Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, December 2007, p. 13889-13903, Vol. 81, No. 24
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01231-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Lilia Cantero-Aguilar,1
Magalie Longo,1
Clarisse Berlioz-Torrent,2,3 and
Flore Rozenberg1*
Université Paris 5, Faculté de Médecine René Descartes, UM3 Paris, F-75014 France,1 Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, CNRS (UMR 8104), Paris, France,2 INSERM, U567, Paris, France3
Received 5 June 2007/ Accepted 26 September 2007
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
It is well established that endocytosis pathways are used by numerous viral glycoproteins in infected cells, in a strategy supposedly aimed to help successful replication and to promote pathogenesis (18, 45). Endocytosis of herpesviruses glycoproteins has, for instance, been involved in cell-cell spread and evasion from the immune response (9, 19, 20). Mostly, endocytosis is thought to favor the concentration of glycoproteins at the intracellular site where viral assembly would take place. Several herpesvirus envelope proteins, including gB homologues, follow an internalization process after having reached the surface of cells and accumulate in the trans-Golgi network (TGN) or in vesicles derived from it (7, 17, 19, 31, 63, 71). These observations support a model of herpesvirus assembly that states that after newly synthesized intranuclear capsids bud through the inner nuclear membrane, they are first de-enveloped through the outer nuclear membrane and then acquire their final envelope at the TGN (48, 49). Furthermore, endocytosis of fusogenic viral glycoproteins has been implicated in the regulation of virus-induced cell-cell fusion (58, 64, 76). Interestingly, although a relation between cell-cell fusion and gB intracellular trafficking has been suggested, a strict correlation between cell fusion activity and levels of gB cell surface expression has not been found (17, 64).
Previous studies reported that pseudorabies virus (PRV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and HSV-2 gB are internalized from the cell surface (17, 20, 31, 71). We showed earlier in transfection assays that endocytosis and concentration in the TGN occurs for HSV-1 gB (7). Two motifs of the HSV-1 gB cytoplasmic domain, YTQV (amino acids [aa] 889 to 892) and LL (aa 871 to 872) are involved in two distinct steps of gB retrograde trafficking to the TGN. Disruption of the YTQV motif prevented internalization of gB, whereas disruption of the LL motif impaired its return to the TGN while enhancing its recycling to the plasma membrane. To further understand the role of gB endocytosis during virus replication, we constructed HSV-1 recombinants in which each of these gB tail endocytic motifs has been inactivated. We then investigated in infected cells the consequences of each mutation on gB trafficking, virus growth, and virus-induced cell-cell fusion. Our results suggested that the presence of gB at the surface of infected cells is regulated differentially by each of the investigated endocytosis motifs and that gB trafficking is involved in the production of infectious particles and in cell-cell fusion.
|
|
|---|
Antibodies. Immunocytochemical staining was performed using antibodies to gB (rabbit polyclonal serum R69; generously provided by R. J. Eisenberg and G. H. Cohen, University of Pennsylvania), ICP5 (mouse monoclonal antibody; Virusys Corp., Sykesville, MD), TGN 46 (sheep polyclonal antibody; Serotec, Oxford, United Kingdom), and CD71 (mouse monoclonal anti-human antibody; Sigma). Cy2-coupled anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG), Cy3-coupled anti-rabbit IgG, Cy5-coupled anti-sheep IgG, and biotin-coupled anti-mouse IgG antibodies were all purchased from Jackson Immunoresearch Laboratories (West Grove, PA). Alexa 488-coupled anti-mouse IgG was from Invitrogen (Cergy-Pontoise, France). Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-coupled anti-mouse IgG, mouse monoclonal anti-gB antibody (Abcam), and anti-rabbit IgG antibodies (Dako, Trappes, France) were used in Western blot analyses.
Plasmids and constructs. Plasmids pgB-Y889A and pgB-LL871AA were constructed by eliminating the green fluorescent protein (GFP) coding sequence inserted at the NotI site of the UL27-gB gene from the previously described pGFP-gBY889A and pGFP-gBLL871AA plasmids (7). Plasmid pECFP-Rab11S25N, encoding a transdominant-negative form of Rab11 (80) fused to enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP) was kindly provided by J. Salamero (Institut Curie, Paris, France). Plasmid pECFP-N1 was obtained from Clontech BD Biosciences (Le Pont de Claix, France).
