and incubated with 15 µg of R18 (Molecular Probes) per ml for 30 min at room temperature in the dark. Three volumes of complete medium (DMEM with 10% fetal calf serum) were added, and incubation was continued for 30 min. The RBC were washed four times in ice-cold PBS, resuspended in PBS containing CaCl2 (0.01%), and added to transfected cells, grown on coverslips, that had been washed in PBS plus CaCl2. The transfected cells were incubated with labeled RBC for 30 min on ice, washed with ice-cold PBS containing CaCl2, and then incubated at 37°C. They were washed with cold PBS containing CaCl2 and immediately visualized, counted, and photographed using a Nikon fluorescence microscope.
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FIG. 1. Location of domains in the primary sequence of the NDV F protein. A diagram of the sequence of the NDV F protein (22) is presented with important domains indicated: ss, signal sequence; FP, fusion peptide; HR, heptad repeat; TM, transmembrane domain; CT, cytoplasmic tail; used glycosylation addition sites, g1, g2, g3, and g5. The position of the cleavage site used to generate F2 and F1 polypeptides is indicated by an arrow. Locations of specific amino acids (aa) are indicated below the line. Also below the line are the sequences of the CT domain of wild-type (wt) and deletion mutant F proteins, designated by the amino acids deleted.
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FIG. 2. Translation and membrane association of F mRNA in reticulocyte cell-free protein synthesis reactions. (A) Translation of F-protein mRNA transcripts in a reticulocyte extract in the absence (lane 2) or presence (lane 3) of canine pancreas membranes (RM). *, p68 product of the reaction with membranes present. Lanes 1 and 4 contain radioactively labeled proteins present in infected-cell extracts (m, marker). L, large protein; HN, hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein; F0, uncleaved fusion protein; NP, nucleocapsid protein; M, membrane protein. The lower-molecular-mass band in lane 3 is due to endogenous RM mRNAs (see Fig. 3). (B) Extracts incubated in the absence (lanes 1 to 4) or presence (lanes 5 to 8) of F-protein mRNA transcripts and the absence (lanes 1, 2, 5, and 6) or presence (lanes 3, 4, 7, and 8) of canine pancreas membrane were fractionated into pellet (P) and soluble (S) fractions as described in Materials and Methods.
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FIG. 3. Protease protection of cell-free translation products made in the presence of membranes. Products made in the absence (lanes 1 and 4) or presence (lanes 7, 10, and 13) of membranes (RM) were digested with proteinase K in the absence (lanes 2, 5, 8, 11, and 14) or presence (lanes 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15) of Triton X-100. Products which were the result of endogenous transcripts in reticulocyte extracts or associated with the membranes are shown in lanes 1 to 3 and 7 to 9, respectively. The products of reactions in the presence of F mRNA are shown in lanes 4 to 6, 10 to 12, and 13 to 15. The fully glycosylated F protein (p68) is indicated by an asterisk. The minimally glycosylated products (p59) are indicated by the arrowhead. Smaller protected fragments are indicated by arrows. Lanes 13 to 15 contain products of wheat germ reactions carried out in the presence of membranes, while all other lanes contain products of reticulocyte extracts. The membranes used for the experiments in lanes 13 to 15 were from a different preparation from those used in the experiments in the other lanes.
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To explore the nature of this membrane association, the protease resistance of the products of the cell-free reaction was characterized, since translocated material should be protected from digestion. Protease digestion reduced the size of the fully glycosylated F protein by approximately 3 kDa (Fig. 3, lanes 11 and 14), a result consistent with the expected removal of the exposed cytoplasmic tail. Furthermore, the fully glycosylated molecule was completely digested on disruption of the membranes with detergent (lanes 12 and 15) showing that protease resistance was due to protection by membranes. Protease digestion of the F protein made in the absence of membranes completely digested the protein in the presence or absence of detergent (lanes 5 and 6).
