Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, January 2007, p. 800-812, Vol. 81, No. 2
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01756-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
C5169 Veterinary Education Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853,1 Medical Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536,2 Kovler Oncology Laboratories, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 606373
Received 14 August 2006/ Accepted 16 October 2006
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
Considerable effort by a number of laboratories has been expended to understand the events leading to virion assembly. It is generally agreed that an important step in the production of infectious particles involves the envelopment of DNA-containing nucleocapsids at electron-dense patches within the inner nuclear membrane (INM) of infected cells. After this step, enveloped particles can be observed between the INM and outer nuclear membrane (ONM) (42). This compartment is termed the perinuclear space and is continuous with the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).
Although the composition of perinuclear virions should greatly affect subsequent steps of virion egress, few studies have been undertaken to molecularly characterize these particles. Immunoelectron microscopy has revealed that herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoproteins B and D (gB and gD, respectively), the HSV tegument protein encoded by UL11, and complexes of the HSV and pseudorabies virus (PRV) UL34 and UL31 proteins localize at the INM and in virions within the perinuclear space (1, 14, 41, 48). HSV-1 glycoprotein C and HSV-1 VP16 fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) have also been noted in perinuclear virions (17, 36). These observations support the proposition that at least some integral membrane and tegument proteins become incorporated into virions upon budding through the INM.
To our knowledge, whether glycoproteins other than gB, gC, or gD localize in the nuclear membrane (NM) has not been investigated. The present study focuses on HSV-1 glycoprotein M (gM), encoded by UL10 (3, 31). The UL10 open reading frame predicts that gM is a hydrophobic integral membrane protein containing eight transmembrane domains, with both the N and the C termini predicted to lie within the cytosol (32, 49). Although the primary sequence of gM is variable, the hydropathy plots of gM homologs of other herpesviruses are virtually superimposable with that of HSV-1 gM, suggesting that the topology of the protein within membranes is conserved (J. Baines, unpublished observations).
The gM of HSV-1 is a virion component that is also associated with the plasma membrane of unfixed cells (3). As in other herpesviruses, HSV-1 gM forms a complex with another protein, encoded by UL49.5 in HSV (19, 25, 28-30, 43, 51). In viruses where HSV-1 UL49.5 protein orthologs are glycosylated (e.g., pseudorabies virus, human herpesvirus 8, human cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus [EBV]), the gM interacting protein is designated gN (19, 25, 27, 29). Deletion of HSV-1 gM reduces infectious titers approximately 10-fold below those of wild-type viruses in Vero and BHK cells (3, 31). Similar defects in replication have been noted upon mutation of the gM homologs of PRV, equine herpesvirus, bovine herpesvirus, and laryngotracheitis virus (10, 15, 24, 37). The open reading frames encoding gM homologs of Mareks disease virus, human cytomegalovirus, and EBV are essential for normal replication (16, 27, 47). In the case of EBV, a gN-null mutant also lacks detectable gM and exhibits severe defects in viral egress and viral penetration into cells (27).
Whereas transient expression of glycoproteins B, D, H, and L are sufficient to cause cell-cell fusion, coexpression of gM with these proteins precludes cell fusion (23, 25). Interestingly, gM was also able to preclude fusion mediated by the bovine syncytial virus F protein, indicating a general rather than a specific effect (23, 24). Moreover, coexpression of gM decreased the surface expression of not only the Human respiratory syncytial virus F protein but also HSV-1 glycoproteins gD and gH/gL, influenza virus HA protein, and herpesvirus entry mediator, while Nectin 2 alpha or CD8 surface expression were not affected (9). Taken together with the observation that PRV gM and HSV-1 gM/UL49.5 colocalize with the trans-Golgi network (TGN) marker TGN46 when expressed in the absence of other viral proteins (9), these data suggest that gM functions to relocalize glycoproteins from the plasma membrane to putative sites of viral assembly, such as the TGN.
Also relevant to this report are studies of the US3 protein of HSV-1, a serine threonine kinase that phosphorylates a number of viral and cellular substrates and is present in nascent perinuclear virions (39, 41). US3 is antiapoptotic, and its kinase activity is also necessary for the efficient egress of virions from the perinuclear space (22, 35, 41, 44). In the absence of US3, virions accumulate in the perinuclear space, often within punctuate evaginations and/or extensions of the NM (22, 41). The virions within these pockets of NM contain a complex of UL31 and UL34, and both of these proteins are substrates of the US3 kinase (20, 38, 40, 41). Whether other proteins associate with these perinuclear virions has not been investigated.
