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Journal of Virology, September 2005, p. 12081-12087, Vol. 79, No. 18
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.79.18.12081-12087.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Milan Surjit, and
Sunil K. Lal*
Virology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi 110067, India
Received 22 January 2005/ Accepted 5 June 2005
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1-microglobulin/bikunin precursor), which specifically interacts with the ORF3 protein of HEV. The ORF3 protein expedites the processing and secretion of
1-microglobulin. When checked individually for interaction, the second processed protein from AMBP, bikunin, strongly interacted with the full-length ORF3 protein. This protein-protein interaction has been validated by immunoprecipitation in both COS-1 and Huh7 cells and by His6 pull-down assays. In dual-labeling immunofluorescent staining, followed by fluorescence microscopy of transfected human liver cells, ORF3 colocalized with endogenously expressed bikunin. Finally, a 41-amino-acid C-terminal region of ORF3 has been found to be responsible for interacting with bikunin. The importance of this virus-host protein-protein interaction, with reference to the viral life cycle, has been discussed. |
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1-microglobulin/bikunin precursor (AMBP), had been isolated as an interaction partner for ORF3. Also, detailed studies showed that ORF3 expedited the processing and export of one of the processed proteins,
1-microglobulin (
1m), from the hepatocyte (39). In this study, we have focused on the second processed protein of AMBP, called bikunin. Bikunin is a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor that is secreted from liver cells in free and bound forms (8). Using yeast two-hybrid techniques, we have studied protein-protein interactions of this protein and found it to be a strong interaction partner for the ORF3 protein. The ORF3-bikunin interaction results were further confirmed using coupled transcription-translation His6 binding assays and immunoprecipitation in both COS-1 and Huh7 cells. Further, our studies using dual-labeling immunofluorescent staining followed by fluorescence microscopy in human liver cells showed colocalization of the ORF3 protein with bikunin. Finer mapping of this interaction revealed that a 41-amino-acid C-terminal region of the ORF3 protein was responsible for binding with bikunin. The biological significance of the ORF3-bikunin interaction in viral pathogenesis is discussed.
Bikunin strongly interacts with the ORF3 protein.
In order to identify the cellular interacting host partners of the ORF3 protein, a yeast two-hybrid screen using a human liver cDNA library was conducted, from which AMBP was isolated (39). The AMBP gene codes for two different unrelated proteins,
1m and bikunin. The full-length AMBP cDNA referred to as R352, a gift from Jean-Philippe Salier, was used as a template to PCR-clone bikunin in frame into the yeast two-hybrid and other cloning vectors used in this study (Table 1).
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TABLE 1. Yeast strains, plasmids and recombinant plasmid constructs used in this study
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FIG. 1. Yeast two-hybrid analysis showing ORF3 protein interaction with full-length bikunin. Cotransformants showing ORF3-ORF3 (19) and ORF3-AMBP (39) interactions were used as positive controls. All appropriate negative and positive controls are shown. Growth on YPD (nonselective) and selective media are shown. Leu, SDLeu medium; Trp, SDTrp medium; LeuTrp, SDLeuTrp medium; His, SDLeuTrpHis medium; ß-Gal, results from the ß-galactosidase filter assay; MexORF3, ORF3 from Mexican strain of HEV. Liquid-ß-galactosidase (ß-Gal liq) assay results are also shown. Single transformants and cotransformants were analyzed in a liquid-ß-galactosidase assay and compared with each other. Values are given in arbitrary units. The numbers represent the means of results from five independent transformants. Y190 corresponds to the untransformed host strain. Transformants with more than one plasmid are separated by a slash.
