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Journal of Virology, August 2007, p. 8634-8647, Vol. 81, No. 16
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.00418-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294,1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, Alabama 35205,2 Department of Cell Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294,3 Virology Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Maryland 217024
Received 27 February 2007/ Accepted 17 May 2007
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Hantaviral particles contain a tripartite, single-stranded RNA genome (viral RNA [vRNA]) of negative polarity (64, 66). The S, M, and L segments encode the nucleocapsid protein (N), glycoproteins (Gn and Gc), and L protein (an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase), respectively. Studies of the infection of tracheal endothelial cells with Andes virus suggest that hantaviruses can enter and replicate in the respiratory epithelium following inhalation (59). Entry of most hantaviruses into host epithelial cells begins with the interaction of Gn with ß-1 and ß-3 integrins (19, 20), which is followed by receptor-mediated endocytosis through clathrin-coated pits (25). Jin et al. suggested that HTNV particles remain in the endosomal compartments until moving to late endosomes or lysosomes (25). Numerous studies have shown that the glycoprotein is cotranslationally processed into Gn and Gc, which traffic together from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi compartment; virions form by budding into the Golgi compartment (64, 66, 75). One unanswered question is whether the N and L proteins, after translation in the cytoplasm, target to the Golgi compartment directly to mediate replication, transcription, and assembly. Alternatively, replication and transcription could occur at a different site within the cell. Difficulty in working with the large 240-kDa L protein has hampered experimental progress. However, we and others have made some progress in characterizing N. The hantaviral N is the most abundant protein in the virion and in virus-infected cells (66). This multifunctional protein presumably interacts with other hantaviral proteins, and possibly with host cell components, to mediate virus replication and assembly. There have been, however, relatively few studies that demonstrate its functions or show at what site(s) within the cell it performs its functions. At present, we know that N interacts with viral RNA (68, 82), itself (1, 2, 30, 31, 33, 47, 48), and perhaps the L protein, Gn (8, 17, 75), and cellular factors (32, 34, 43). One study has shown it to be required for replication and/or transcription (17). Although the mechanistic details concerning the switch from primary transcription to replication are currently lacking, the concentration of N may drive this switch (28). Clearly, these interactions and functions require trafficking of N within the cell, and as with other viruses, it is possible that the replication and assembly occur at discrete sites within the cell.
The studies reported herein were designed to address how N traffics in the cell prior to viral assembly. Studies of N have been limited to localization in both Old World (25, 29, 31, 34, 54) and New World viruses (54, 59, 76), which have primarily shown trafficking of N to the perinuclear region. In cells transiently expressing N from Black Creek Canal virus (BCCV), N colocalizes with the cis-medial Golgi marker
-mannosidase II (Mann II) (54). In contrast, studies performed with Seoul virus show no colocalization between N and the Golgi marker, although N accumulated in the perinuclear area (29). A signal in the C-terminal region of the Tula virus and BCCV N promotes perinuclear targeting (31, 54). Herein, we demonstrate that HTNV N colocalized with the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) and microtubules but not with the ER, Golgi compartment, early endosomal, or actin markers. We show that the movement of N depended on the microtubule network and, further, that disruption of this network reduced levels of vRNA. Our analyses suggest that N traffics to the ERGIC prior to its movement to the Golgi compartment, that an intact ERGIC is essential for viral replication, and that there might be virus factories in the ERGIC region.
