Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, August 2004, p. 8146-8158, Vol. 78, No. 15
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.15.8146-8158.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Virology, The Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Received 28 October 2003/ Accepted 15 March 2004
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
Although the envelope proteins of HPIV-3 are capable of performing various functions during the viral life cycle, HN and F are primarily required during cellular entry of HPIV-3. It is well documented that cell surface SAR serves as the initial attachment receptor for HPIV-3 following its interaction with HN. It was recently demonstrated that, apart from the SAR, cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) is also required for the efficient cellular entry of HPIV-3 in human lung epithelial A549 cells (9). Moreover, it is speculated that an additional non-SAR and/or non-HS cell surface molecule(s) may also serve as a secondary receptor(s) for HPIV-3, since (i) HN of HPIV-3 uses specific SAR and does not indiscriminately bind to all sialic acid-containing molecules on the cell surface (49), (ii) HPIV-3 cellular entry was not completely abolished in the absence of cell surface sialic acid molecules (46, 47, 48), (iii) complete inhibition of HPIV-3 entry did not occur in cells lacking HS (9), (iv) a recombinant HPIV-3 lacking the neuramindase activity was capable of entering the cells (56, 57), and (v) previous studies (8) on the mechanism of HPIV-3 entry and budding in polarized human lung epithelial A549 cells have revealed preferential utilization of the apical plasma membrane domain by HPIV-3 for these processes, thus demonstrating that the apical plasma membrane domain of lung epithelial cells preferentially expresses the cell surface molecule(s) utilized by HPIV-3 to gain entry into the cells. Thus, these studies have suggested that specific sialyated/nonsialyated and/or nonproteoglycan cell surface molecule(s) may act as the primary and/or secondary entry receptor(s) for HPIV-3. Moreover, the majority of studies (1, 47, 48, 49, 56, 67) dealing with the mechanism of HPIV-3 cellular entry and fusion were performed with nonepithelial cells such as HeLa, LLC-MK2 and CV-1 cells, cells that are not of lung origin. Since viruses are capable of utilizing different sets of molecules depending on the cell type during the entry process, we investigated whether any nonproteoglycan and/or non-SAR molecule is involved in the entry of HPIV-3 into human lung epithelial cells, the cells that are the primary target of HPIV-3 during the normal course of infection via the airway.
In the present study, we have identified cell surface nucleolin as an additional cell surface molecule that is required for the efficient entry of HPIV-3 into human lung epithelial A549 cells. Nucleolin is a multifunctional protein (65) that shuttles between nucleus and cytoplasm and has been reported to be expressed on the surfaces of various cells (38, 41, 62), acting as a receptor for various ligands, including lipoproteins (61), cytokines, growth factors (11, 60, 68), the extracelullar matrix (18, 29, 39), bacteria (63), and viruses (17, 33, 51, 52, 53, 54). We demonstrate that, similar to these functions of cell surface nucleolin, nucleolin is expressed on the surfaces of A549 cells with preferential enrichment on the apical plasma membrane domain and that its interaction with HPIV-3 envelope protein(s) leads to the efficient cellular entry of HPIV-3.
|
|
|---|
VOPBA. Total cell lysates obtained from A549 cells and fractionated on an anion exchange column were used for a virus overlay protein binding assay (VOPBA) (5, 23, 25, 37, 45, 71). The A549 cells were lysed as described previously (14). The lysate (15 mg of protein) was subjected to fast protein liquid chromatography with an anion exchange column (Hi trap-Q column; Pharmacia-Amersham, Uppsala, Sweden) on an AKTA purifier (Pharmacia-Amersham). The proteins were eluted with a linear gradient from 20 mM to 1 M NaCl as 500-µl fractions. The eluted fractions were concentrated with Centricon (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.), and a portion of each fraction was used for VOPBA. For VOPBA (5), the fractions were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-7.5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-7.5% PAGE) analysis and the separated proteins were transferred to the nitrocellulose membrane. Following transfer, the membrane was washed once with 1x PBS (10 min, room temperature [RT]), and 4% bovine serum albumin (BSA) in 1x PBS was added to the blot for overnight incubation at 4°C. The membrane was then incubated with 5% nonfat dry milk in 1x PBS (1 h, RT) and washed three times with 1x PBS (10 min each, RT). 35S-HPIV-3 (5 million cpm) was added to the blot in the presence of minimal essential medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Following incubation for 12 h at 4°C, the blot was washed four times with 2% BSA in 1x PBS (15 min each, RT) and twice with 1x PBS containing 0.1% NP-40 (15 min each, RT). The dried blot was then subjected to fluorography. In addition, VOPBA was also carried out by adding 35S-HPIV-3 following preincubation of the blot with 20-fold excess nonradioactive (cold) HPIV-3.
Protein sequencing. The eluted fractions containing the 35S-HPIV-3 interacting 110-kDa protein band (as deduced by VOPBA) were used for amino-terminal sequence analysis. These fractions were subjected to SDS-7.5% PAGE, and the separated proteins were transferred to the polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane. Following transfer, the PVDF membrane was stained with Coomassie blue and the 110-kDa band was excised from the membrane for amino-terminal sequencing by the Edman degradation method with an Applied Biosystems Procise automated sequencer (model 492).