Construction of HSV-1 gB mutants. Recombinant viruses were essentially constructed as previously described (62). Briefly, subconfluent monolayers of Vero cells were cotransfected with 1 µg of KgBct-GFP genomic DNA and with linearized plasmids pgB-Y889A or pgB-LL871AA in a fivefold molar excess using 9 µl of FuGENE-6 according to the manufacturer's recommendations (Roche, Meylan, France). At 4 to 5 days after transfection, cell cultures were screened for the presence of nonfluorescent plaques. Progeny viruses were plated and plaque purified three times on Vero cells. Stocks for the newly obtained KgBY889A and KgBLL871AA viruses were prepared as described for the KOS virus. The presence of the desired mutation in the gB gene of each recombinant virus was verified by BamHI restriction fragment length polymorphism of total viral DNA (62) and by PCR and sequencing using previously described primers (7).
Biotinylation of cell surface gB in HSV-1-infected cells. The surface expression of gB was investigated by biotinylation according to a previously described procedure (44) with minor modifications. 143B cells cultured in 2.5-cm-diameter dishes were inoculated with KOS at an MOI of 5 for 1 h and then rinsed with an acid glycine solution to remove any residual nonpenetrated inoculum. At 8 h postinfection, the cells were biotinylated with NHS-LC biotin (1 mg/ml; Pierce, Rockford, IL). The labeled cells were then harvested in immunoprecipitation buffer (0.05 M Tris-HCl [pH 7.5], 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM EDTA, and 1% NP-40, with protease inhibitors). Samples were precleared overnight with protein A-agarose beads (Roche) to minimize background and then reacted with the polyclonal R69 anti-gB antibody (1/800) for 3 h. Immunoprecipitation was then performed overnight at 4°C. Samples were washed extensively, before loading them on a 7% polyacrylamide gel for sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions. Immunoprecipitated biotinylated glycoproteins were detected with streptavidin-HRP by Western blotting. After a stripping step, the membranes were hybridized with a monoclonal mouse anti-gB antibody (Abcam).
Endocytosis of HSV-1 gB assayed by biotinylation. 143B cells cultured in 10-cm-diameter dishes were infected with KOS at an MOI of 5 for 1 h and then washed with acid-glycine. Eight hours after infection, the cells were biotinylated twice for 20 and 15 min by using cleavable Sulfo-NHS-SS biotin (2 mg/ml; Pierce) instead of NHS-LC biotin. After extensive washes with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), cells were incubated at 37°C for 3 to 4 h to allow endocytosis of glycoproteins. Biotinylated infected cells were treated three times with freshly prepared glutathione (GSH) at 60 mg/ml for 20 min at 4°C to remove any biotin remaining at the cell surface. After extensive washes, cells were harvested in immunoprecipitation buffer and reacted with the anti-gB antibody. Biotinylated proteins were detected by streptavidin-HRP Western blotting and then visualized after stripping by an anti-gB antibody as described above. As controls, infected biotinylated cells were treated with GSH immediately after biotinylation and then immunoprecipitated.
Imaging analysis of gB internalization. 143B cells were infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA at an MOI of 0.1. At 1 h after infection, the cells were rinsed extensively with PBS and fresh medium (DMEM with 2% FCS and without 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine) was added. Seven hours after infection, cells were incubated in DMEM containing 10% (vol/vol) donkey serum for 30 min at 37°C, followed by incubation at 4°C for 30 min. Cells were incubated with the anti-gB R69 polyclonal serum (1/500 in PBS plus 10% donkey serum) for 45 min at 4°C and then washed twice with PBS containing 0.2% (wt/vol) bovine serum albumin (BSA) at room temperature and once with DMEM-10% FCS at 37°C. The culture medium was added again, and cells were placed at 37°C for several time intervals. After incubation at 37°C, cells were fixed with methanol for 10 min. Controls that were not allowed to internalize were washed and fixed immediately after incubation with the primary antibody. After fixation, cells were washed five times with PBS-0.2% BSA for 5 min and then incubated for 1 h with a PBS-0.2% BSA-10% donkey serum solution containing the anti-TGN 46 (1/200) and anti-ICP5 antibodies (1/300). After three washes with PBS-0.2% BSA, cells were stained with Cy2-coupled anti-mouse IgG antibody (1/200), Cy3-coupled anti-rabbit IgG antibody (1/750), and Cy5-coupled anti-sheep IgG antibody (1/500). Coverslips were washed five times with PBS-0.2% BSA and once with water and then mounted onto glass slides.