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-tubulin, vimentin, and filamentous actin (F-actin; Sigma); ERGIC-53 (Alexis); protein disulfide isomerase (PDI; Abcam); early endosomal antigen 1 (EEA1; BD Biosciences); a rabbit polyclonal antibody against Mann II (Abcam); phalloidin conjugated to tetramethylrhodamine (TRITC; Sigma); and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) conjugated to Alexa 594 (Molecular Probes). Secondary antibodies used were goat anti-mouse antibody conjugated to Alexa 488 or 594 and goat anti-rabbit antibody conjugated to Alexa 488 or 594 (Molecular Probes) and goat anti-mouse antibody and goat anti-rabbit antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase from KPL. We purchased brefeldin A (BFA), nocodazole (NOC), and cytochalasin D (CytD) from Sigma, and we purchased ribavirin (RBV) from ICN Pharmaceuticals. Production of HTNV N-specific antibodies in rabbits and mice. N was expressed with the T7 polymerase expression system and purified as hexahistidine-tagged fusion proteins from the soluble fraction, as previously described (27). Rabbit polyclonal antibody (no. 143) was raised to the HTNV N antigen in New Zealand White rabbits by Southern Biotechnology Associates (Birmingham, AL). A murine MAb (E-314) was raised to the same HTNV N antigen by Cell Essentials, Inc. (Boston, MA). Five mice were immunized per antigen, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-positive animals with the best antibody response to the antigen were euthanized. Spleens were removed for collection of cells and subsequent fusion by standard methods. Cell culture supernatants of fusion clones were screened by ELISA for the presence of virus-specific antibodies. For those clones that showed a positive signal by ELISA, we expanded the supernatant to produce 50 ml of antibody-rich supernatant, from which we purified this MAb. Cells were frozen in liquid nitrogen to safeguard the stability of the cell line. Hybridoma cells were cultured in HyClone medium (HYQSFM4Mab) supplemented with 10% fetal clone III serum and 0.01% penicillin-streptomycin. Hybridoma clones were grown to 1 x 106/ml for each T-150 sterile flask and incubated at 37°C, 5% CO2 until >90% confluence. At >90% confluence, cells were stressed in the same medium until 30 to 40% were dead (3 to 5 days). Cells were checked for the percentage dead with trypan blue. Supernatant from stressed hybridoma clones was removed to a sterile conical tube and centrifuged at 150 x g for 5 min at room temperature. The supernatant containing the MAb was recovered from the cell pellet and purified with a MabTrap kit (Amersham Biosciences) by following the manufacturer's protocol.
Virus strain, RNA isolation, and construction of recombinant plasmids. HTNV (strain 76-118) was used for all experiments. The open reading frame encoding N was amplified by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) from total RNA extracted from HTNV-infected cells with TRIzol (Invitrogen). RT-PCRs used SuperScript III reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen), Pfu DNA polymerase (Stratagene), a gene-specific forward primer (5' TAGTAGTAGACTCCCTAAAGAGCT 3'), and a reverse primer (5' GGCCCTCTAGAGTTTCAAAGGCTCTTGGTTGGAG 3'). PCR products were digested with XbaI and were phosphorylated and blunt-end cloned into pcDNA3.1 (Invitrogen) to produce pcHTNVN. The nucleotide sequence of pcHTNVN was confirmed by bidirectional sequencing with universal cytomegalovirus forward and bovine growth hormone reverse primers using an ABI 3130xl genetic analyzer (Applied Biosystems). The plasmid p50-green fluorescent protein (p50-GFP), a gift from William Britt, was described previously (9).
Confocal and immunofluorescence microscopies. For all microscopy studies, Vero E6 cells were seeded in Lab-Tek II 2-well chamber slides (Nalge Nunc International). For infection studies, Vero E6 cells at 60% confluence were infected with HTNV at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.1 or as noted for 1 h at 37°C with 5% CO2 as previously described (69), or they were transfected with 1 µg of plasmid DNA using Lipofectamine 2000 in OptiMEM (Invitrogen) according to manufacturer's instructions. After 1 h of incubation, complete DMEM was added to the wells, and the mixtures were incubated at 37°C in a 5% CO2 chamber. At different time points, Vero E6 cells were fixed either in acetone for 15 min or with 3.5% paraformaldehyde for 30 min at room temperature, followed by permeabilization with 0.1% Triton X-100 for 5 min. Slides were washed three times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).