Cell surface and domain-specific biotinylation. For cell surface biotinylation (43), A549 cells chilled at 4°C for 2 h were washed once with chilled 1x PBS, and NHS-Biotin (Pierce) (250 µg/ml) was added to the washed cells in the presence of cold 1x PBS. The cells were incubated with biotin at 4°C for 90 min with the addition of fresh biotin after the first 45 min. The biotinylation reaction was quenched following the washing of the cells (four times, 10 min each, 4°C) with 1x PBS (cold) containing 100 mM glycine. The cells were then washed twice with 1x PBS and lysed. Avidin conjugated to agarose beads was added to the cell lysates, and, following 8 h of incubation at 4°C, the beads were washed extensively with 1x PBS and SDS-PAGE sample buffer was directly added to the washed beads for Western blot analysis (see below) with antinucleolin or anti-ß-catenin antibodies. For the domain-specific biotinylation assay (7), A549 cells were grown on filter inserts (0.45-µm-pore-size MCE membrane; Millipore) for the formation of a polarized monolayer (8). The polarized cells were chilled, biotin was added either from the upper (apical) or the lower (basolateral) chamber, and the reaction was performed as described above. The cell lysates prepared from cells treated with biotin from either the apical or the basolateral side were subjected to precipitation with avidin-agarose and to Western blot analysis as described above.
Purification of nucleolin and ß-catenin. Human nucleolin was purified from Hep-2 cells as described previously (63). Nucleolin was purified to homogeneity as deduced by Coomassie blue staining (data not shown) (63). The recombinant histidine (His)-tagged ß-catenin (a gift from Pierre D. McCrea, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tex.) cloned into the baculovirus vector was used to infect Hi-5 cells. The infected cell extract was subjected to nickel-agarose affinity chromatography, and the bound His-ß-catenin was eluted by imidazole as described previously (70). The eluted ß-catenin was homogeneous, as determined by Coomassie blue staining (data not shown).
Interaction of biotinylated HPIV-3 with nucleolin. Biotinylated HPIV-3 (2 multiplicities of infection [MOI]) was added to A549 cells, and following 2 h of adsorption at 37°C the cells were washed extensively with 1x PBS and the cell lysate was subjected to immunoprecipitation with antinucleolin or anti-ß-catenin antibody in the presence of protein A-Sepharose beads (Amersham-Pharmacia) as described previously (10). Following 12 h of incubation at 4°C, the beads were washed, the bound proteins were subjected to SDS-7.5% PAGE, and the separated proteins were transferred to the nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was blotted with avidin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (avidin-HRP) (Pierce) to visualize the biotinylated envelope proteins of HPIV-3. Similarly, the cell lysates obtained from the biotinylated HPIV-3-treated (incubated at 37 or 4°C) or VSV-treated (incubated at 37°C) cells were precipitated with avidin-agarose as described above and the bound proteins were subjected to Western blot analysis with antinucleolin antibody.
Western blot analysis. Western blot analysis was performed essentially as described previously (8, 9, 10). Following SDS-7.5% PAGE, the proteins transferred to the nitrocellulose membrane were blocked with 1x PBS containing 10% nonfat dry milk (blocking buffer) (2 h, RT). The various primary antibodies, including antinucleolin (monoclonal) (Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif.), anti-ß-catenin (monoclonal) (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.), anti-HPIV-3 RNP (polyclonal, recognizes HPIV-3 N protein), antihemagglutinin (anti-HA; monoclonal) (Sigma-Aldrich), and anti-VSV P protein antibodies (polyclonal) were added to the blot in the presence of the blocking buffer and incubated for 12 h at 4°C. The blots were then washed with 1x PBS containing 0.05% NP-40 and incubated with the secondary antibodies (anti-rabbit or -mouse HRP [Santa Cruz]) for 2 h at RT. The washed blots were processed for enhanced chemiluminescence according to the manufacturer's protocol (Amersham-Pharmacia).
Transfection of HA-nucleolin and F and HN proteins. HA-tagged human nucleolin (HA-nucleolin) subcloned into pcDNA3 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) (a gift from Nancy Meizel, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.) and empty pcDNA3 vectors were used for transfecting A549 cells grown to 70 to 80% confluence. The cDNAs (1.5 µg/ml) were transfected by using Lipofectin (GIBCO-BRL) as described previously (10, 16). Forty-eight hours posttransfection, cells were lysed and the lysate was subjected to Western blot analysis with anti-HA antibody. The lysates were also immunoprecipitated with anti-HA antibody conjugated to the agarose beads (Sigma-Aldrich). The bound proteins were subjected to VOPBA with 35S-HPIV-3 in the absence or presence of excess cold HPIV-3 as described above. FLAG-tagged HPIV-3 F and HN proteins (FLAG-F and FLAG-HN, respectively) subcloned into the pGEM4 vector were used to express these proteins in A549 cells. Since the pGEM4 vector possesses the T7 polymerase promoter site, T7 polymerase was expressed in trans prior to transfection by infecting A549 cells (10 MOI) with a recombinant vaccinia virus (MVA-T7) expressing T7 polymerase. Following 2 h of infection with MVA-T7, cells were transfected with either F or HN cDNA (1 µg/ml) by using Lipofectin (15, 16). An empty vector was also transfected as a control. Thirty-six hours posttransfection, the cells were incubated with methionine-free medium (GIBCO-BRL) for 3 h and the cells were labeled with [35S]methionine (300 µCi/ml) for 4 h at 37°C. The cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibody conjugated to the agarose beads (Sigma-Aldrich). The proteins bound to the washed beads were subjected to SDS-7.5% PAGE and fluorography as described previously (15, 16).