To better characterize the compartment where gB was endocytosed, internalization of the transferrin receptor, which cycles between the cell surface and early and recycling endosomes, was assayed together with gB, using a monoclonal anti-CD 71 (1/500 in PBS plus 10% donkey serum) in addition to the anti-gB antibody. The transferrin receptor-specific staining was revealed with an Alexa 488-coupled anti-mouse IgG. In this series of experiments, cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 30 min at room temperature and then washed with PBS-0.2% BSA-0.05% saponin. Fluorescence on 0.1-µm-thick optical sections was analyzed with a Leica TCS SP2 AOBS confocal microscope.
Subcellular distribution of gB in infected cells. 143B cells were infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA at an MOI of 0.1. One hour after infection, cells were rinsed extensively with PBS, and fresh medium (DMEM with 2% FCS and without 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine) was added. The cells were then incubated at 37°C for 6 h before fixation. For subcellular analysis, cells were fixed with paraformaldehyde; permeabilized; incubated with the anti-gB, anti-CD71, and anti-TGN antibodies; and revealed with the same secondary antibodies as described above.
Image processing and quantification. The vertical optical resolution was 0.1 µm. Confocal imaging quantification was performed by using the ImageJ processing and analysis software. All images were corrected for background fluorescence by subtracting the local median background intensity observed in an area which did not contain cells. The background-corrected images were analyzed for quantification by using the colocalization plug-in of the software, which highlights the colocalized points of two 8-bit images. Two points were considered colocalized if their respective intensities were strictly higher than the threshold of their channels (= 30) and if the ratio of their intensities was strictly higher than a ratio of 60%.
Virus growth. Confluent Cos-7 and 143B cells in 35-mm culture dishes were infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA at an MOI of 5 for single-step or of 0.001 for multistep growth curves. One hour after infection, extracellular remaining virions were washed off by treatment with an acid-glycine-saline solution (13). After a thorough wash with PBS, fresh medium (DMEM-2% FCS) was added. Infected cell culture supernatants were harvested at different times postinfection and, after low-speed centrifugation to clear the supernatants, extracellular virions were titrated on Vero cells. Cell-associated virions were titrated without or with a low pH wash before harvesting to inactivate the virions on the cell surface.
Incorporation of gB in recombinant viruses. The incorporation of mutated gB molecules into virions was verified by Western blotting. Extracellular virion particles were run on a 4 to 12% NuPage polyacrylamide gel under denaturing conditions before transfer onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was incubated with the R69 anti-gB and the anti-ICP5 antibodies and then with the secondary goat anti-mouse and goat anti-rabbit IgGs coupled to HRP. The immunoblot was revealed by enhanced chemiluminescence (Amersham). Signals were acquired by using a LAS-3000 apparatus (Fujifilm) for further quantification, using the provided Fujifilm Multi-Gauge software.
Cell fusion and inhibition by drugs. To compare the characteristics of infected cell cultures in the absence or presence of drugs affecting the intracellular transport of proteins, confluent Cos-7 cell cultures were infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA at an MOI of 1 and then extensively rinsed 1 h after infection and observed 20 h postinfection with a phase-contrast microscope. For chlorpromazine treatment, medium containing 5 µg of chlorpromazine hydrochloride (Largactil, Sanofi-Aventis, France)/ml was added to the cultures 2 h postinfection and maintained for 18 h, until fixation with 4% (wt/vol) paraformaldehyde in PBS for 30 min at room temperature. For bafilomycin A1 (Tocris, Bristol, United Kingdom) treatment analyses, DMEM containing the drug at a final concentration of 250 nM (1/1,000 dilution of a 250 µM bafilomycin A1 stock solution in dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO]) or DMSO as a control (1 µl/ml) was added 2 h postinfection. Cells were observed with a phase-contrast microscope 20 h postinfection before fixation and permeabilization with methanol for 10 min at –20°C. After extensive rinses with PBS, cells were incubated with an anti-ICP5 antibody for 1 h, rinsed with PBS, and incubated for 1 h with a biotin-coupled anti-mouse IgG antibody. After additional washes with PBS, the cells were incubated with ß-galactosidase-coupled streptavidine (Roche) at 1/1,000 in PBS for 1 h. The immunostaining was revealed by incubating the cells for 2 h at 37°C with a solution containing 4 mM potassium ferrocyanide, 4 mM potassium ferricyanide, 1 mM magnesium chloride. and 0.4 mg of X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside)/ml in PBS and then stopped by removing the revealing solution and washing the cells thoroughly with PBS. To verify the effect of chlorpromazine and bafilomycin on gB endocytosis, an internalization assay was performed as described above except that the cells were treated with chlorpromazine or bafilomycin 2 h after infection.