The p59 product in the presence of intact membranes was also digested with protease (Fig. 3, lane 11). However, there was reproducibly a 23-kDa protected polypeptide (lanes 11 and 14) that was completely digested on membrane disruption (lanes 12 and 15). Protease digestion of the wheat germ product yielded a 23-kDa protected fragment as well as a 10-kDa protected fragment, both of which were completely digested on detergent disruption of the membranes (lanes 14 and 15). The smaller (10-kDa) protected fragment was also detected in the reticulocyte product after immunoprecipitation with antibody specific for NDV proteins and was not detected in the total product probably because of background comigrating polypeptides (see Fig. 5).
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FIG. 5. Immunoprecipitation of protease-digested products of reactions directed by mutant transcripts. (A and B) Products of reactions identical to those in Fig. 4 were digested with proteinase K and then precipitated with anti-NDV (A) or anti-Ftail (B). Precipitated material was electrophoresed on 14% polyacrylamide gels. The sizes of polypeptides indicated by arrows were determined using Rainbow markers electrophoresed on the same gel (data not shown). Fg1, Fg2, Fg3, and Fg5 are glycosylation site mutants mutated in a single-use glycosylation site. Fg1,2,3,5 encodes an F protein mutated in all four used glycosylation sites. Fd523-553 and Fd540-553 are CT deletion mutants described in Fig. 1. (C) Products of reactions directed by the wild-type transcript (Fwt) in the presence or absence of membranes (RM) and digested with protease in the presence or absence of Triton X-100. The products were then were precipitated with anti-Ftail antibody.
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FIG. 4. Translation of mRNA transcripts of F-protein glycosylation site mutants. Products of reticulocyte reactions in the presence of membranes and directed by mRNAs derived from glycosylation site mutant DNAs (indicated above each lane) were precipitated with anti-NDV (A) or anti-Ftail (B). Transcripts from mutant DNAs containing single-site mutations (Fg1, Fg2, Fg3, and Fg5) or containing mutations in all four used sites (Fg1,2,3,5) were used. Reaction products directed by F wild-type mRNA in the absence of membranes are shown in the right-hand lane of each panel (Fwt-no RM). The new polypeptides detected in Fg1 and in Fg1,2,3,5 products are indicated by the arrow.
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On immunoprecipitation of the proteins directed by wild-type and mutant mRNAs, an additional, protease-protected polypeptide with a molecular mass of approximately 10 kDa (Fig. 5A) was also detected, a polypeptide that was masked by background bands in the unprecipitated products of the reticulocyte reaction. This species was identical in size to that seen in protease digestion products of wheat germ reactions (Fig. 3, lane 14). The size of this protected fragment was unchanged by elimination of any of the glycosylation addition sites. It was, however, completely digested in the presence of detergent (Fig. 5C).
Translocation of cytoplasmic domain mutants. The protease-protected fragments were also characterized in products directed by mRNAs transcribed from cDNAs of two mutant F protein genes missing the entire cytoplasmic tail sequence of the protein (d523-553) or half of the cytoplasmic tail (d540-553) (Fig. 5A). As expected, protease digestion of the products did not reduce the size of the fully glycosylated F-dG523-553 and only slightly reduced the size of F-d540-553 (Fig. 5A), a result consistent with the deletion of all or part of the CT sequences in these mutant proteins. Also as expected, neither mutation affected the size of the 23-kDa protected species (Fig. 5A). However, surprisingly, deletion of the CT sequences eliminated the 10-kDa protected fragment (Fig. 5A). Furthermore, this fragment, derived from the d540-553 mutant protein, was slightly smaller, consistent with the deletion of approximately half of the cytoplasmic tail. This result suggests that the 10-kDa membrane-protected fragment may be derived from the cytoplasmic tail of the F protein.
This surprising result was confirmed by precipitating digestion products with antibody specific for the cytoplasmic tail sequences of the F protein (Fig. 5B). Using this antibody, the fully glycosylated F protein in membranes after protease digestion was not precipitated with anti-Ftail antibody, consistent with the removal of the cytoplasmic tail sequences by the protease. However, the 10-kDa fragment derived with wild-type translations was precipitated but was missing from products derived from the cytoplasmic tail deletion mutants. This result suggests that CT sequences are protected from protease digestion and may be translocated across membranes.