The HTNV N was detected by incubating the cells with either HTNV N MAb E-314 at a 1:200 dilution or rabbit polyclonal antibody no. 143 at a dilution of 1:10,000 for 1 h at room temperature. Golgi compartments were stained with TRITC-conjugated Alexa 594 or with polyclonal anti-Mann II antibody at a dilution of 1:75. PDI, EEA1, ERGIC-53, actin, ß-tubulin, and vimentin were detected with the respective MAbs listed above at a dilution of 1:100 for 1 h at room temperature. Slides were washed three times with PBS and were incubated with secondary goat anti-mouse or anti-rabbit antibodies conjugated to Alexa 488 or Alexa 594 for 30 min at room temperature at a dilution of 1:400. F-actin was visualized by being stained with phalloidin conjugated to Alexa 594 for 30 min at room temperature. Slides were mounted with Fluoromount-G (Southern Biotechnology Associates), and confocal imaging was performed with a Leica DMIRBE inverted epifluorescence microscope outfitted with Leica TCS NT SP1 laser confocal optics at the High Resolution Imaging Facility at the University of Alabama—Birmingham. Epifluorescence imaging was also performed with a Zeiss Axiovert 200 microscope outfitted with an ApoTome for deconvolution purposes. The ApoTome uses the grid projection or structured illumination principle to obtain images with an improved signal-to-noise ratio, and it approximately doubles the resolution in the axial (z) direction. Final images were obtained by averaging four independent scans of the fields using x40, x63, or x100 magnification, corrected for oil immersion. Quantification of N in slides was calculated by measuring the area of the cell occupied by indirect labeling of N versus the total area of the cell using Image J image analysis software (National Institutes of Health).
Determination of the effect of drug treatment of hantaviral replication and release of infectious virus. Vero E6 cells grown to 100% confluence in 6-well plates were infected with HTNV at an MOI of 0.1, as described previously (69). Eight hours postinfection (p.i.), 15.0 µg/ml of BFA, CytD, NOC, or RBV was added, and cells were incubated at 37°C for an additional 36 h in a 5% CO2 incubator, with replenishment of drug in complete DMEM every 12 h. Levels of infectious virus released into the supernatant were measured using an infectious virus center assay, and cellular vRNA levels were quantified by a quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay, as described previously (42, 78). For the infectious virus center assay, virus was allowed to adsorb to the cells for 1 h at 37°C, 5% CO2. Cells were rinsed twice with PBS and replenished with 100 µl of 0.7% methyl cellulose containing complete DMEM. After 5 days, cells were fixed and treated with a 1:3 solution of H2O2-methanol. Cells were washed and incubated with a 1:500 dilution of HTNV N MAb E-314, followed by a secondary goat anti-mouse antibody conjugated with horseradish peroxidase using a TrueBlue peroxidase staining kit (KPL). Infectious centers were photographed with a Camedia C-5060 5.1-megapixel camera (Olympus) and counted after enlargement of the images.
Membrane floatation. Vero E6 cells were cultured in T-75 flasks, grown to 80% confluence, and transfected with 10 µg of pcHTNVN. At 18 h posttransfection (p.t.), the cells were washed and resuspended in 5.0 ml of 10 mM Tris, pH 7.4, containing 0.25 M sucrose and complete protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche), and were subjected to membrane floatation as described by others (6). Briefly, the extracts were brought to 1.4 M sucrose and layered onto a discontinuous sucrose gradient (0.8, 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6 M) and centrifuged at 110,000 x g overnight at 4°C in an SW 50.1 rotor (Beckman). Fractions were collected and acetone precipitated and then resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-10% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by immunoblotting using rabbit anti-N antibody no. 143, as described previously (82), with enhanced chemiluminescent technology (Pierce).
Microsomal membrane fractionation. Vero E6 cells were grown to 80% confluence in T-75 flasks and were transfected with 10 µg of pcHTNVN plasmid. At 18 h p.t., cells were washed twice with ice-cold PBS and resuspended in 200 µl of 5 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 0.5 mM MgCl2, and complete protease inhibitor cocktail. Cells were homogenized by being passed 15 to 18 times through a 26-gauge needle and then were brought to a final concentration of 0.25 M sucrose. Cell debris and nuclei were removed by low-speed centrifugation at 1,000 x g for 10 min. Postnuclear supernatant (PNS) was centrifuged at 100,000 x g for 1 h using a TLA 100.2 rotor (Beckman) to separate the particulate pellet and soluble cytosolic fractions. Pellets were resuspended in 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 6.8, 1% SDS, and complete protease inhibitor cocktail, brought to a final concentration of 1 M NaCl, 50 mM sodium bicarbonate, 1.0% Triton X-100, or 1.0% NP-40, and incubated for 1 h on ice. Samples were centrifuged for 1 h at 120,000 x g. Proteins from the pellet and supernatant fractions were acetone precipitated and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting, as described previously (82).