Coimmunoprecipitation of nucleolin with HPIV-3 envelope proteins. For the coimmunoprecipitation analysis, cells were transfected with FLAG-F and FLAG-HN individually or together as detailed above. An empty vector was also transfected as a control. Thirty-six hours posttransfection, the cells were lysed and the lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG-agarose. Following 12 h of incubation at 4°C in a rotor, the beads were washed extensively and the bound proteins were subjected to SDS-7.5% PAGE and Western blot analysis with antinucleolin antibody.
Virus infection in the presence of antinucleolin antibodies and purified nucleolin. The effects of nucleolin antibodies and purified nucleolin on HPIV-3 and VSV infection were studied by using A549 cells. For antibody-blocking experiments, A549 cells were incubated with polyclonal (Santa Cruz) or monoclonal (MBL, Watertown, Mass.) nucleolin antibodies (25 and 50 µg/ml) or control polyclonal ß-catenin (Sigma-Aldrich) antibody (70 µg/ml) for 1 h at 37°C. Following antibody incubation, HPIV-3 or VSV (0.2 MOI) was added to the cells and the adsorption was continued for 2 h at 37°C. The cells were then washed to remove unbound viruses, and the infection was continued for an additional 36 h. Thirty-six hours postinfection, the cell lysates were used for Western blot analysis with either anti-HPIV-3 RNP or anti-VSV P protein antibodies to monitor the intracellular HPIV-3 N or VSV P protein levels. In addition, the culture supernatants were collected to measure virus yield by plaque assay of CV-1 or L929 cells. The effect of purified nucleolin on virus infection was investigated following incubation of VSV or HPIV-3 (0.2 MOI) with either purified nucleolin (5, 15, and 30 nM) or purified ß-catenin (50 nM) for 3 h at room temperature. The preincubated virus was then added to the A549 cells, and adsorption was carried out for 2 h at 37°C. Following adsorption, the cells were washed to remove unbound viruses and infection was continued for an additional 36 h. The infectivity was monitored by Western blot analysis and the plaque assay as described above. The efficiency of virus infection (based on the plaque assay results), expressed as percentage of infection, was calculated based on a ratio that is detailed in the figure legends. This method of calculating the percentage of HPIV-3 infection efficiency was previously utilized in several studies (8, 9, 26, 55).
Attachment and internalization of 35S-HPIV-3 in the presence of nucleolin antibodies and purified nucleolin. The 35S-HPIV-3 attachment and internalization assays were performed as described previously (8). The kinetics of 35S-HPIV-3 attachment was studied by adding 0.25 to 2 MOI of 35S-HPIV-3 (1 x 105 to 8 x 105 cpm) to chilled A549 cells. After 2 h of incubation at 4°C (the temperature that supports attachment but not internalization), the cells were washed extensively with chilled 1x PBS, the washed cells were lysed, and the lysate radioactivity representing the attached 35S-HPIV-3 was counted with a scintillation counter. For the attachment assay in the presence of nucleolin antibodies, A549 cells were chilled at 4°C for 2 h, followed by the addition of nucleolin and control antibodies. The cells were incubated with the antibodies for 2 h at 4°C, and 35S-HPIV-3 (1 MOI) (4 x 105 cpm) was added to these cells for attachment at 4°C. After 2 h of incubation, the cells were washed extensively with chilled 1x PBS, the washed cells were lysed, and the lysate radioactivity representing the attached 35S-HPIV-3 was counted with a scintillation counter. Similarly, 35S-HPIV-3 preincubated with purified nucleolin or ß-catenin was added to chilled A549 cells for the attachment assay.
For the internalization assay (8, 9), chilled A549 cells were incubated with the antibodies for 2 h at 4°C and 35S-HPIV-3 (1 MOI) (4 x 105 cpm) was added to the cells for attachment at 4°C. Following attachment for 2 h, the cells were washed extensively with 1x PBS and the temperature was shifted to 37°C to allow internalization of the attached virus. At 0.5, 1, and 2 h postinternalization, cells were washed extensively with 1x PBS and trypsinized for 15 min at 37°C to remove cell surface-attached viruses as described previously (8). The protease activity was neutralized with complete Dulbecco modified Eagle medium, and the cells were washed twice with 1x PBS. The washed cells were lysed, and the lysates representing the internalized 35S-HPIV-3 were counted (counts per minute) with a scintillation counter. A similar internalization assay was performed with 35S-HPIV-3 preincubated with either purified nucleolin or ß-catenin.
For the assays described above, the background counts were determined by counting cell lysates obtained from cells not incubated with 35S-HPIV-3 and the background was subtracted from all of the counts derived from cells incubated with the radiolabeled virus. The efficiency of internalization or attachment, expressed as a percentage of internalization or attachment, was calculated based on a ratio that is detailed in the applicable figure legend.
|
|
|---|
![]() View larger version (36K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Identification of nucleolin as an HPIV-3 envelope binding protein. (A) VOPBA of A549 protein fractions eluted from the anion exchange column with 35S-HPIV-3 in the absence (lanes 1 to 6) and presence (lanes 7 and 8) of excess nonradioactive (cold) HPIV-3. The 35S-HPIV-3 interacting 110-kDa protein band is marked. (B) Comparison of the amino-terminal primary sequence of human nucleolin with the sequence of the 110-kDa protein. (C) 35S-HPIV-3 VOPBA in the absence (lanes 1 and 2) and presence (lanes 3 and 4) of excess nonradioactive (cold) HPIV-3 was performed by using anti-HA immunoprecipitated cell lysates obtained following transfection with HA-nucleolin (lanes 2 and 4) or an empty vector (lanes 1 and 3). (D) Western blot analysis of cell lysates (10 µg of protein) obtained from cells transfected with HA-nucleolin (lane 2) or an empty vector (lane 1) with anti-HA antibody.