Rab11S25N transdominant-negative assay. Approximately 8 x 106 Cos-7 cells were transfected with 20 µg of plasmid pECFP-Rab11S25N or plasmid pECFP-N1 by electroporation using standard procedures and plated on 35-mm-diameter dishes. At 24 h after transfection, cells were mock infected or infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA at an MOI of 2 PFU/cell. Cells were fixed with paraformaldehyde (4% in PBS) at 20 h postinfection and observed with a conventional Leica DMB fluorescence and phase-contrast microscope. To verify the effect of Rab11S25N on gB subcellular localization, transfected cells were fixed 7 h postinfection and stained with the anti-gB antibody as described above.
|
|
|---|
Biotinylation and endocytosis of HSV-1 gB in infected cells. To investigate whether internalization of gB from the cell surface occurred during infection, an endocytosis assay that did not rely on antibodies was performed using biotinylation of cell surface proteins. We first ensured that gB was detected on the surface of infected cells by biotinylation. 143B cells were infected with KOS and washed with acid-glycine to remove any remaining nonpenetrated virion particles, and cell surface proteins were biotinylated at 8 h postinfection at 4°C using noncleavable biotin. Whole-cell extracted protein samples were immunoprecipitated with an anti-gB-antibody, and biotinylated gB was revealed by streptavidin-HRP Western blotting under nonreducing conditions and then further identified by gB Western blotting (Fig. 1A). To investigate whether HSV-1 gB was internalized at early times of infection, the biotinylation experiment was repeated with Sulfo-NHS-SS cleavable biotin. Cells were infected and biotinylated at 8 h postinfection at 4°C with cleavable biotin. After a washing step, the infected cells were left 4 more hours at 37°C before the cells were treated with GSH to remove any noninternalized biotin from the cell surface. After immunoprecipitation and streptavidin-HRP Western blotting, biotinylated gB was detected in cells that were incubated for 4 h after biotinylation, whereas no signal was observed in cells that were treated with GSH immediately after biotinylation (compare Fig. 1B, lanes 2 and 3). This proved that HSV-1 gB present on the surface of infected cells had been internalized.
![]() View larger version (29K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Endocytosis of gB during infection assayed by biotinylation. (A) Biotinylation of gB was assayed in 143B cells with noncleavable biotin 8 h after infection with KOS. Samples were immunoprecipitated with a polyclonal anti-gB antibody and then separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-7% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions, and biotinylated glycoproteins were revealed with streptavidin-HRP by Western blotting (lanes 1 to 4). After stripping, the membrane was revealed with a monoclonal anti-gB antibody (lanes 5 to 8). Lanes: 1, 2, 5, and 6, uninfected control cells; lanes 3, 4, 7, and 8, infected cells; lanes 1, 3, 5, and 7, nonbiotinylated; lanes 2, 4, 6, and 8, biotinylated. (B) 143B cells were biotinylated with Sulfo-NHS-SS-cleavable biotin 8 h after infection with KOS and left for 4 h for infection to proceed. After treatment of the cells with GSH, lysed samples were gB immunoprecipitated and visualized with streptavidin-HRP (lane 3). As controls, cells were gB immunoprecipitated immediately after the biotinylation step, without (lane 1) or after (lane 2) GSH treatment. Lane 4 shows the gB Western blot of lane 3 after stripping.
|
![]() View larger version (36K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Confocal microscopy analysis of gB internalization in KOS-infected cells. 143B cells were infected with wild-type KOS virus at an MOI of 0.1. At 7 h postinfection, the cells were incubated with an anti-gB antibody at 4°C for 45 min and then placed at 37°C for 0 min (A, E, I, M, and Q), 15 min (B, F, J, N, and R), 30 min (C, G, K, O, and S), or 60 min (D, H, L, P, and T). Cells were fixed in methanol and labeled with anti-TGN 46 and anti-VP5 antibodies. Panels A to D correspond to phase-contrast images of infected cells, whereas panels E to P show indirect immunofluorescence from anti-VP5 and Cy2-labeled secondary antibodies (green) (E to H), from anti-TGN 46 and Cy5-labeled secondary antibodies (pseudo-colored in blue) (I to L), or from anti-gB and Cy3-labeled secondary antibodies (red) (M to P). (Q to T) Merged images. Fluorescence was visualized with a Leica TCS SP2 AOBS confocal microscope.