The ultrastructural localization of gM in cells infected with HSV-1 and whether HSV-1 gM localizes within the TGN or Golgi network of infected cells have not been determined. To determine the site(s) at which gM becomes incorporated into virions, we characterized the localization of gM by light and electron microscopy in HSV-infected cells. As a control, cells infected with a deletion mutant lacking the capacity to synthesize gM were analyzed in parallel. It might be expected that, if the sole function of gM was to internalize surface proteins or participate in nucleocapsid envelopment at the TGN, then gM would localize preferentially in the TGN and plasma membrane in infected cells, similar to what is seen when gM and UL49.5 are coexpressed in uninfected cells (9). In contrast to the predictions of this hypothesis, however, gM localized primarily to the NM and also within perinuclear virions. Thus, HSV functions other than those mediated by UL49.5 play important roles in gM targeting to the NM where gM becomes incorporated into nascent virions. The data indicate that gM is incorporated into virions earlier in the egress pathway than previously appreciated.
|
|
|---|
Ultrastructural analysis of gM localization in infected cells. To determine whether gM becomes incorporated into virions during budding at the INM, immunoelectron microscopy was performed. Cells were mock infected or were infected with HSV-1(F) or the gM deletion mutant virus, R7216. At 14 to 18 h after infection, cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.25% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) for 30 min at room termperature and then for 90 min at 4°C. The fixed cells were washed three times in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 4°C and dehydrated through a series of ethanol concentrations at 4°C and 20°C. Infiltration and embedding was done stepwise at 20°C with LRWhite (Electron Microscopy Sciences, Fort Washington, PA). The samples were then polymerized under UV light at 35°C overnight. Thin sections (60 to 90 nm thick) were collected on 300 mesh nickel grids (Ted Pella, Inc., Redding, CA) and floated on drops for the following procedures.
For electron microscopic immunostaining, grids were blocked with 10% normal goat sera and 10% human serum in PBS-0.05% Tween (PBST) and 1% fish gelatin for 15 min. at room temperature and were incubated on drops of gM-specific rabbit antibody diluted 1:250 in PBST plus 1% fish gelatin overnight in a humidity chamber at 4°C. After incubation, grids were washed by brief passage over a series of 3 drops in a high-salt buffer (5x PBS, 0.05% Tween and 1% fish gelatin) and then 5 drops of 1x PBST and fish gelatin. The secondary antibody, goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin conjugated with 12-nm colloidal gold, was diluted 1:100 in PBST-1% fish gelatin and reacted for 1 h in a humidity chamber at room temperature. The grids were then washed as before on 6 successive drops of PBST-1% fish gelatin and then rinsed in a beaker of 200 ml of filtered water. Grids were air dried at room temperature prior to staining with 2% aqueous uranyl acetate for 20 min and then Reynolds lead citrate for 7 min. Stained grids were viewed in a Philips 201 transmission electron microscope. Conventionally rendered negatives of electron microscopic images were scanned by using a Microtek scanmaker 5 and Scanwizard Pro PPC 1.02 software. Positive images were rendered from digitized negatives with Adobe Photoshop software.
|
|
|---|
![]() View larger version (104K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Confocal indirect immunofluorescence localization of gM in HEp-2 cells infected with wild-type, gM-null mutant, or US3-null mutant viruses at various times after infection. Infected cells were fixed in methanol at the indicated times and reacted with gM-specific rabbit polyclonal antibody. Bound antibody was revealed by reaction with FITC-conjugated goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin, followed by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Single optical sections are shown. The arrow in panel P indicates areas of nuclear fluorescence. The arrowheads in panels M and Q indicate fluorescence associated with the plasma membrane.
|
![]() View larger version (58K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Indirect immunofluorescence of gM and Golgi localization in HEp-2 cells infected with wild type (top row), gM-null, or US3-null viruses at 16 h postinfection. HEp-2 cells were infected with the indicated viruses and were reacted with antibody to gM and mouse monoclonal antibody to Golgi 58K, a resident protein of the Golgi apparatus. Bound immunoglobulins were revealed by reaction with FITC conjugated goat anti-rabbit or Texas Red-conjugated anti-mouse immunoglobulin G followed by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Single optical sections are shown. Both the red channel and the green channel were scanned independently with only the fluorescence-stimulating laser powered on. The rightmost column shows scanned images of the left columns merged by using Adobe Photoshop software; a yellow color indicates regions where the two antibodies coincide. The arrows in panels G and J indicate different staining patterns of the Golgi marker in cells that were infected with the gM-null virus and mock infected, respectively.