The 23-kDa protease-resistant fragment was also precipitated by the anti-Ftail antibody in proteins with CT domains but not in products of proteins mutated in CT sequences. This result suggests an interaction between the CT sequence and the 23-kDa polypeptide.
These combined results are consistent with a partial translocation of the amino-terminal region of the F protein as well as the carboxyl-terminal region.
Western analysis of fusion protein in infected-cell extracts. We wished to determine if the partially glycosylated form of the F protein was characteristic of only the cell-free system or if this novel form of F protein existed in NDV-infected cells. Detection of the partially glycosylated molecule in infected cells was not straightforward since the F1 protein, the result of cleavage of the fully glycosylated fusion protein, is the same size as the partially glycosylated F protein detected in the cell-free system. To eliminate complications due to the presence of F1, we used cells infected with the B1 strain of NDV. This strain encodes an F protein missing a furin recognition sequence and is therefore uncleaved in tissue culture cells (8, 35) but cleaved when grown in fertilized eggs due to the presence of factor X in the chorioallantoic fluid of eggs (reviewed in reference 17). Thus, any F1-sized polypeptide found in tissue culture cells infected with NDV strain B1 is a candidate for the partially glycosylated form of the protein. In contrast, NDV strain AV encodes an F protein with a furin sequence and the F protein is proteolytically cleaved (35). Different F-specific antibodies were screened in a Western analysis of proteins in total-cell extracts derived from NDV strain AV- or B1-infected cells (Fig. 6). Results with three different antibodies raised against different sequences in the F-protein F1 domain are shown. As expected, extracts from AV-infected cells contained two polypeptides, F0 and F1, that react with all antisera (Fig. 6, lanes 3, 6, and 9). Extracts from B1-infected cells also contained two polypeptides, F0 and an F1-sized polypeptide, that reacted with two of the antibodies (lanes 4 and 7). One of these polypeptides comigrated with F0, and the second migrated with the size of the partially glycosylated form of the F protein. This result is consistent with the presence of the partially glycosylated form of the protein, at least in NDV-B1-infected cells. It should be noted that not all antibodies would detect the p59-sized polypeptide in B1-infected cell extracts. For example, antibody specific for the cytoplasmic tail would not detect this second form or, in some experiments, would only weakly detect the polypeptide (lane 10).
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FIG. 6. Western analysis of proteins synthesized in infected cells. Cos-7 cells, infected with NDV strain AV or strain B1 or mock infected (UI) for 7 h were lysed, and aliquots of total-cell extract were subjected to Western analysis as described in Materials and Methods. Blots were incubated with anti-F3b (lanes 2 to 4), anti-HR1 (lanes 5 to 7), or anti-Ftail (lanes 8 to 10). Molecular mass markers were included in each blot and were used to determine the sizes of the bands detected. B1 virions isolated from infected, fertilized eggs (and therefore containing a cleaved F protein [17]) are shown in lane 1. Uninfected extracts are shown in lanes 2, 5, and 8; AV-infected extracts are shown in lanes 3, 6, and 9; and B1-infected extracts are shown in lanes 4, 7, and 10.
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FIG. 7. Detection of CT sequences on the surfaces of transfected and infected cells by immunofluorescence. (A to F) Results obtained with transfected Cos-7 cells. (G to L) Results obtained with NDV-infected Cos-7 cells. Cos-7 cells transfected with vector alone (A and D), with pSVL-Fwt (B and E), or with pSVL-Fwt and pSVL-HN (C and F) were incubated with anti-Ftail (A to C) or anti-NDV (D to F). Panels A to C were exposed to film for 4 s, while panels D to F were exposed for 1.5 s. Uninfected Cos-7 cells (G and J) or Cos-7 cells infected with NDV strain AV (H and K) or strain B1 (I and L) were incubated with anti-Ftail (G to I) or anti-NDV (J to L). Infected cells incubated with anti-Ftail were exposed to film for 2 s, while infected cells incubated with anti-NDV were exposed to film for 1.5 s.