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FIG. 1. Temporal distribution of N in Vero E6 cells infected with HTNV or transfected with plasmid expressing N. (A) To ensure maximal infection, Vero E6 cells were infected with HTNV at an MOI of 5.0 and were examined for the presence of N at 4, 12, 24, and 72 h with (upper row) or without (lower row) phase contrast. At each of these times, cells were acetone fixed and stained by indirect immunofluorescence for N (red) with rabbit polyclonal anti-N antibody no. 143 as described in Materials and Methods. Scale bar, 20 µm, with 63x objectives (Axiovert 200 microscope). The nucleus was stained with 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole. (B) Vero E6 cells were transfected with pcHTNVN and examined for the presence of N at 4, 12, 24, and 48 h. At each of these times, cells were acetone fixed and stained by indirect immunofluorescence for N (red) with rabbit polyclonal anti-N antibody no. 143 as described in Materials and Methods. Scale bar, 20 µm, with 63x objectives (Axiovert 200 microscope).
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N colocalizes with ERGIC-53 and redistributes with the ERGIC upon BFA treatment. It is well established that the hantaviral Gn and Gc glycoproteins traffic from the ER to the Golgi compartment and that virions form by budding into the Golgi compartment (75). One unanswered question is whether N targets the Golgi compartment directly to facilitate replication and assembly. To identify the compartment targeted following HTNV N synthesis, we performed dual-immunofluorescence labeling experiments with confocal laser-scanning microscopy of HTNV-infected Vero E6 cells using antibodies against HTNV N and various subcellular organelles. Specifically, we examined the localization of N relative to markers of the early endosome (EE), Golgi compartment, ER, and ERGIC.
We used EEA1 as a marker for the EE and looked at the relative distribution of N and EEA1 in infected cells. At 72 h p.i., N accumulated in the perinuclear region but did not colocalize with EEA1 (Fig. 2A). We chose WGA to label the trans-Golgi compartment (Fig. 2B), Mann II to label the cis- and medial-Golgi compartments (Fig. 2C), and PDI to label the ER (Fig. 2D). Confocal imaging revealed that none of the markers had colocalized with N, although a small amount of spectral overlap was noted between PDI and N (Fig. 2D). However, our dual-labeling analysis with antibodies against N and ERGIC-53 showed colocalization, as indicated by the yellow signal in the merged image (Fig. 2E).
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FIG. 2. Colocalization of HTNV N with ERGIC-53 and redistribution of N with BFA. Vero E6 cells were infected with HTNV at an MOI of 0.1, and after 3 days slides were acetone fixed (except for Mann II staining, in which case paraformaldehyde was used). Prior to fixation, slides F to K were treated with BFA for 1 h as described in Materials and Methods. Slides were costained with WGA (B and G) or antibodies (anti-N monoclonal E-314 [green] or polyclonal no. 143 antibody [red]) against EEA1 (A and F), Mann II (C and H), PDI (D and I), or ERGIC-53 (E and J) as described in Materials and Methods. Enlarged merged images of the insets in panels H, I, and J are presented in panel K. Scale bars, 20 µm, using 100x objectives (Leica confocal microscope).
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Since N colocalized with ERGIC in HTNV-infected cells, we asked whether transiently expressed N could target the ERGIC independent of other viral proteins. Dual-immunofluorescence labeling of Vero E6 cells transfected with pcHTNVN showed very little colocalization of N and the ERGIC compared to that of the infected cells (Fig. 3D). Furthermore, we did not detect any colocalization between N and ER or Golgi markers in these transfection studies in the presence or absence of BFA (Fig. 3A to H). The data suggest that transfected N alone is deficient in proper trafficking to the ERGIC and requires one or more viral components. In infection studies, a small amount of spectral overlap was noted with N and the ER marker PDI (Fig. 2K), but none was noted in transfection studies (Fig. 3G). The difference noted between transfection and infection studies of N protein at the ER could be due to the rapidly recycling of N via the early secretory pathway from the Golgi compartment to the ER, promoted by the presence of Gn/Gc. Thus, N directly targeted the ERGIC in virus-infected cells.
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FIG. 3. Colocalization studies of HTNV N in Vero E6 cells expressing N alone, as well as redistribution of N with BFA, with various subcellular markers. Vero E6 cells were transfected with pcHTNVN, which expresses N alone, and after 18 h, the cells were fixed with acetone (except for Mann II staining, in which case paraformaldehyde was used). Prior to fixation, the slides shown in panels E to H were treated with BFA for 1 h. Slides were costained with anti-N monoclonal E-314 (red) or polyclonal no. 143 antibody (green) as well as WGA (A and E) and antibodies against Mann II (B and F), PDI (C and G), or ERGIC-53 (D and H). Scale bars, 20 µm, using 100x objectives (Leica confocal microscope).