|
It has been shown that 143 cells are more resistant to HSV-mediated Golgi redistribution than are HEp-2 cells, although at late times after infection, the Golgi is redistributed in a portion of 143 cells (7). To determine whether the effects of gM on Golgi redistribution also occurred in 143 cells, we fixed HSV-1(F)-infected 143 cells at 16 h postinfection, when a portion of the cells maintain the Golgi such that it is not redistributed toward the nucleus. At 16 h postinfection with HSV-1(F) an estimated 25% of the 143 cells contained the Golgi 58K marker in a discrete perinuclear region (e.g., Fig. 3A, arrow, and data not shown), and this localization was reminiscent of the appearance of uninfected cells stained with the Golgi 58K specific antibody (Fig. 3J). In other cells in the same experiment (Fig. 3A), the pattern of Golgi 58K staining was similar to that of HEp-2 cells infected with HSV-1(F), i.e., surrounding the nucleus. Regardless of the pattern of immunostaining in various 143 cells, gM and Golgi 58K immunostaining colocalized almost completely. In contrast to observations in HEp-2 cells (Fig. 2), the pattern of Golgi 58K immunostaining in 143 cells infected with the gM-null virus was similar to that of cells infected with HSV-1(F) (compare Fig. 3A and G) and was arranged in a smooth pattern surrounding the nucleus. The overall intensity of Golgi 58K staining was reduced relative to that of HSV-1(F)-infected cells immunostained in parallel (compare Fig. 3A and G). Although less immunostaining appeared to concentrate at the nuclear rim in cells infected with the gM-null mutant compared to those infected with HSV-1(F), it is not clear whether this apparent difference was simply a consequence of the overall decreased intensity of staining. In a control experiment, little immunostaining was apparent in 143 cells infected with the gM-null virus reacted with the gM specific antibody (Figure 3H). These data therefore indicate that gM colocalizes with both redistributed and unredistributed Golgi 58K in infected 143 cells. The data also indicate that gM has an effect on the appearance or distribution of Golgi marker immunostaining in different infected cell lines.
![]() View larger version (56K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Indirect immunofluorescence of infected and mock-infected 143 cells stained with gM or a Golgi-specific marker. 143 cells were infected with the indicated viruses. At 16 h postinfection, the cells were fixed and immunostained as described in the legend to Fig. 2. All images are of single optical sections collected using identical laser and photomultiplier tube (PMT) settings. The arrow in panel A indicates a cell with a Golgi 58K staining pattern that is reminiscent of that of mock-infected cells and different from the staining pattern of other infected cells in the same panel. F, HSV-1(F).
|
![]() View larger version (53K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. Indirect immunofluorescence of infected and mock-infected HEp-2 cells stained with TGN- or gM-specific antibodies. HEp-2 cells infected 16 h previously were fixed and reacted with gM specific antibody or a mouse monoclonal antibody to TGN38, a marker of the TGN. Confocal microscopy, image processing, and analyses were performed as described in the legend to Fig. 2. All images are of single optical sections taken at identical laser intensities and PMT settings. For illustrative purposes, the brightness of the lower left image (mock) was increased by 30% using Adobe Photoshop software. F, HSV-1(F).
|
![]() View larger version (68K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Indirect immunofluorescence of infected and mock-infected 143 cells stained with TGN or gM-specific antibodies. 143 cells were mock infected or were infected with the indicated viruses and were fixed at 16 h after infection. The cells were immunostained with antibodies to TGN38 and gM, and bound immunoglobulin was revealed by reaction with appropriately conjugated antisera. Images of cells were taken at identical laser and PMT settings. Image collection, processing, and analysis were performed as in the legend to Fig. 2. F, HSV-1(F).
|
As shown in Fig. 1, punctate gM-specific staining associated with the nuclear rim was more apparent in some cells infected with the US3 mutant late in infection (Fig. 1N and Q) compared to the appearance of cells infected with wild-type virus. Detection of this punctate staining depended on the plane of the optical section, with more extensive punctate structures visible at the top and bottom of the nucleus. Thus, we conclude that normal smooth distribution of gM near the nuclear rim is partially dependent on US3. On the other hand, gM staining around the nucleus also accumulated in a smooth staining pattern in most cells.
In light of evidence that US3 is necessary for efficient virion egress from the perinuclear space, it was of interest to determine whether part of this function was associated with putative effects of US3 on Golgi or TGN localization in infected cells. To examine this possibility, HEp-2 and 143 cells were infected with wild-type virus and the US3 deletion mutant and were immunostained at 16 h after infection with antibodies directed against TGN38 and the Golgi marker 58K. As shown in Fig. 2 to 5, the Golgi and TGN markers were redistributed to the perinuclear region whether or not US3 was expressed in infected cells. We therefore conclude that US3 is largely dispensable for the HSV-mediated relocalization of TGN and Golgi markers toward the perinuclear region.