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FIG. 8. Detection of CT sequences on the surfaces of cells transfected with F-wt and F-d540-553 DNAs. (A-D) Results of flow cytometry. (A) pSVL-Fwt using anti-Ftail antibody; (B) pSVL-F-d540-553 using anti-Ftail antibody; (C) pSVL-HN using anti-Ftail antibody; (D) pSVL-Fwt (black line) and pSVL-F-d540-553 (gray line) using anti-NDV antibody. FL1-H, fluorescence. Each panel also shows cells transfected with vector alone and incubated with both primary and secondary antibody as a background control. (E to H) Detection of CT sequences on surfaces of transfected cells by immunofluorescence, (E) Vector incubated with anti-Ftail; (F) F-d540-553 incubated with anti-Ftail; (G) F-d540-553 incubated with anti-NDV; (H) F-wt incubated with anti-NDV. Panels E and F were exposed for 3 s, and panels G and H were exposed for 2 s.
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Inhibition of fusion by antibody to CT sequences. To ask if the CT sequences detected at cell surfaces played any role in cell-cell fusion, the effect of antibody to CT sequences on membrane fusion was determined. We tested the effect of antibody on the fusion of RBC with Cos-7 cells expressing the HN and F proteins. Initial steps in RBC fusion to HN- and F-protein-expressing cells can be monitored by the transfer of fluorescence-labeled lipid from RBC membranes to the membranes of cells expressing viral fusion proteins. Cos-7 cells transfected with genes encoding the HN protein and the wild-type F protein form large syncytia which bind RBC. On incubation at 37°C, these cells fused with the RBC and the fluorescence-labeled lipid in RBC spread into the syncytia (Fig. 9A). Eighty percent of syncytia were positive for fusion with RBC, showing that proteins expressed on the surfaces of the syncytia are capable of directing fusion on binding of the RBC.
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FIG. 9. Inhibition of fusion by anti-Ftail. At 48 h after cotransfection of Cos-7 cells with pSVL-Fwt and pSVL-HN, monolayers were incubated in the presence or absence of anti-Ftail antibody for 30 min on ice. The cells were then incubated on ice with R18-labeled RBC in the presence or absence of antibody. After the unbound RBC were washed away, the cells were incubated at 37°C in the presence or absence of antibody. Each field shows a syncytium. Similar results were obtained in four separate experiments using different lots of RBC. (A) No antibody; (B) anti-Ftail; (C) preimmune sera; (D) percentage of syncytia that were positive for dye transfer (fusion): column 1, no antibody added; column 2, preimmune sera; column 3, cells incubated only on ice; column 4, anti-NDV antisera (added only after RBC binding); column 5, anti-Ftail. The results in panel D are the average of three experiments. In each experiment, 50 to 100 syncytia were counted. Bars indicate variation between experiments.
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FIG. 10. Membrane topologies of the F protein. Shown are the possible topologies of the F protein in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Species 1 is typical of a type 1 glycoprotein, with the amino terminus (N) in the lumen and the carboxyl terminus (C) in the cytoplasm, and would account for the fully glycosylated form of the protein. Species 2 shows a partially translocated molecule with F2 sequences inserted and would account for the partially translocated form of the protein that is glycosylated at site 1. Species 3 shows the translocation of only the CT sequences, with the amino terminus of the protein untranslocated. Species 4 would occur if the F2 and CT sequences detected on the luminal side of membranes were on the same molecule. Glycosylation sites are indicated by "stars". The precise disposition with respect to membranes of the presumed cytoplasmic domains of the protein in species 2 to 4 is uncertain and is therefore represented by dashed lines.