|
Nucleolin is expressed on the apical plasma membrane domain of human lung epithelial A549 cells. Based on the ability of HPIV-3 virion particles to interact with nucleolin, we hypothesized that nucleolin may play a role during HPIV-3 cellular entry. If indeed nucleolin serves as an entry cofactor for HPIV-3 in A549 cells, it should be expressed on the cell surface. Therefore, to investigate the plasma membrane expression levels of nucleolin in A549 cells, a cell surface biotinylation assay (43) was performed as described in Materials and Methods. Following biotinylation, the biotinylated and nonbiotinylated A549 cell lysates were precipitated with avidin-agarose and the bound proteins were subjected to Western blot analysis with antinucleolin or anti-ß-catenin (control) antibodies. As shown in Fig. 2A, a significant amount of nucleolin was expressed on the A549 plasma membrane (lane 2), while no protein was observed in nonbiotinylated lysates (lane 1). In contrast to the results for nucleolin, control experiments revealed the absence of ß-catenin, an intracellular protein (70), in biotinylated A549 lysates (Fig. 2B, lane 1). It is important to note that approximately 5% of the total cellular nucleolin was expressed on the cell surface, since 100 µg of biotinylated cell lysate (Fig. 2A, lane 2) possessed amounts of nucleolin protein similar to those possessed by 4 µg of total cellular lysate (Fig. 2A, compare lanes 2 and 3).
![]() View larger version (26K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Cell surface expression of nucleolin. (A) Nonbiotinylated (lane 1) and biotinylated (lane 2) A549 cell lysates (100 µg of protein) were subjected to precipitation with avidin-agarose and Western blot analysis with antinucleolin antibody. A549 cell lysates (lane 3) (4 µg of protein) served as a control. (B) Biotinylated A549 cell lysates (lane 1) (200 µg protein) were subjected to precipitation with avidin-agarose and Western blot analysis with anti-ß-catenin antibody. A549 cell lysates (lane 2) (5 µg of protein) served as a control. (C) Nonbiotinylated (lane 1) and biotinylated cell lysates (250 µg protein) obtained following biotinylation from either the apical (AP) (lane 2) or the basolateral (BL) (lane 3) side of a filter-grown polarized monolayer of A549 cells were subjected to precipitation with avidin-agarose and Western blot analysis with antinucleolin antibody. Cell lysates (lane 4) (12 µg of protein) from polarized A549 cells served as a control.
|
Interaction of HPIV-3 with nucleolin during cellular entry. In order to establish a possible role of nucleolin during HPIV-3 entry, we next examined whether HPIV-3 is capable of interacting with cell surface-expressed nucleolin during the adsorption stage. For these studies, purified HPIV-3 was biotinylated as described in Materials and Methods and the plaque assay analysis revealed that biotinylated HPIV-3 was as infectious as the untreated virus, indicating that the biotinylation reaction had no adverse affect on virus infectivity (data not shown). Biotinylated HPIV-3 was added to A549 cells, and the virus was allowed to adsorb for 2 h at 37°C. Following adsorption, the cells were washed and the cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with antinucleolin or ß-catenin (control) antibodies and the proteins bound to the Sepharose-antibody beads were subjected to Western blot analysis with avidin-HRP (to detect biotinylated HPIV-3). As shown in Fig. 3A, antinucleolin (lane 2) but not the control ß-catenin antibody (lane 1) specifically precipitated biotinylated envelope proteins of HPIV-3. These results suggest that HPIV-3 interacts with nucleolin, possibly during the early stages of the virus life cycle. The biotinylation efficiency of the HPIV-3 envelope proteins was clearly visible, since avidin-HRP blot analysis (Fig. 3A, lane 3) of biotinylated HPIV-3 detected two major proteins, namely, the F and HN proteins. These results are consistent with the biotinylation reaction being specifically restricted to only the extracellular domain of the plasma membrane and virus envelope proteins.
![]() View larger version (36K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Interaction of nucleolin with biotinylated HPIV-3. (A) Lysates obtained from A549 cells incubated with biotinylated HPIV-3 (Biotin-HPIV-3) (2 MOI) at 37°C were immunoprecipitated with either ß-catenin (lane 1) or nucleolin (lane 2) antibodies. The bound proteins were then subjected to SDS-7.5% PAGE and blotting with avidin-HRP. Biotinylated HPIV-3 (lane 3) served as a control to demonstrate the biotinylated envelope proteins F and HN. (B) Lysates obtained from A549 cells incubated in the absence (lane 1) or presence (lane 2) of biotinylated HPIV-3 (Biotin-HPIV-3) (2 MOI) at 37°C were precipitated with avidin-agarose. The bound proteins were then subjected to Western blotting with antinucleolin antibody. A549 cell lysate (lane 3) served as a control. (C) Lysates obtained from A549 cells incubated in the absence (lane 1) or presence (lane 2) of biotinylated VSV (Biotin-VSV) (2 MOI) at 37°C were precipitated with avidin-agarose. The bound proteins were then subjected to Western blotting with antinucleolin antibody. A549 cell lysate (lane 3) served as a control. (D) Lysates obtained from A549 cells incubated in the absence (lane 1) or presence (lane 2) of biotinylated HPIV-3 (Biotin-HPIV-3) (2 MOI) at 4°C were precipitated with avidin-agarose. The bound proteins were then subjected to Western blotting with antinucleolin antibody. A549 cell lysate (lane 3) served as a control.