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To further confirm our full-length interactions, we used an in vitro approach. The full-length ORF3 gene was cloned with an N-terminal His6 tag into the pSG vector (Table 1). The His6-ORF3 protein was expressed using the rabbit reticulocyte lysate-coupled transcription-translation system as described previously (37). In separate reactions, [35S]methionine was used to radiolabel proteins expressed from pSG-AMBP, pSG-R352, and pSG-bikunin (Table 1). Nonradioactive His6-ORF3 was then bound to charged Ni- nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) beads, washed with phosphate-buffered saline three times, and then equally aliquoted into three tubes. Radiolabeled AMBP, R352, and bikunin were then added to these tubes, each containing nonradioactive immobilized ORF3. In separate control experiments, approximately equal amounts of each radioactive protein were added to tubes with charged Ni-NTA beads in the absence of ORF3. After 4 h of incubation at 4°C with gentle shaking, the beads were washed three times with phosphate-buffered saline to remove all unbound protein. The samples were boiled in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) loading buffer for 4 min and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The results of this experiment are shown in Fig. 2A. The control experiments showed clearly that none of the proteins bound to the beads in the absence of ORF3. Both AMBP (Fig. 2A, lane 5) and R352 (Fig. 2A, lane 6) were clearly visible on the autoradiogram, showing good binding to ORF3 in vitro. A band representing bikunin (Fig. 2A, lane 7) was also clearly visible.
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FIG. 2. In vitro interaction of the ORF3 protein with bikunin. (A) Nonradioactive His6-ORF3 was expressed in vitro and bound to Ni-NTA beads (represented by "+ B" in lane labels). [35S]methionine-radiolabeled AMBP, full-length AMBP (R352), and bikunin proteins were synthesized using an in vitro-coupled transcription-translation system and tested for binding with immobilized ORF3 protein. As a control experiment, these proteins were also bound to Ni-NTA beads alone. Lane M represents molecular mass markers. (B) Coimmunoprecipitation of bikunin and the ORF3 protein. COS-1 cells expressing ORF3 plus bikunin (ORF3+Bik) were immunoprecipitated using ORF3 antibodies (lane 4). Lane 3, ORF3 expression; lane 2, binding control for bikunin using ORF3 antibodies; lane 1, vector control. (C) Association of the bikunin and ORF3 proteins in Huh7 human hepatoma cells. Cells transfected with pSG (lanes 1 and 4) or pSG ORF3 (lanes 2, 3, and 5) were labeled with [35S]cysteine-methionine promix and immunoprecipitated with antibodies specific for ORF3 (lanes 1 and 2) or bikunin (lanes 3 and 4) or immunodepleted with anti-ORF3 antibody (lane 5). Aliquots of the samples were resolved by 6% SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted with antibikunin antibody (upper panel) or were resolved by 15% SDS-PAGE, the gel was dried, and bands were detected by autoradiography (lower panel). Numbers to the left of the gels represent molecular mass markers in kilodaltons. O3, B, and O3id denote antibodies for ORF3, bikunin, and ORF3 immunodepletion, respectively. WB, Western blot.
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I [comprising H1 plus H2 plus bikunin] and I
LI [comprising H2 plus bikunin] or P
I [comprising H3 plus bikunin]) (28). The significantly diminished intensity of the I
I band in comparison to that of I
LI/P
I may be due to decreased formation of the tertiary conjugate in Huh7 cells. The lower gel shows the expression of ORF3 in the same set of samples as a control. One set of samples was immunodepleted with anti-ORF3 antibody to show the specificity of interaction (Fig. 2C, lane 5).
Cellular colocalization of bikunin with ORF3.
To validate the bikunin-ORF3 interaction in the physiological environment, we decided to study the colocalization pattern of the two proteins. We have recently shown that ORF3 localizes in the cytoplasm as well as in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus (39). The AMBP protein is processed in the Golgi compartment to yield
1m and bikunin. In an effort to understand the cellular localization of bikunin, we used Huh7 human hepatoma cells, which express bikunin endogenously. These cells were subjected to immunofluorescent staining followed by fluorescence microscopy, as described previously (38). To study colocalization of ORF3 with bikunin, dual-labeling experiments were conducted (Fig. 3). In these experiments, Huh7 cells were transiently transformed with pMT-ORF3. For immunofluorescence staining, the primary antibodies used were monoclonal anti-ORF3 at a 1:200 dilution and polyclonal antibikunin at a 1:500 dilution. For these experiments, the conjugated secondary antibodies (1:1,000 dilution) used were goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) or goat anti-mouse IgG, coupled to either Alexa 594 (red) or Alexa 488 (green) dye (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR).
