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Journal of Virology, November 2004, p. 12071-12074, Vol. 78, No. 21
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.78.21.12071-12074.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Immunology and Microbiology and the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Received 24 March 2004/ Accepted 21 June 2004
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MCF13 MLV gPr80env accumulates in cells that undergo apoptosis. We previously showed that mink epithelial cells were susceptible to MCF13 MLV-induced cell killing, whereas other types of cells, such as Mus dunni fibroblasts, were resistant (18). To determine whether there is a correlation between Env precursor accumulation and virus-induced cell killing, we compared intracellular levels of gPr80env in mink epithelial cells and M. dunni fibroblasts after infection with MCF13 MLV at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 3. Infectious titers for viruses used in this study were determined for each cell line by an indirect immunofluorescence focus assay (26). Western blot analysis of cellular extracts with a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that detects the envelope protein of various MLVs (MAb 83A25) (8) showed significantly greater amounts of steady-state levels of gPr80env in MCF13 MLV-infected mink cells than in M. dunni fibroblasts (Fig. 1A). Quantification of gPr80env bands with a Kodak EDAS 120 scanner and software showed that mink cells had 5- to 17-fold greater amounts of this protein than did M. dunni fibroblasts at different times postinfection (p.i.) (Fig. 1B). At all times postinfection, the percentage of virus-infected mink cells was either comparable to or lower than that of M. dunni fibroblasts (Fig. 2B).
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FIG. 1. Accumulation of MCF13 MLV gPr80env in mink epithelial cells. (A) Western blot analysis of cellular extracts at indicated times p.i. from mink epithelial cells (ATCC CCL64) (lanes 3-5) or M. dunni fibroblasts (ATCC CRL2017) (lanes 7-9) infected with MCF13 MLV at an MOI of 3. M refers to protein extract from mock-infected cells, which were treated only with Polybrene (lanes 2 and 6). Lane 1 (V) consists of an aliquot of purified virions of MCF13 MLV produced by M. dunni fibroblasts. gpPr80env and gp70 bands are indicated by arrowheads. ß-Actin was detected as a loading control for cellular extracts. (B) Ratio of gPr80env present in mink cells relative to M. dunni fibroblasts was calculated from densitometry of protein bands in the Western blot in Fig. 1A. (C) Western blot analysis of cell extracts from mink epithelial cells infected with either NZB-9 MLV at an MOI of 3 (lanes 3-5) or mock infected (M, lane 2). (D) Mean ratios of gp70 relative to gPr80env for mink epithelial cells (open bars) and M. dunni fibroblasts (filled bars) are shown. Mean values and standard deviations were calculated from the results of two independent experiments. The differences between mink cells and M. dunni fibroblasts at days 3 and 4 were significant (P = 0.03 using Student's t test).
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FIG. 2. Mink epithelial cells have low cell surface expression of MCF13 MLV Env and inefficient virus spread. (A) Mean values and standard deviations of mean fluorescence intensity of Env expression as detected by flow cytometry analysis of mink epithelial cells ( ) and M. dunni fibroblasts ( ) after MCF13 MLV infection over time were calculated from two independent experiments. (B) Percent mink epithelial cells infected with either MCF13 ( ) or NZB-9 MLV ( ) and percent M. dunni fibroblasts infected with MCF13 MLV( ). Values represent means and standard deviations calculated from the results of two independent experiments.
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To test whether the inefficient processing of gPr80env in mink epithelial cells is virus specific, we performed a similar analysis with the noncytopathic NZB-9 MLV (Fig. 1C). Unlike our results with MCF13 MLV, gPr80env was barely detectable for mink cells infected with NZB-9 MLV, although gp70 was easily seen. These results indicate that the defective processing of MCF13 MLV gPr80env in mink epithelial cells is unique to this virus and not due to a cellular deficiency.
Mink cells have low cell surface expression of envelope glycoprotein and less efficient spread of infectious virus. To verify that gPr80env is inefficiently processed in mink cells, we compared the expression of the MCF13 MLV envelope glycoprotein on the surface of mink cells and M. dunni fibroblasts. To assess the amount of Env expressed on the surface of these cells at different times after MCF13 MLV infection, we calculated the mean fluorescence intensity by flow cytometric analysis of secondary immunofluorescence binding to MAb 83A25 (Fig. 2A). Cell analysis was performed using a Becton Dickinson FACScan flow cytometer and CELLQuest software (Becton Dickinson Immunocytometry Systems, San Jose, Calif.). From days 2 to 4 p.i., we detected an approximately 20-fold increase of Env expression on the surface of M. dunni fibroblasts. In contrast, for virus-infected mink cells the increase in Env expression over this time period was only threefold.