|
![]() View larger version (33K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Internalization of gB in KgBY889A-infected cells. The same experiment as that described in Fig. 1 was reproduced in 143B cells infected with a virus expressing a mutated YTQV ATQV gB protein. Subcellular localization of surface-stained gB was analyzed by confocal microscopy as described in the legend for Fig. 1. (A, E, I, M, and Q) Incubation for 0 min at 37°C; (B, F, J, N, and R) 15-min incubation at 37°C; (C, G, K, O, and S) 30-min incubation at 37°C; (D, H, L, P, and T) 60-min incubation at 37°C. Cells were fixed with methanol and then stained with anti-TGN 46 and anti-VP5 antibodies. Panels A to D show phase-contrast images of the different time intervals analyzed. Panels E to H show immunostaining with VP5 (green). Panels I to L show immunostaining with TGN 46 (blue). Panels M to P show immunostaining with anti-gB antibodies (red). (Q to T) Merged images.
|
![]() View larger version (34K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. Internalization of gB in KgBLL871AA-infected cells. Seven hours after infection of 143B cultures by a mutant virus in which the gB LL motif was replaced by AA, cells were processed as described in the legend of Fig. 1. (A, E, I, M, and Q) Incubation for 0 min at 37°C; (B, F, J, N, and R) 15-min incubation at 37°C; (C, G, K, O, and S) 30-min incubation at 37°C; (D, H, L, P, and T) 60-min incubation at 37°C. Panels A to D show phase-contrast images. Anti-VP5, anti-TGN 46, and anti-gB staining is shown in panels E to H, I to L, and M to P, respectively. (Q to T) Merged images.
|
![]() View larger version (22K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Cointernalization of gB and transferrin receptor in infected cells. To characterize the vesicular compartment where gB was internalized, the same experiments as in Fig. 2, 3, and 4 were repeated except that the cells were incubated with a CD71-specific antibody, in addition to the anti-gB antibody, for 60 min. After fixation, cells were stained with an anti-TGN antibody. Merged images of the anti-TGN (blue), anti-CD71 (green), and anti-gB (red) stains are shown for KOS-, KgBY889A-, and KgBLL871AA-infected cells in panels D, H, and L, respectively.
|
![]() View larger version (21K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Subcellular distribution of gB in infected cells. 143B cells were infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA at an MOI of 0.1, fixed 7 h postinfection; permeabilized; and stained with anti-TGN, anti-CD71, and anti-gB antibodies. Immunostaining of TGN (blue), CD71 (green), and gB (red) is shown in panels A to C, D to E, and F to H, respectively. (I to K) Merged images.
|
|
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 1. Quantification of gB subcellular distribution in infected cellsa
|
![]() View larger version (26K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 7. Virus growth. 143B cells were infected with KOS, KgBY889A, or KgBLL871AA, and the infectivity of the progeny viruses was analyzed at different times postinfection by titration on Vero cells. (A) Cells were infected at an MOI of 5, and extra- and intracellular infectivities were assayed at 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, and 24 h postinfection. (B) Multiple-step growth analysis. Cells were infected at an MOI of 0.001, and progeny viruses were harvested 24, 48, and 72 h postinfection. The data shown correspond to averages of two or three independent experiments. Vertical lines indicate the standard deviations.
|
![]() View larger version (39K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 8. Incorporation of gB in virions. Extracellular virus recovered from infected cell supernatants at 8 h postinfection were subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions and transferred onto nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was treated with anti-gB and anti-ICP5 antibodies and then with HRP-coupled secondary antibodies visualized by enhanced chemiluminescence. Quantification analysis was performed with Fujifilm Multi-Gauge software.
|
![]() View larger version (53K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 9. Infection phenotypes of wild-type and gB-mutated viruses in Cos-7 cells. Confluent cell monolayers were infected with KOS (A), KgBY889A (B), and KgBLL871AA (C) at an MOI of 1. Live cells were visualized by phase-contrast microscopy at 20 h postinfection.
|
![]() View larger version (105K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 10. Effects of chlorpromazine on infection phenotypes. Confluent Cos-7 cell monolayers were infected with KOS (A and B), KgBY889A (C and D), or KgBLL871AA (E and F) or were mock infected (G and H). At 2 h after infection, cells were either treated with 5 µg of chlorpromazine/ml (A, C, E, and G) or left untreated (B, D, F, and H). Cells were observed at 20 h postinfection.