Ultrastructural localization of gM. Inasmuch as localization near or at the nuclear rim does not identify whether a given protein localizes in the INM, ONM, or ER, efforts were expended to characterize the gM-specific immunostaining at the ultrastructural level. Cells were infected with HSV-1(F) or the gM-null virus, fixed in paraformaldehyde, embedded, and subjected to immunoelectron microscopy using the gM-specific antibody as detailed in Materials and Methods.
Thin sections of cells infected with the gM deletion virus and reacted with the gM-specific antisera contained very few colloidal gold beads, and rare gold beads (one to three per view at magnification 45,000) were distributed equally throughout the nucleoplasm, cytoplasm, and extracellular space (Fig. 6A). Moreover, the gold beads were not associated with any particular structure. Despite the fact that many structures apparently delimited by membranes were present in the cytoplasm, none of these contained large numbers of gold beads. Similar low background levels were obtained upon reaction of thin sections of mock-infected HEp-2 cells with gM-specific antiserum (not shown).
![]() ![]() View larger version (232K): [in a new window] |
FIG.6. (A) Immune transmission electron microscopy of HEp-2 cells infected with the gM-null mutant and reacted with gM specific antibody. HEp-2 cells were infected with the gM-null virus R7216, fixed at 14 h after infection, and reacted with anti-gM rabbit polyclonal serum. Bound antibody was visualized by reaction with the F(ab)2 fragments of a goat anti-rabbit antibody conjugated to 12-nm colloidal gold particles. In this and subsequent electron photomicrographs, capsids of approximately 125 nm serve as a size standard. Magnifications: left panel, x45,000; right panel, x30,000. (B to E) Electron photomicrograph of a thin section of HEp-2 cells infected with HSV-1 (F) and stained with antibody to gM. HEp-2 cells were infected at 5.0 PFU per cell, harvested at 14 h after infection, fixed, embedded, sectioned, and reacted with rabbit gM-specific antibody and, subsequently, goat anti-rabbit IgG conjugated to 12 nm gold beads as described in Materials and Methods. In panel D, an arrow indicates heavily immunolabeled reduplicated membrane in cytoplasm. Arrowhead indicates a group of immunolabeled virions located within a cytoplasmic vacuole. Magnifications: C, D, and E, x30,000; B, x45,000.
|
These results indicate that gM localizes at the INM and ONM of infected cells and within nascent virions that accumulate between these membranes. gM also associates with cytoplasmic vesicular membranes and cytoplasmic and extracellular virions.
To determine whether gM accumulates within the NM extensions seen in the absence of US3, cells were infected with HSV-1(F) or the US3 deletion mutant, and immunoelectron microscopy using the gM-specific antibody was performed as described above.
As demonstrated in the electron photomicrographs shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, gM specific immunolabeling in cells infected with the US3 mutant was similar to that seen in cells infected with HSV-1(F) except that gM localized in both the NM and within virions within the punctate nuclear extensions or evaginations peculiar to cells infected with the US3 mutant. These data indicate that US3 is dispensable for incorporation of gM into perinuclear virions and association of gM with the INM and ONM. On the other hand, the even distribution of gM throughout the NM is dependent on US3, probably as a consequence of US3's effects on NM morphology.
![]() View larger version (145K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 7. Electron photomicrograph of thin sections of HEp-2 cells infected with a US3 mutant of HSV-1(F) and stained with gM-specific antibody. Cells were infected with R7039, a viral mutant lacking US3. At 14 h postinfection, the cells were fixed and embedded. Thin sections were reacted with gM-specific antibody, followed by reaction with 12-nm gold-conjugated anti-rabbit IgG, and examined in a Phillips 201 electron microscope. In panel C, an arrow indicates a cross-section of a punctate extension or invagination of the nuclear membrane containing virions. This feature is peculiar to cells infected with the US3 deletion virus. Magnifications: A, x45,000; B and C, x30,000.
|
|
|
|---|
In the third model, which is perhaps the most widely supported, the initial virion envelope is lost by fusion of the ONM with the envelope of the perinuclear virion (6, 34, 45). The composition of perinuclear virions is also critical to understanding this model inasmuch as the membrane fusion event must presumably be mediated by proteins associated with the perinuclear virion envelope and ONM. Regulation of such a fusion event also seems likely. For example, virions accumulate aberrantly in the perinuclear spaces of cells infected with viral mutants bearing mutations that fuse a truncated UL20 gene with UL20.5 or preclude US3 kinase activity, suggesting that these mutations impair ONM or virion envelope fusion or other means of virion egress from the perinuclear space (4, 12, 22, 41).