We also examined the spread of infectious MCF13 MLV produced by mink cells in a time course study (Fig. 2B). The percentage of virus-infected mink cells was significantly lower than that of M. dunni fibroblasts at days 3 and 4 p.i., indicating that there is a lower efficiency of virus spread in mink cells. In contrast, we observed efficient spread of NZB-9 in mink cells. These results support the idea that the MCF13 MLV envelope glycoprotein is inefficiently processed in mink epithelial cells, which results in its concomitant low cell surface expression and, likewise, low production of infectious virus.
MCF13 MLV infection triggers ER stress in mink epithelial cells. Disruption in protein processing produced, for example, by the inhibition of N-linked glycosylation or inadequate transport from ER to the Golgi results in the accumulation of misfolded or wild-type protein in the lumen of the ER, which triggers ER stress (10, 28). It has been shown that one of the effects of ER stress is the transcriptional upregulation of ER resident chaperone proteins, such as GRP78/BiP (13, 14). Under conditions of prolonged ER stress, cells can undergo apoptosis, which is partially dependent upon an increase in transcription factors, such as CHOP/GADD153 (C/EBP homologous protein/growth arrest and DNA damage) (19, 24, 28). Because of these observations we examined whether the large amount of MCF13 MLV gPr80env that accumulates in mink cells could trigger ER stress.
To analyze GRP78 in mink cells infected with MCF13 MLV, we performed a time course analysis by Western blotting (Fig. 3A, lanes 3 to 8). At all time points p.i., we detected significantly more GRP78 in virus-infected cells relative to mock-infected cells. The maximum difference was 125-fold at day 3 p.i. Positive controls for ER stress consisted of cell extracts from mink epithelial cells exposed to tunicamycin (Fig. 3 and 4, lanes 2). For comparison, we assessed GRP78 levels in mink epithelial cells infected with NZB-9 MLV, which did not produce high levels of unprocessed glycoprotein. For these cells, we did not detect a significant difference in GRP78 levels compared with mock-infected cells (Fig. 3B, lanes 3 to 8). In addition, we detected no difference in GRP78 levels in M. dunni fibroblasts after MCF13 MLV infection compared with mock-infected cells (Fig. 3C, lanes 3 to 8).
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FIG. 3. MCF13 MLV upregulates GRP78 in mink epithelial cells. Western blot analysis of cellular extracts from (A) mink cells infected with MCF13 MLV (V, lanes 4, 6, and 8) or mock infected (M, lanes 3, 5, and 7). (B) Mink cells infected with NZB-9 MLV (V, lanes 4, 6, and 8) or mock infected (M, lanes 3, 5, and 7). (C) M. dunni fibroblasts infected with MCF13 MLV (V, lanes 4, 6, and 8) or mock infected (M, lanes 3, 5, and 7). Protein extracts from cells exposed to 1 µg of tunicamycin per ml for 24 h (Tu, lanes 2) or untreated (Un, lanes 1) were used for control for the ER stress response. The Western blots are representative of results from at least two independent experiments.
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FIG. 4. CHOP induction in mink epithelial cells by MCF13 MLV infection. (A) Western blot analysis of total cellular extracts from mink cells infected with MCF13 MLV (V, lanes 4, 6, and 8) or mock infected (M, lanes 3, 5, and 7). (B) Analysis of mink cells infected with NZB-9 MLV (V, lanes 4, 6, and 8) or mock infected (M, lanes 3, 5, and 7). Cell extracts from mink cells exposed to tunicamycin (Tu, lanes 2) or untreated (Un, lanes 1) were controls for ER stress.
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We do not yet know what property of the MCF13 MLV recombinant Env precursor is responsible for its accumulation. It is intriguing that a major determinant of the pathogenicity of MCF MLVs is the env gene (12, 23), which results from recombination of ecotropic and polytropic endogenous MLV sequences (2, 6, 7). For other retroviruses, it has been shown that Env accumulation can occur as a result of a single amino acid change in surface glycoprotein or altered protein glycosylation (20, 27). We have also observed that MCF13 MLV is able to superinfect mink cells, which may be a contributing factor to the high levels of Env precursor protein present in these cells.
This work was supported by Public Health Service grant CA44166 to F.K.Y. from the National Institutes of Health.
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