|
![]() View larger version (18K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 11. Internalization assay of bafilomycin A1-treated infected cells. The internalization assay was repeated in KOS- or KgBLL871AA-infected cells as described in Fig. 2 and 4, except that the cells were treated with bafilomycin A1 at 2 h postinfection. Images taken at the latest time point of the assay (60 min) correspond to the merge of the gB (red) and TGN (blue) stainings. (A and B) Control untreated cells; (C and D) treated cells.
|
![]() View larger version (170K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 12. Effects of bafilomycin A1 on infection phenotypes. Confluent Cos-7 cell monolayers were infected with KOS (A to D), KgBY889A (E to H), or KgBLL871AA (I to L) or were mock infected (M to O). At 2 h after infection, cells were either left untreated (A, E, I, and M) or treated with 1 µg of DMSO/ml (B, F, and J) or 250 nM bafilomycin A (C, D, G, H, K, L, N, and O). Live cells were observed 20 h postinfection by phase-contrast microscopy (A to C, E to G, I to K, and M and N). To check for infection, cells were fixed with methanol and then incubated successively with an anti-VP5 antibody, a biotin-coupled secondary antibody, and ß-galactosidase-coupled streptavidin; the staining was revealed with X-Gal (D, H, L, and O).
|
![]() View larger version (13K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 13. Subcellular distribution of gB in Rab11S25N-transfected infected cells. Cells were transfected with the control or Rab11 mutant-expressing plasmids as for Fig. 13, infected at 0.1 PFU, fixed at 7 h postinfection, permeabilized, and stained with anti-gB antibody (red).
|
![]() View larger version (127K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 14. Phenotypes of infections in infected cells expressing a transdominant-negative form of Rab11. Cos-7 cells were transfected with plasmids expressing either ECFP (A to H) or an ECFP-tagged transdominant-negative Rab11 mutant, ECFP-Rab11S25N (I to P). Cells were infected 24 h after transfection with KOS (A, E, I, and M), KgBY889A (B, F, J, and N), or KgBLL871AA (C, G, K, and O) at an MOI of 2 or were mock infected (D, H, L, and P). Cells were fixed 20 h postinfection and visualized under phase-contrast and conventional fluorescence microscopy (E to H and M to P). (A to D and E to L) Merged images.
|
|
|
|---|
or dileucine motifs (8, 18). Endocytosis of viral glycoproteins expressed in transfected cells has been described in several models (9, 23). In particular, the gBs of HSV-1, HSV-2, PRV, VZV, and CMV are transported to the cell surface to be subsequently internalized (7, 17, 19, 31, 63, 71). In addition to gB, the gD, gE, gH, gI, and gM proteins of several herpesviruses contain functional endocytosis motifs (1, 2, 14, 56, 57, 68). Endocytosis during infection has been demonstrated for PRV, CMV, and VZV gB (44, 55, 63) and PRV, HSV-1, and VZV gE (8, 44, 46, 67) and gH (30, 44). The fact that most herpesvirus gBs contain more than one trafficking signal questions the role of this apparent redundancy. We showed here that in HSV-1-infected cells the YTQV motif located at the carboxy-terminal end of the gB tail played a central role in endocytosis since its disruption totally prevented internalization of the protein. In PRV-infected cells, the carboxy-terminal YQRL motif (residues 902 to 905) of gB was shown to play a similar role (20) via its interaction with AP-2 (75). In transfection experiments at least, suppression of the YSRV motif (aa 857 to 860) of VZV gB also suppressed internalization of the protein (31). The role of the LL motif present in HSV-2, VZV, PRV, and CMV gB homologues has been less deeply investigated. In VZV, previous studies reported that neither the internalization nor the concentration of gB at the Golgi were impaired when the LL motif was mutated (17, 31). In HSV-2 gB, mutation of the LL motif did not affect the overall distribution of the protein (17). Our results differ from these previous reports. Careful confocal fluorescence imaging of gB mutated on the LL motif in HSV-1-infected cells revealed a pattern of retrograde transport to the TGN surprisingly similar to what we had reported in transiently transfected cells expressing gB (7). Indeed, internalization of gB from the surface of cells infected with the gB dileucine mutant virus did occur, but a further step of its transport to the TGN was blocked. Colocalization of internalized gB with Rab5a, a marker of early endosomes, but not with Rab7, a marker of late endosomes, was demonstrated in transfection assays (3). We show here that after internalization wild-type gB was mainly concentrated in early/sorting or recycling endosomes and in the TGN compartment. This trafficking