The present study indicates that gM localizes in both wild-type and US3() perinuclear virions and is associated with the INM and ONM of infected cells. These observations suggest that gM is incorporated into virions during envelopment at the INM. Thus, gM joins a group of proteins shown to associate with nascent virions, including those encoded by US3, UL11, UL31, UL34, VP16/GFP, and glycoproteins B, C, and D (1, 17, 36, 40, 48). Although such a conclusion is consistent with any of the three models of virion egress, it is critical for models in which the initial virion envelope is retained. The localization of gM in the present study and gB, gC, and gD in previous studies is not consistent with models of egress of PRV virions, in which perinuclear virions are shown to lack glycoproteins (17, 33, 34, 48).
We have also noted that, like pUL31 and pUL34, gM localizes in distended NMs that result upon infection with viral mutants lacking the US3 kinase (41). Unlike pUL31 and pUL34, however, gM-specific immunostaining was also associated with regions of the NM other than the extended pouches of NM. Thus, gM molecules likely become incorporated into virions by association with the pUL31/pUL34-containing envelopment sites, but at late times after infection some gM molecules within the INM also remain separate from these sites.
The localization of gM at the nuclear rim of infected cells is different from that in uninfected cells, where gM colocalizes primarily with TGN markers in the cytoplasm (9). The Golgi is a highly dynamic organelle, and its structure is maintained through a balance between delivery of vesicles from the ER and exit of vesicles toward the TGN and plasma membrane. Similarly, the TGN is maintained, in part, by bidirectional vesicular trafficking to and from the plasma membrane. Because it has been well documented that Golgi components redistribute to the perinuclear space as a consequence of viral infection (7), it is logical to propose that localization of gM toward the NM in infected cells is consequential to HSV-mediated effects on the Golgi and TGN. In the present study, gM colocalized most closely with a Golgi 58K marker within and around the vicinity of the nuclear rim in infected cells. This marker is normally associated with the Golgi periphery, i.e., regions of the Golgi most distal from the nucleus and close to the TGN (5). The observation that the TGN38 marker also overlaps with gM in the vicinity of the nuclear rim suggests that some components of TGN and peripheral Golgi have been shunted toward the nuclear rim or ER, at least in HEp-2 cells and most 143 cells late in infection. In contrast, the TGN38 marker located more distally from the nucleus did not usually colocalize with gM, suggesting that some components of the TGN remain in the cytoplasm. Since the final virion contains gM, the absence of substantial amounts of gM from these peripheral regions argues against their utility as the major site of final virion assembly late in infection, although it does not exclude this possibility. In addition, if gM is involved in trafficking surface proteins from the plasma membrane internally into the TGN, as suggested in transient-expression experiments (9), the current data indicate that only a minor population of gM is responsible for this function, at least late in infection.
Whereas gM contributed modestly to HSV-mediated effects on the TGN in 143 cells, its presence more dramatically increased the extent of localization of Golgi 58K around the nuclear rim in HEp-2 cells. It is unclear whether these are the consequences of direct or indirect effects of gM on components of the secretory pathway. In any event, the gM-dependent relocalization of the secretory apparatus toward the NM in HEp-2 cells is functionally different from complete dissolution of the Golgi induced by overexpression of HSV-1 gK or treatment with brefeldin A, inasmuch as both virion and glycoprotein egress are precluded under the latter two conditions (8, 13).
The results presented here are consistent with but do not prove that the Golgi and some components of the TGN are incorporated into the ER or contiguous perinuclear space by virus-induced retrograde trafficking. This might occur if retrograde vesicular trafficking from the Golgi to the ER became dominant in HSV-infected cells. If so, it might work to the advantage of the virus because it would allow Golgi enzymes responsible for glycoprotein processing access to perinuclear virions soon after budding from the INM. Such a feature would potentially maximize the production of virion infectivity in vivo when nascent virions are released by immune mediated or apoptotic lysis of the infected cell. Whether or not future ultrastructural studies will reveal a merging of the Golgi and ER in HSV-infected cells, the localization of gM at the INM and within perinuclear virions suggest roles for gM earlier in the egress pathway than previously realized.
This study was supported by Public Health Service grant AI52341 from the National Institutes of Health.
Published ahead of print on 1 November 2006. ![]()
|
|
|---|
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»