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FIG. 3. Colocalization of bikunin with ORF3 in liver cells. Huh7 cells transiently transfected with pMT-ORF3 were doubly labeled with polyclonal antibikunin and monoclonal anti-ORF3, followed by the Alexa 488 or Alexa 594 conjugated anti-rabbit IgG or anti-mouse IgG antibodies, respectively. Separate images showing bikunin distribution (A and D), ORF3 distribution (B and E), and a merger of both (C and F) were acquired. Colocalizations are shown in yellow in the merge panels.
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The C-terminal 41-amino-acid region of the ORF3 protein is responsible for interacting with bikunin. In order to map the interaction domain of ORF3, various deletion constructs (Table 1) were used. These deletion constructs of ORF3 were cotransformed with full-length bikunin (Fig. 4). While BD-ORF3 1-57 and BD-ORF3 1-81 did not show His+ prototrophy with AD-bikunin, BD-ORF3 57-123 was able to turn on the reporter gene in the yeast two-hybrid system. Further, BD-ORF3 83-123, a smaller subset of the amino acid 57 to 123 region, also showed reporter gene activity with AD-bikunin, thereby further narrowing down the interaction domain. The quantitative liquid-ß-galactosidase assay revealed that the strength of the interaction of the BD-ORF3 57-123/AD-bikunin cotransformants and BD-ORF3 83-123/AD-bikunin cotransformants remained unaltered and were less than those of the full-length AD-bikunin/BD-ORF3. On the other hand, BD-ORF3 1-57/AD-bikunin cotransformants and BD-ORF3 1-81/AD-bikunin cotransformants showed negligible ß-galactosidase activity. Thus, the deletion mapping results clearly showed that the ORF3 protein C-terminal region (amino acids 83 to 123) was largely responsible for the ORF3-bikunin interaction.
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FIG. 4. Mapping of the interaction domain for ORF3 using the yeast two-hybrid system. AD regions (represented by slanting lines) were cloned in-frame with AMBP (vertical lines), bikunin (black dots on a white background), and ORF3 (horizontal lines). BD regions (white dots on a black background) were cloned in-frame with AMBP and ORF3. Open boxes represent regions that were deleted from the wild-type sequences from ORF3. The numbers above the boxes represent the first and last nucleotides of the regions included in the deletion constructs. His, growth on SDTrpLeuHis medium; Fß, results from the ß-galactosidase filter assay (only blue filters are visible in shades of gray); AT, growth on SDTrpLeuHis medium with 50 mM 3-amino-1,2,3-trizole; Dip, growth of diploids tested through the genetic two-hybrid approach. The bar graph and numbers represent relative ß-galactosidase activities from the liquid-ß-galactosidase assay.