pattern is strikingly reminiscent of that of a transmembrane protein, the cation-independent mannose phosphate receptor (CI-MPR). After endocytosis, CI-MPR passes through the early recycling compartment before reaching the TGN. With each round of recycling, 15% of the receptors are delivered to the TGN and to late endosomes, while 85% are recycled to the cell surface (70). We showed previously in transfected cells that HSV-1 gB is internalized and recycles to the cell surface and that disruption of the dileucine motif enhances recycling. In infected cells, the dileucine mutation significantly lowered the fraction of total gB in the TGN, and gB was mainly associated with early recycling endosomes. A dileucine motif in the cytoplasmic tail of the CI-MPR was similarly shown to play a critical role in sorting of the receptor from the early recycling compartment to the TGN (70). One of the proposed roles of endocytosis during virus replication is the targeting of viral components to the appropriate cell compartment for viral assembly (9, 18, 45). Several herpesvirus glycoproteins, including gB, are targeted to the TGN (2, 14, 18, 22, 29, 46, 84). Moreover, incorporation of internalized glycoproteins has been demonstrated for PRV gE (68); for CMV gB (63); and, more recently, for VZV gB, gE, and gH (44). These data favor a long-debated model which states that assembly and final envelopment of virions take place in the TGN (reviewed in reference 49). Using triple-labeling experiments of infected cells, we observed that gB accumulated in the TGN, but merged images showed few superposition of capsids and gB in this compartment. Interestingly, by using immunofluorescence analysis of synchronized HSV-1 infection, Turcotte et al. also reported that most capsids were localized immediately adjacent to the TGN46 marker, whereas some perfectly colocalized with the TGN (73). It was suggested that this might be related to the kinetics of envelopment. Whether internalization of glycoproteins affects the production of infectious particles has not been completely determined and seems to vary according to the virus and the glycoprotein investigated. For instance, endocytosis of VZV gE is essential for the virus life cycle, since a single mutation of the gE YAGL endocytosis motif is lethal for replication (51). In contrast, endocytosis of PRV gE is dispensable for virus growth (68). The data concerning gB are complex and contradictory. Inhibition of endocytosis of HCMV gB using a dominant-negative dynamin I molecule did not affect the production of infectious CMV (15, 38). However, small interfering RNA silencing of PACS-1, a protein required for transport of HCMV gB to the TGN after internalization in infected cells, slightly decreased HCMV titers (15). Moreover, the increased transport to the TGN of a mutated HCMV gB resulted in increased levels of virus production in infected fibroblasts (39). In the case of PRV gB, mutation of the YQRL motif (aa 902 to 905) did not modify virus growth (20), whereas truncation of the last 28 last carboxy-terminal amino acids, which removes both the YQRL and the LL motifs, slightly reduced virus production (54). Similarly, a VZV recombinant virus that lacks the C-terminal 36 aa of gB, including the YSRV motif and an LL motif (aa 840 to 841), displayed a slight reduction in virus production. Here, we showed that substitution of gB tyrosine or dileucine motifs diminished the infectivity of HSV-1 in a range comparable to that previously reported in ambB1, an HSV-1 mutant that lacks the 41 carboxy-terminal amino acids of gB (35). Altogether, these observations suggest that although endocytosis of gB is not essential to virus growth it contributes to the production of infectious virus and that each of the tyrosine and dileucine motifs differentially contributes to this effect. Further studies will be necessary to determine whether this is different in other cell types. Endocytosis is involved in the sorting of specific glycoproteins to subcellular compartments of polarized cells. For instance, endocytosis of HSV-1 gE is required for gE targeting to lateral surfaces and cell junctions during intermediate to late stages of HSV infection (40). The cytoplasmic tail of CMV gB contains determinants of vectorial sorting in polarized epithelial cells (72). In PRV, the tyrosine motif of gB was involved in the sorting to basolateral surfaces of infected cells, and this signal was supposedly involved in the level of viral cell-cell spread (20). HSV-1 gB has been shown to relocalize to the basolateral cell membrane of infected cells (81). Whether the YTQV or the LL motifs are involved in this polarized targeting and influence the production of viral particles in these cells requires further investigation.