|
HPIV-3 F protein, but not HN, interacts with nucleolin. Since nucleolin interacts with the HPIV-3 envelope proteins, we next investigated whether F and/or HN binds to nucleolin in A549 cells. In order to study such interactions, A549 cells were transfected individually with FLAG-F or FLAG-HN or an empty vector (control). Following transfection, cells were labeled with [35S]methionine and the radiolabeled cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG-agarose beads. The radiolabeled proteins bound to the washed beads were then subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis and fluorography. As shown in Fig. 4A and B, comparable amounts of FLAG-F (Fig. 4A, lane 2) and FLAG-HN (Fig. 4B, lane 2) were detected in A549 cells, while no proteins were detected in cells transfected with a control vector (Fig. 4A and B, lane 1).
![]() View larger version (23K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. Interaction of nucleolin with HPIV-3 F and HN proteins. (A) A549 cells transfected with either an empty vector (lane 1) or HPIV-3 FLAG-F cDNA (lane 2) were pulse labeled with [35S]methionine, and the radioactive lysate was immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibody prior to SDS-7.5% PAGE and fluorography. (B) A549 cells transfected with either an empty vector (lane 1) or HPIV-3 FLAG-HN cDNA (lane 2) were pulse labeled with [35S]methionine, and the radioactive lysate was immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibody prior to SDS-7.5% PAGE and fluorography. (C) Lysates (100 µg of protein) obtained from A549 cells transfected with either an empty vector (lane 1), HPIV-3 FLAG-F (lane 3) or HPIV-3 FLAG-HN (lane 4) cDNA were immunoprecipitated with anti-FLAG antibody. The proteins bound to the washed anti-FLAG-agarose beads were subjected to Western blot analysis with antinucleolin antibody. An A549 cell lysate (lane 2) (20 µg of protein) served as a control.
|
Inhibition of HPIV-3 infection by antinucleolin antibodies. In order to obtain evidence for a functional role of nucleolin during the entry and replication process of HPIV-3, the infection of A549 cells was performed following incubation of these cells with antinucleolin antibodies. A549 cells were incubated with nucleolin polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies (25 and 50 µg/ml) or control (ß-catenin polyclonal) antibodies (70 µg/ml) for 1 h at 37°C. Following 1 h of incubation, HPIV-3 was added to the cells; following 2 h of adsorption at 37°C, the cells were washed extensively to remove unbound viruses. The infection was then continued for 36 h at 37°C, and the medium supernatants were subjected to plaque assay analysis. As shown in Fig. 5A, both polyclonal and monoclonal nucleolin antibodies at a concentration of 50 µg/ml inhibited HPIV-3 replication significantly, while control antibody at a concentration of 70 µg/ml failed to inhibit virus replication. It is important to note that using higher amounts of nucleolin antibodies (a concentration of more than 50 µg/ml) did not result in significantly increased inhibition in virus replication (data not shown). The value obtained from the plaque assay result (from Fig. 5A) was utilized to demonstrate the extent of inhibition of HPIV-3 infection (the percentage of infection inhibition) by nucleolin antibodies (Fig. 5B). The plaque assay results were further confirmed by Western blot analysis of A549 cell lysates with anti-HPIV-3 RNP antibody. As shown in Fig. 5C, significant reductions in HPIV-3 N protein amounts were visualized for cells treated with nucleolin antibody (lane 4) compared to the untreated (lane 2) or control antibody-treated (lane 3) cells. It is important to note that although nucleolin antibodies inhibited HPIV-3 replication significantly, they failed to completely abolish HPIV-3 infection, thus suggesting a role of nucleolin in efficient HPIV-3 infection.
![]() View larger version (27K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Effect of nucleolin antibodies (Ab) on virus replication. (A) Culture supernatants collected from A549 cells mock infected or infected with HPIV-3 (0.2 MOI) in the absence or presence of nucleolin (Nuc) polyclonal (Poly) and monoclonal (Mono) antibodies or ß-catenin polyclonal antibody (control) were added to CV-1 cells for a plaque assay. The plaque assay results, reflecting the viral titers, are expressed in PFU per milliliter. Each value represents the mean ± standard deviation for three determinations. (B) The average plaque assay values (in PFU per milliliter) from panel A were used to show the percentages of inhibition of infection in the presence of nucleolin antibodies. The percentage of infection, reflecting the percentage of virus release, was calculated as a ratio of the PFU-per-milliliter value obtained for cells infected with HPIV-3 in the presence of the antibodies to the value obtained for cells infected with HPIV-3 in the absence of the antibodies. The 100% level of infection represents the value (20 x 105 PFU/ml) obtained for untreated cells. (C) A549 cell lysates (10 µg of protein) obtained from mock-infected (lane 1) and HPIV-3-infected cells (36 h postinfection) in the absence (lane 2) or in the presence of ß-catenin (control) (lane 3) or nucleolin (Nuc) (lane 4) antibodies were subjected to Western blot analysis with HPIV-3 anti-RNP antibody. (D) Culture supernatants collected from A549 cells mock infected or infected with VSV (0.2 MOI) in the absence or presence of nucleolin (Nuc) polyclonal (Poly) and monoclonal (Mono) antibodies were added to L929 cells for a plaque assay. The percentage of infection, reflecting the percentage of virus release, was calculated as a ratio of the PFU-per-milliliter value obtained for cells infected with VSV in the presence of the antibodies to the value obtained for cells infected with VSV in the absence of the antibodies. The 100% infection level represents the value (in PFU per milliliter) obtained for untreated cells. (E) A549 cell lysates (10 µg of protein) obtained from mock-infected (lane 1) and VSV-infected cells (36 h postinfection) in the absence (lane 2) or in the presence of ß-catenin (control) (lane 3) or nucleolin (Nuc) (lane 4) antibodies were subjected to Western blot analysis with VSV anti-P antibody.