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Whether the protease-protected CT sequences and the amino-terminal protected fragment are derived from the same molecule is not clear. Potentially, these protected species are derived from two different topological forms, illustrated in Fig. 10 as forms 2 and 3. Alternatively, they could be derived from the same molecule (form 4) that was inserted as a loop. This latter form might be possible if the TM sequence serves as a signal sequence when located after a translocation arrest mediated by more amino-terminal sequences. Such a scenario is typical of membrane insertion of polytopic membrane proteins. That both protected fragments were immunoprecipitated with anti-Ftail suggests that the two sequences may interact.
Use of cell-free translation systems has been a reliable and widely used method for exploring the disposition of proteins in membranes. However, a mixed topology was potentially a characteristic of the cell-free system only, and it was important to demonstrate the phenomenon in F-protein-expressing cells. Two lines of evidence do suggest that the F protein may assume a dual topology in cells expressing this protein. First, CT sequences could be detected, both by immunofluorescence and by flow cytometry, on surfaces of cells expressing the wild-type F protein but not of cells expressing F protein with CT sequences deleted or cells expressing only the HN protein. Surfaces of infected cells were also positive for CT sequences. Second, a polypeptide with the size of the partially glycosylated form of the F protein could be detected by Western analysis of proteins in total-cell extracts prepared from NDV strain B1-infected cells. This form of the NDV F protein was probably not previously detected for several reasons. First, it comigrates with the cleaved form of the F protein, F1. Second, the protein, with minimal glycosylation, is very hydrophobic (22) and probably readily aggregates and sediments with nuclei in the preparation of cytoplasmic extracts. Indeed, we reproducibly detected this second form only in freshly made and unfrozen total-cell extracts. Third, not all antibodies detected this form of the protein.
The potential of internal sequences of a paramyxovirus F protein to serve as stop transfer signals was a question explored many years ago (25). The focus of these early experiments was the fusion peptide. Indeed, it was concluded that the fusion peptide did not serve as a stop transfer/membrane anchor when located internally in a polypeptide although, when placed at the end of a sequence, the fusion peptide could function in this way (25). In contrast, the results presented here are consistent with sequences carboxyl terminal to the fusion peptide functioning in translocation arrest. The potential translocation arrest activity of these sequences was not previously explored. Furthermore, since there were no examples of proteins with mixed topology at the time of the earlier studies, the possibility that the F protein might fold in two different ways was not considered.
Clearly, a key question is the functional significance of this second form of the F protein detected in the cell-free system and in cells, a question currently under investigation. While this second form of the F protein may play no role, this possibility seems unlikely, given the economy of viral replication mechanisms. This second form could participate directly in membrane fusion, in virus assembly, or in glycoprotein folding. Alternatively, the partially translocated form may play some regulatory role in any of these processes. For example, the partial translocation of the F protein could serve to down regulate the expression of a fully active F protein. It is also possible that its function is unrelated to membrane fusion, as suggested for the alternative form of the HCV env protein (26). However, it has been found that deletion of the cytoplasmic tail of the NDV F protein renders the protein fusion defective, for reasons that have not been clear (31), although this result may suggest some role of the CT domain in fusion. That antibody against the cytoplasmic tail sequences can block the fusion of RBC with cells expressing the HN and F proteins also suggests that these sequences, exposed on cell surfaces, may play a role in fusion. The antibody may indirectly interfere with conformational changes in the fully translocated F protein required for activation of fusion by virtue of its proximity to molecules capable of directing fusion. Alternatively, a second form of the F protein may play some direct role in membrane fusion. This second possibility would considerably complicate current models for F-protein-mediated fusion.
It is interesting that some antibodies raised against the cytoplasmic tail of human immunodeficiency virus gp41 neutralize infection (2, 15). This observation led to the suggestion that these sequences were expressed on cell surfaces, although this proposal is controversial (30). It was suggested that these surface-exposed human immunodeficiency virus gp41 CT sequences play some role in postattachment steps in virus entry (4).
We thank Reid Gilmore for generously supplying canine pancreas membranes. We thank Anne Haywood for critically reading the manuscript.
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