Another proposed role of envelope glycoprotein endocytosis in the replication cycle of viruses consists of the regulation of cell-cell fusion (37, 64, 76). In the case of HSV, fusion for entry and cell-cell fusion require the functional participation of gB, gD, and gH/gL (reviewed in reference 65). The four glycoproteins are sufficient to induce cell-cell fusion in transfected cells provided these express HSV receptors (10, 52, 60, 64). Although the precise mechanisms of fusion have not been completely deciphered, gB and gH/gL are supposed to be the most probable effectors (26, 64). However, HSV-induced cell fusion is usually limited in vitro and in vivo (17), which may result from regulation mechanisms aimed to prevent enhanced pathogenesis (27). It is generally assumed that the increased cell surface expression of viral fusogenic glycoproteins may increase virus-mediated cell-cell fusion (37). Endocytosis could contribute to counteract this process. For instance, transfection studies showed that gH endocytosis leads to decreased cell-cell fusion in association with decreased surface density of gH (58). Interestingly, some of the mutations in the cytoplasmic tail of herpesvirus gBs that enhance cell-cell fusion also affect trafficking signals (17, 21, 24, 27, 64, 77). We have shown that endocytosis of gB does occur in cells infected with wild-type HSV-1, which could account for the limited cell-cell fusion phenotype observed in these cells. Surprisingly, however, the increased presence of gB at the cell surface does not necessarily correlate with increased cell fusion. In HSV-2, the increased cell surface expression of a mutated Y867A gB did not induce a syncytial phenotype (17), and in PRV gB the Y902A mutation induced a small-plaque phenotype (20). Similarly, in our experiments disruption of the YTQV motif of gB abolished fusion in HSV-1-infected cells, and this effect was reproduced by a drug which blocks AP-2-mediated internalization from the cell surface and which prevented gB endocytosis. This suggests that, after access to the cell surface, internalization of gB is required for fusion. Interestingly, a similar correlation between endocytosis and fusion was reported for Nipah virus, a member of the Paramyxoviridae family. The fusion envelope protein F of this virus is internalized in infected and transfected cells. Disruption of the YSRL motif of protein F abolished both internalization and cell fusion in a transfection assay, suggesting that blocking of the protein at the cell surface negatively regulates fusion (76).
In contrast, in HSV-1-infected cells, we observed an upregulation of cell-cell fusion upon mutation of the gB dileucine motif. Similarly, in HSV-2 gB, the LL849/850AA mutation, which did not increase cell surface expression, did produce a syncytial phenotype (17). Replacement of the LL motif in PRV gB also resulted in the formation of large syncytia, and this effect was supposed to result from an enhancement of the fusogenic activity of gB (20). Since internalization of gB seems necessary for cell-cell fusion, and fusion most probably requires the presence of the glycoprotein at the cell membrane (64), we hypothesize that the enhanced fusion phenotype associated with the LL mutation could result from increased recycling of gB to the cell surface after endocytosis. Indeed, we previously demonstrated that in transfected cells the LL mutation is associated with an increased recycling of gB to the cell membrane. Furthermore, we showed in the present study that syncytium formation was inhibited by a drug or by a dominant-negative protein which impair recycling to the surface.
In addition to mutations in HSV-1 gB, mutations in gK, UL20, UL24, and UL45 enhance cell-cell fusion in infected and transfected cells (3, 28, 47). This is thought to reflect a role for these proteins in the regulation of the process of fusion, probably through direct or indirect interactions with the fusogenic glycoproteins. Syncytial mutations in HSV-1, HSV-2, and PRV gBs have been suggested to modify the structure of the alpha-helical domain II of gB cytoplasmic domain (4, 17, 20, 21), thereby impairing functional interactions with proteins regulating fusion (20, 47). Our results favor the hypothesis that regulation of gB fusogenic properties through these interactions also depends on gB intracellular trafficking. Modifications of gB intracellular transport might prevent interactions with other viral and cellular proteins involved in fusion and/or neutralize their functional effects, thus leading to enhanced cell-cell fusion. Further studies will be necessary to characterize proteins involved in this process and investigate their putative physical and functional interactions with gB.
This study was supported in part by grants from the French GIS Maladies Rares and the Action Concertée Incitative de Microbiologie. I.B.O.D.Z. was a recipient of a Scientist Training Fellowship from the Department of Education, Universities, and Research of the Basque Government.
Published ahead of print on 3 October 2007. ![]()
Present address: GIS-Institut des Maladies Rares, 102 Rue Didot, 75014 Paris, France. ![]()
|
|
|---|
motifs in its cytoplasmic domain. Virology 285:42-49.[CrossRef][Medline]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»