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1m from the hepatocytes, indicating its possible role in downregulation of a localized immune response in the microenvironment around the infected liver cell (39). In this study, we have examined the second processed protein that emerges from the processing of AMBP and found that it interacts strongly with ORF3. This protein is a liver-specific Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor called bikunin. The interaction of ORF3 and bikunin is stronger than the ORF3-
1m interaction. This finding led to various interesting aspects of this study, including our ability to carefully establish the domain in the ORF3 protein that is responsible for this interaction. We were able to show that the interaction domain was located in the C-terminal region of ORF3 and was beyond the previously described phosphorylation domain for this protein. Hence, phosphorylation does not play a role in the ORF3-bikunin interaction. Although the bikunin-ORF3 interaction is independent of phosphorylation, the interaction domain of ORF3 overlaps with the ORF3 dimerization domain (amino acids 81 to 123) (37) and SH3 binding domain (amino acids 75 to 113) (21). This region has also been shown to carry an immunodominant epitope, antibodies to which are universally present in infected humans and animals (24). Moreover, this region is highly conserved in all HEV strains sequenced to date (2, 4, 24, 32, 35, 41) except the Mexican strain (14). However, our experiments with the ORF3 from the Mexican strain of HEV indicated that despite the variability in the sequence, the Mexican strain ORF3 still interacts with bikunin in the two-hybrid system. Our current data, along with previous observations, clearly suggest that the C-terminal region of ORF3 is a multifunctional domain. Strategic overlapping of these interaction domains may be a possible mechanism to ensure regulation of these interactions. Steric hindrance may ensure only one interaction, or a combination of them, at a given time. Alternatively, these interactions might be far removed from each other, due to their cellular localization and different expression time points during the life cycle of the virus, and hence each may bear no relation to the other whatsoever.
Huh7 human liver cells expressing AMBP endogenously were stained using antibikunin antibodies. Using anti-
1m antibodies, liver cells showed staining in the cytoplasm, primarily in the perinuclear region, which is characteristic of proteins translocating to the endoplasmic reticulum (39). AMBP gets processed in this region (trans-Golgi) to
1m and bikunin, which in turn get transported in free or bound form out of the hepatocyte (8). In similar experiments, when liver cells were stained with antibikunin antibody, distinct aggregates in the cytoplasm were observed. Through dual-staining immunofluorescent microscopy of liver cells endogenously expressing AMBP, bikunin was shown to colocalize with the ORF3 protein.
Bikunin is a 145-amino-acid serine protease inhibitor and is maintained at high levels in blood serum and urine; however, it has been detected in other tissues as well. In urine it exists in free form, while in blood serum both free and I
I-complexed forms are present (28). Bikunin belongs to the Kunitz family of protease inhibitors, by virtue of two tandemly arranged Kunitz-type domains, and is active against a broad range of enzymes that include trypsin, chymotrypsin, plasmin, leukocyte elastase, cathepsin B, and cathepsin H (9, 16, 31). Bikunin provides the I
I family members with their protease inhibitory capacity, and the I
I family has been implicated in inflammatory responses (28).
In cancers, administration of bikunin may block tumor cell invasion by a direct inhibition of tumor cell-associated plasmin activity, as well as by inhibiting urokinase-type plasminogen activator expression at the gene and protein levels, possibly through suppression of CD44 dimerization and/or the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascade (19). In addition, bikunin has been shown to be capable of neutralizing granzyme K (40). Granzymes, along with perforins, are major components of cytosolic granules that play an important role in T-cell- and natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity against virally infected host cells (6, 30, 31). Other pharmaceutical effects of bikunin, like suppression of pancreatitis, colitis, and arthritis, also point towards bikunin as an immunosuppressive protein (11). Our previous studies showing enhanced secretion of the AMBP processed protein,
1m, in the presence of a viral protein (ORF3) and now its interaction with bikunin indicate that an immunosuppressive environment is being created around the infected liver cell. A future study of viral pathogenesis will reveal if the virus uses both of the processed proteins of AMBP to its advantage.
strains from Philip James, the R352 gene and antibodies against bikunin from Jean-Philippe Salier, and the ORF3 gene and antibodies to the ORF3 protein from Shahid Jameel. The laboratory assistance of Ravinder Kumar and Purnima Kumar is greatly appreciated. Confocal microscopy, a Wellcome Trust laboratory, and help from Preeti Malik, Shahid Jameel, and Chetan Chitnis are gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by internal funds from ICGEB.
Present address: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 ![]()
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-inhibitor family: from structure to regulation. Biochem. J. 315:1-9.
1-microglobulin/bikunin precursor (AMBP) and expedites their export from the hepatocyte. J. Biol. Chem. 279:29308-29319.
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