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FIG. 4. Association of HTNV N with membrane fractions. Vero E6 cells were transfected with pcHTNVN, and after 18 h they were subjected to membrane floatation (A) or subcellular fractionation (B). Fractions were subjected to Western blotting and were probed with antibody to CNX, N, or actin. (A) Vero E6 cell extracts containing transiently expressed N were brought to 1.4 M sucrose and centrifuged as described in Materials and Methods. Fractions were collected from the top, and proteins were precipitated. (B) Immunoblot analyses of PNS, soluble supernatant (S), and particulate pellet (P) fractions by following the treatment or no treatment (NT) and centrifugation regimen described in Materials and Methods. TX-100, Triton X-100.
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N associates with microtubules and not actin. Several viruses employ cellular cytoskeletal machinery, such as actin, microtubules, and their associated molecular motors, to traffic to the site of replication, assembly, and egress (14, 15, 39, 53, 70, 72, 74). Ravkov et al. have suggested that actin filaments may play a role in the biogenesis of BCCV, a New World hantavirus (55). To test the association of actin with N, we performed dual-immunofluorescence analysis of N and actin in HTNV-infected cells. F-actin was stained with TRITC-conjugated phalloidin. Our confocal microscopy studies showed a pattern for N that neither colocalized nor juxtaposed with actin (Fig. 5A). As an alternative approach to probe for its interaction with actin, HTNV-infected Vero E6 cells were treated with 10.0 µg/ml of CytD, an actin-depolymerizing drug, for 1 h (Fig. 5B). At 24 h p.i., CytD treatment disrupted most of the actin; however, the distribution of N was not affected, as shown by the unchanged, perinuclear accumulation of N (compare the distribution of N in Fig. 5A with that of N in Fig. 5B). To explore the association with the microtubular cytoskeleton, NOC, a reversible microtubule-depolymerizing agent, was used to probe HTNV-infected cells. In contrast to CytD, NOC treatment of HTNV-infected cells resulted in extensive redistribution of N from perinuclear to peripheral sites (Fig. 5D). BFA is shown for comparison in Fig. 5C.
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FIG. 5. Redistribution of N in HTNV-infected Vero E6 cells and redistribution upon treatment with CytD, BFA, or NOC. Vero E6 cells were infected with HTNV at an MOI of 0.1, and after 3 days the cells were treated for 1 h with a mock vector (A), CytD (B), BFA (C), or NOC (D and E). Slides were acetone fixed and processed for indirect immunofluorescence. Cells were costained either with anti-N E-314 antibody to detect N (green) and TRITC-conjugated phalloidin to detect filamentous actin (red) (A to D) or with rabbit polyclonal anti-N no. 143 antibody to detect N (red) and anti-ß-tubulin to detect the microtubules (green) (E). Scale bars: panels A to D, 20 µm, using 63x objectives; panel E, 20 µm, with 100x objectives (Leica confocal microscope). ß-tub, ß-tubulin.
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Microtubules promote transport of N in the absence of other viral proteins. Since N was redistributed from the perinuclear region upon NOC treatment, and not upon CytD treatment, in HTNV-infected cells, we repeated the drug treatment studies to analyze the distribution of the HTNV N protein in transiently expressed cells in the absence of other viral proteins. Dual-immunofluorescence labeling of Vero E6 cells transfected with pcHTNVN showed perinuclear accumulation of N that did not coincide with the F-actin staining (Fig. 6A). Furthermore, we did not see any redistribution of N upon treatment of cells with CytD, although the drug affected the actin distribution (Fig. 6B). In contrast, treatment of Vero E6 cells with BFA or NOC for 1 h resulted in redistribution of N proteins without affecting the distribution of the actin filaments (Fig. 6C and D). Overall, our data support the transport of N via microtubules expressed alone or in the context of other viral components.