|
HPIV-3 preincubated with purified nucleolin fails to infect cells efficiently. To further examine the involvement of nucleolin, specifically during HPIV-3 entry, human nucleolin purified to homogeneity (63) was utilized. HPIV-3 was preincubated with either purified nucleolin (5, 15, or 30 nM) or purified ß-catenin (control, 50 nM) for 3 h at room temperature, and the preincubated virus was added to the A549 cells. Following adsorption at 37°C for 2 h, the cells were washed extensively to remove unbound viruses. The infection was then extended for an additional 36 h at 37°C, and the medium supernatants were subjected to plaque assay analysis. As shown in Fig. 6A, preincubation of HPIV-3 with 30 nM nucleolin significantly reduced virus infection, while preincubation of virus with ß-catenin had no effect on HPIV-3 replication. The value obtained from the plaque assay result (Fig. 6A) and VSV-infected cells (data not shown) was utilized to demonstrate the extent of inhibition of HPIV-3 and VSV infection (the percentage of infection inhibition) by purified nucleolin (Fig. 6B). Concomitantly, Western blot analysis (Fig. 6C) of A549 cell lysates with anti-HPIV-3 RNP antibody revealed a significant reduction in HPIV-3 N protein amounts from cells infected with HPIV-3 preincubated with either 5 nM (lane 3), 15 nM (lane 4), or 30 nM (lane 5) purified nucleolin compared to the cells infected with untreated HPIV-3 (lane 2). In contrast to the results for HPIV-3, preincubation of VSV with 30 nM nucleolin had no effect on the VSV titer (Fig. 6B) and viral protein levels (data not shown). Once again, similar to the observed antiviral effect of nucleolin antibodies, purified nucleolin failed to completely abolish HPIV-3 infection. Thus, these results suggest that an additional cell surface molecule(s) is also required for HPIV-3 entry, and nucleolin's role may be limited to the augmentation of entry efficiency.
![]() View larger version (20K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Effect of purified nucleolin on virus replication. (A) Culture supernatants collected from A549 cells mock infected or infected with HPIV-3 (0.2 MOI) preincubated with either purified nucleolin (Nuc) or ß-catenin (ß-cat) were added to CV-1 cells for a plaque assay. The plaque assay results, reflecting the viral titers, are expressed in PFU per milliliter. Each value represents the mean ± standard deviation for three determinations. (B) The average plaque assay values (in PFU per milliliter) from panel A were used to show the percentages of inhibition of infection of HPIV-3 in the presence of purified nucleolin. The percentage of infection, reflecting the percentage of virus release, was calculated as a ratio of the PFU-per-milliliter value obtained for cells infected with HPIV-3 in the presence of purified proteins to the value obtained for cells infected with HPIV-3 in the absence of purified proteins. The 100% level of infection represents the value (23 x 105 PFU/ml) obtained for untreated cells. Similarly, culture supernatants collected from A549 cells mock infected or infected with VSV (0.2 MOI) in the absence or presence of purified nucleolin were added to L929 cells for a plaque assay. The percentage of infection, reflecting the percentage of virus release, was calculated as a ratio of the PFU-per-milliliter value obtained for cells infected with VSV in the presence of the purified protein to the value obtained for cells infected with VSV in the absence of the purified protein. The 100% level of infection represents the value (in PFU per milliliter) obtained from un-treated cells. (C) A549 cell lysates (5 µg of protein) obtained from mock-infected (lane 1) and HPIV-3-infected (36 h postinfection) cells following preincubation in the absence (lane 2) or presence of 5 nM (lane 3), 15 nM (lane 4), and 30 nM (lane 5) purified nucleolin (Nuc) were subjected to Western blot analysis with HPIV-3 anti-RNP antibody.