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FIG. 6. Distribution of N in Vero E6 cells and redistribution upon treatment with CytD, BFA, or NOC. Vero E6 cells were transfected with pcHTNVN, which expresses N, and after 18 h the cells were treated with a mock vector (A), CytD (B), BFA (C), or NOC (D). Slides were acetone fixed, stained, and processed for indirect immunofluorescence as mentioned for infected cells in the legend to Fig. 5. Scale bars, 20 µm, with 100x objectives (Leica confocal microscope).
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Vero E6 cells were transfected with a plasmid expressing a GFP-tagged dynamitin, and after 4 h they were infected with HTNV. Two days after viral infection, cells were treated and processed for immunofluorescence. Representative images of three treatments are shown in Fig. 7A (N alone [left], N plus NOC [central], and N plus dynamitin [right]). We quantified the area of the cell occupied by N in untreated cells and in cells treated with NOC or expressing dynamitin (Fig. 6B). Ten to 20 cells were randomly chosen, and the intracellular distribution of N was quantified by measuring the ratio of the area occupied by N in the cells (Fig. 7A, inner circle) to the total cell area (Fig. 7A, outer circle), as depicted. The area of the HTNV-infected cells occupied by N was 14.7% of the total cell area (Fig. 7B, column 1). In HTNV-infected cells treated with NOC, the area of the cell occupied by N was 42% (Fig. 7B, column 2). In cells expressing N and dynamitin (p50), the area of the cell occupied by N was 44.3% (Fig. 7B, column 4). NOC washout (recovery) after a 1-h treatment of infected cells with NOC resulted in a decrease in the area of the cell occupied by N to 24.9% (Fig. 7B, column 3). Such a decrease was absent or was negligible in HTNV-infected cells expressing dynamitin (Fig. 7B, column 5). Finally, in experiments that coexpressed N alone or with p50-GFP, we observed the absence of perinuclear N distribution in transfected Vero E6 cells (data not shown). This suggests that motor-mediated transport via microtubules facilitates N delivery to the perinuclear region of the cell. Cells expressing dynamitin limited accumulation of N in the perinuclear region.
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FIG. 7. Overexpression of dynamitin abrogated accumulation of N in the perinuclear region. Vero E6 cells were cotransfected with p50-GFP (green) and pcHTNVN (red). (A) Vero E6 cells infected with HTNV are shown, either mock treated (left panel), treated for 1 h with NOC (center panel), or cotransfected with p50 (right panel). Scale bars, 20 µm, using 63x objectives (Axiovert 200 microscope). (B) Examples of measurements that were used to obtain values for various treatments. The following equation was used: % HTNV N area/cell = (total area of N occupied in the cell/total area of the cell) x 100. The percentage of N found in the perinuclear region and/or p50-GFP in the presence or absence of NOC is indicated. Error bars for each treatment condition were calculated as the means ± standard deviations of measurements of 10 to 20 cells picked randomly from different fields within the respective treatment groups.
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As expected, all of the drug pretreatments inhibited the level of infectious virus released to nearly 100% (data not shown). Posttreatment with BFA or NOC inhibited infectious virus production; however, CytD had a reduced effect (Table 1). These results were not unexpected, since the main inhibitory target of CytD is virus entry and BFA would be expected to affect assembly and/or budding, which requires an intact Golgi compartment. Interestingly, both NOC and BFA reduced levels of vRNA in posttreatment studies (Table 1). CytD had no effect on replication. This suggests a requirement for microtubules and an intact ERGIC in the production of vRNA.
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TABLE 1. Relative percentages of inhibition of HTNV vRNA S-segment levels and levels of infectious virus in the absence and presence of drugs
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We employed confocal microscopy and costained HTNV-infected Vero E6 cells with antibodies against vimentin and N. We analyzed the relative distribution of these proteins on day 5 p.i. (Fig. 8A). Cross-sections of vimentin with N in the z axis showed localization in the same plane (Fig. 8A, bottom panels). Interestingly, vimentin filaments appeared to form cages around highly condensed N that had accumulated in the perinuclear region (see the merged image in Fig. 8A). Additionally, vimentin remodeling was observed in cells transiently expressing N (Fig. 8B). In the absence of HTNV infection, vimentin filaments were distributed throughout the cell (Fig. 8C, left and central panels), unlike what was seen with HTNV-infected cells (Fig. 8C, right panel). This suggests that N alone can induce the formation of these vimentin structures.