|
![]() View larger version (27K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 7. Effect of nucleolin antibodies (Ab) and purified nucleolin (Nuc) on cellular attachment and internalization of HPIV-3. (A) The kinetics of 35S-HPIV-3 attachment to A549 cells was examined by adding different amounts of virus (0.25 to 2 MOI, or 1 x 105 to 8 x 105 cpm) to chilled A549 cells. Following attachment at 4°C for 2 h, the cells were washed extensively and the cell-associated radioactivity (in counts per minute) representing the attached virus was measured by counting the cell lysate with a liquid scintillation counter. Each value represents the mean ± standard deviation for three determinations. (B) Attachment of 35S-HPIV-3 (1 MOI, or 4 x 105 cpm) to chilled A549 cells pretreated with antibodies or the virus preincubated with the purified proteins was determined following the attachment of the virus at 4°C for 2 h. Following adsorption, the cells were washed extensively and the cell-associated radioactivity (in counts per minute) representing the attached virus was measured by counting the cell lysate with a liquid scintillation counter. The percentage of attachment was calculated as a ratio of the amount of radioactivity present in cells incubated with 35S-HPIV-3 in the presence of the antibodies or purified proteins to the amount of radioactivity present in cells incubated with 35S-HPIV-3 alone. (C) Internalization of 35S-HPIV-3 (1 MOI, or 4 x 105 cpm) into A549 cells pretreated with antibodies was determined following incubation of attached (2 h, 4°C) virus at 37°C for 0.5, 1, and 2 h. The cell-associated radioactivities (in counts per minute) representing the internalized virus at different time points were measured by counting the cell pellet with a liquid scintillation counter. Each value represents the mean ± standard deviation for three determinations. (D) Internalization of 35S-HPIV-3 (1 MOI, or 4 x 105 cpm) into A549 cells following preincubation of the virus with the purified proteins was determined following incubation of attached (2 h, 4°C) virus at 37°C for 0.5, 1, and 2 h. The cell-associated radioactivities (in counts per minute) representing the internalized virus at different time points were measured by counting the cell pellet with a liquid scintillation counter. Each value represents the mean ± standard deviation for three determinations. (E) The average internalization values (counts per minute internalized) at 2 h postinternalization at 37°C from panels C and D were used to show the percentages of inhibition of internalization in the presence of nucleolin antibody and purified nucleolin. The percentage of internalization was calculated as a ratio of the amount of radioactivity present in cells infected with 35S-HPIV-3 in the presence of the antibodies or purified proteins to the amount of radioactivity present in cells infected with 35S-HPIV-3 alone. ß-cat, ß-catenin.
|
We next investigated whether nucleolin is required during HPIV-3 internalization, since nucleolin was not involved during HPIV-3 attachment. The internalization assay was performed in a manner similar to that used for the attachment assay, but following the incubation of 35S-virus (1 MOI, 4 x 105 cpm) at 4°C, the cells were washed extensively and the temperature was shifted to 37°C to promote the internalization of the attached virus particles. Following 0.5, 1, and 2 h of incubation at 37°C, the cells were washed extensively and trypsinized. The trypsinized cell pellet was further washed with PBS, and the cell pellet was counted for cell-associated radioactivity (representing the internalized virus) with a scintillation counter. As shown in Fig. 7C and D, both nucleolin antibody (Fig. 7C) and purified nucleolin (Fig. 7D) inhibited the internalization of 35S-HPIV-3 at different postinternalization time points, while control antibody and purified ß-catenin had no effect on virus internalization. The internalized counts-per-minute values shown in Fig. 7C and D were used to generate a bar graph demonstrating the percentage of inhibition of internalization of 35S-HPIV-3 in the presence of purified nucleolin and nucleolin antibody (Fig. 7E). Similar inhibition of 35S-HPIV-3 internalization was observed in the presence of HB-19 but not in the presence of the control TW peptide (data not shown). While nucleolin-blocking agents inhibited 35S-HPIV-3 internalization, similar treatments had no effect on 35S-VSV internalization (data not shown). Interestingly, the nucleolin inhibitory agents failed to completely abolish virus internalization, a finding similar to what was observed during the HPIV-3 infection process in the presence of these agents.
|
|
|---|
Nucleolin is a major RNA binding protein of the nucleolus that shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm (65). Although nucleolin functions in the nucleus, it is now well established that a portion of intracellular nucleolin is also expressed on the surfaces of a variety of cells (11, 18, 29, 38, 39, 41, 60, 61, 62, 68). In addition, the present study has demonstrated that in human lung epithelial A549 cells, nucleolin is preferentially expressed on the apical plasma membrane domain. Cell surface nucleolin has been demonstrated to act as an adherence receptor for a bacterium, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (63), and as an entry cofactor for viruses like HIV-1 (33, 51, 52, 53, 54) and coxsackie B virus (17). For HIV-1, cell surface nucleolin was found to act as one of the coreceptors during virus entry. It is interesting that a recent study has reported that nucleolin may also be involved during the assembly of another retrovirus, murine leukemia virus (3). In accordance with the previous studies on the role of cell surface nucleolin during cellular adherence and the entry of human pathogens, the present study has suggested similar involvement of nucleolin during HPIV-3 entry.
Although nucleolin is expressed on the cell surface, it does not possess a typical transmembrane domain. This observation led to the speculation that nucleolin may be localized on the cell surface as a peripheral membrane protein bound to an integral protein(s). Interestingly, a recent study has demonstrated that, like several secretory proteins (e.g., IL-1ß, thioredoxin, and FGF), the cell surface nucleolin utilizes a nonclassical endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi pathway during its plasma membrane trafficking (53). The physiological significance of cell surface nucleolin is borne out by previous observations that it functions as a receptor for several ligands. These ligands include cytokine midkine, lipoproteins, laminin, fructosyllysine, factor J, T-cell receptor, cell surface ectoprotein kinases, urokinase and its receptor, L-selectin, and heparan binding protein syndecans (11, 18, 29, 38, 39, 41, 53, 60, 61, 62, 63, 68). The interactions of cell surface nucleolin with these extracellular ligands were demonstrated to play an important role in cell proliferation, mitogenesis, differentiation, and immunogenic responses. Interestingly, a protein named NRP (nucleolin-related protein) bearing high (95%) homology to nucleolin was also reported to be expressed on the apical pole of polarized kidney epithelial cells (64). In that context, a recent study has demonstrated that a bacterium, enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7, that infects the epithelial cells from the luminal (apical) domain also utilizes nucleolin as one of its adherence receptors (63).