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FIG. 8. Relationship of N and vimentin in HTNV-infected and pcHTNVN-transfected Vero E6 cells. Vero E6 cells were infected with HTNV at an MOI of 0.1 (A) or were transfected with pcHTNVN (B), and after 5 days or 24 h, respectively, slides were acetone fixed and processed for indirect immunofluorescence. (A) Infected cells were costained for N (red) and vimentin (green); (B) transfected cells were costained for N (green) and vimentin (red). (C) Enlargements of uninfected (left and middle panels) and infected (right panel) Vero E6 cells. Scale bars, 20 µm, using 63x objectives (Leica confocal microscope). (A) The yellow arrow points to vimentin cages. The cell in the upper middle panel (marked by the yellow arrow) was enlarged, and a z section was performed on the xzy axes to demonstrate the plane of cage formation around N. Note the distinct small circles formed upon cage formation. The white arrows point to vimentin redistribution and aster formation.
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The redistribution of N from the perinuclear region upon treatment with NOC and BFA suggested a possible association of N with membranes. There is no evidence so far for any kind of membrane-associated, posttranslational modifications in N for any of the hantaviruses (66). However, the N proteins expressed from plasmids from UUKV (24) and BCCV (54) as well as the N and L proteins of the Tula virus (38) have been shown to associate with microsomal membranes. Our membrane floatation and subcellular fractionation of N, expressed from a plasmid or from HTNV-infected cells, showed that only a tiny fraction of HTNV N associated with membranes. Because of the very small amount, it will be difficult to determine experimentally the composition of the membrane in the fraction that floated with N; however, it is highly likely that this N fraction is associated with the Golgi compartment.
BCCV N colocalizes with actin microfilaments, and actin has been proposed to be involved in BCCV biogenesis (55). Similarly, actin colocalizes with N of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), a member of the Nairovirus genus within the Bunyaviridae. Treatment of CCHFV-infected cells with 1 µg/ml CytD resulted in the redistribution of CCHFV N from the perinuclear region (3). In our studies, NOC, but not CytD, caused a rapid redistribution of N in virus-infected cells and transfected cells, suggesting that microtubules, but not actin, are involved in N trafficking and/or retention at the ERGIC. Further, coexpression of dynamitin with N resulted in the abrogation of perinuclear N transport, thus providing evidence for dynein-mediated microtubule transport of N.
We asked if microtubules and the ERGIC were necessary for HTNV replication. We examined vRNA levels in the absence or presence of BFA, NOC, and CytD. BFA and NOC inhibited HTNV replication at the level of RNA synthesis when added at 8 h p.i., while CytD had no effect on vRNA synthesis. BFA is known to inhibit replication of poliovirus, a positive-stranded RNA virus (13, 23, 46), and vesicular stomatitis virus, a negative-stranded RNA virus (22). Microtubule-depolymerizing drugs such as NOC interfere with the delivery of many unrelated viral proteins to the intracellular sites of replication (reviewed in reference 71). BFA- and NOC-mediated inhibition of hantaviral RNA synthesis suggests that the ERGIC is important for viral replication. Further studies are required to understand the mechanism by which BFA and NOC inhibit HTNV vRNA replication.
Several studies have shown targeting of N to the perinuclear region, and based on early electron microscopy work, it has been assumed that hantaviral N targets the Golgi body (29, 31, 38, 54, 76). Our studies show the involvement of microtubules in HTNV N transport and that HTNV N initially targets the ERGIC region and not the Golgi compartment. These findings, and the decrease in viral replication with BFA or NOC treatment, suggest a function for this region in the virus life cycle. Further, we show that N accumulation coincided with the remodeling of the vimentin structure and formation of cage-like structures that surround N. Vimentin remodeling has been reported to play important roles in many aspects of virus replication (10-12, 40, 50, 51, 77). It is possible that during HTNV infection, vimentin generates a unique scaffold to enhance replication of the virus or to create an environment inside or outside of these structures that facilitates virus replication and transcription. Clearly, additional studies with cellular and viral markers at the ultrastructural level could yield valuable insight into these structures. In summary, our studies support a central role for the ERGIC in the hantaviral life cycle prior to assembly. Future studies will address the interplay of the ERGIC and the Golgi compartment and how these interactions lead to the assembly of this fascinating emerging virus.
H.N.R. was supported by an internship made available through the Southern Research Institute.
Published ahead of print on 30 May 2007. ![]()
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