Cellular entry of enveloped viruses constitutes a complex and orchestrated process whereby virus envelope proteins interact with an array of host proteins to facilitate efficient entry. The complexity of the viral entry mechanism is also evident from the observation that primarily two stages, attachment and fusion (internalization), comprise the entry process, whereby different cellular proteins are utilized during either of these steps. Furthermore, the interaction of envelope proteins with cell surface molecules at each step results in conformational changes, leading to their subsequent interaction with an additional primary and/or secondary receptor(s). These interactions have been well documented during the entry of HIV-1, which utilizes several attachment and fusion receptors and coreceptors (6, 58). For HPIV-3, it was demonstrated previously that SAR serves as the initial attachment receptor for the virus via its interaction with HN. It is postulated that this interaction induces conformational changes in the F protein (complexed with HN on the virus envelope), leading to the exposure of its fusogenic peptide and subsequent fusion of the host target membrane with the envelope. Interestingly, like HPIV-3, HIV-1 also initially attaches to the cell surface following the interaction of its envelope protein gp-160 with HS (58). This event not only sequesters virus on the cell surface but also renders conformational changes in gp-160 that lead to its interaction with additional coreceptors that are required for efficient fusion. In that context, it is noteworthy that HIV-1 gp-160 shares a high degree of structural homology with paramyxovirus F protein (19, 20, 42). Thus, it is possible that although HPIV-3 requires SAR during attachment, an additional cell surface cofactor(s) may be required for efficient internalization and/or fusion. Indeed, Sendai virus, an HPIV-3-related mouse parainfluenza virus that possesses both HN and F as its envelope proteins (42) and requires SAR during entry (13, 42), also utilizes additional entry receptors, including glycophorins (72), ganglioside GD1
(21), and asialoglycoprotein receptor (44), in a cell-specific manner. In that context, previous studies (9) have demonstrated that both HS and SAR are required for efficient HPIV-3 entry into A549 cells, and in the present study we have shown that while cell surface nucleolin is not required for HPIV-3 attachment, it plays a role during postattachment internalization of the virus. Thus, we speculate that HPIV-3 utilizes SAR along with HS and nucleolin for efficient entry into human lung epithelial A549 cells. This hypothesis is further strengthened by our observation that nucleolin-blocking agents failed to completely abolish HPIV-3 infection and internalization. Similar utilization of SAR and/or HS and additional cell surface proteins during entry has been documented for several viruses (4, 12, 27, 30, 36, 45).
For example, rotavirus was shown to utilize both SAR and cell surface-expressed heat shock cognate protein 70 (hsc 70) during entry (27). It is interesting that hsc 70, like nucleolin, is also a nucleocytoplasmic protein that does not possess a transmembrane domain and an endoplasmic reticulum-specific signal sequence. Moreover, like nucleolin during HPIV-3 entry, hsc 70 is not required for the attachment of rotaviruses but is required during postattachment events. The role of nucleolin during cellular entry of HPIV-3 could possibly be mediated by the chaperonin function of nucleolin, since nucleolin acts as a chaperone during the nuclear import or export of nuclear or cytoplasmic proteins (2). It is well established that viral envelope proteins undergo major conformational changes during entry and the uncoating process as a result of their multiple contacts with various cell surface molecules. In that scenario, it could be speculated that chaperonin activity is required to obtain the conformationally favorable folding required for efficient entry. This phenomenon may also be true for rotaviruses, as suggested by a recent study (27), since rotaviruses also utilize a nucleocytoplasmic chaperone protein hsc 70 for cellular entry.
Although, the present study has suggested a role of nucleolin in the entry of HPIV-3 into human lung epithelial cells, an additional cell surface molecule(s) is also required for HPIV-3 entry. This speculation is based on the observation that nucleolin-blocking agents failed to completely abolish HPIV-3 infection and internalization in A549 cells. In that scenario, nucleolin may act as a secondary cofactor during infection, since earlier studies have reported that the inhibition of primary receptors usually results in complete (95 to 100%) inhibition of virus infectivity (22, 28, 40, 66). Thus, the role of nucleolin during HPIV-3 entry may be limited to the augmentation of the efficiency of HPIV-3 entry into human lung epithelial A549 cells. Currently, studies are in progress to dissect the sequential and/or cooperative utilization of HS, nucleolin, and SAR by HPIV-3 envelope proteins during virus entry.
In summary, the present study has demonstrated that cell surface nucleolin serves as one of the cofactors required for the efficient entry of HPIV-3 into human lung epithelial cells. The role of nucleolin during this process is at the virus internalization stage but not at the attachment stage. However, based on the present study and previous observations, we speculate that an additional cell surface molecule(s) also plays an important role during HPIV-3 entry. Therefore, the identification and characterization of the function of this molecule(s) will provide novel insights into the mechanism of host-virus interactions and lead to the development of novel antiviral therapies.
S.B. was supported by a fellowship from the Morgenthaler Foundation. This work was supported by U.S Public Health Service grant AI32027 (to A.K.B.).
|
|
|---|
4ß1 integrin acts as a cell receptor for murine polyomavirus at the postattachment level. J. Virol. 77:3913-3921.
as a receptor for Sendai virus. Biochemistry 34:1084-1090.[CrossRef][Medline]
2ß1 and
4ß1 can mediate SA11 rotavirus attachment and entry into cells. J. Virol. 74:228-236.
vß6 is a receptor for foot-and-mouth disease virus. J. Virol. 74:4949-4956.
of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem. 277:2876-2885.
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»