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Journal of Virology, March 2007, p. 2418-2428, Vol. 81, No. 5
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.02146-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Jie Li,
,
and
Carolyn E. Machamer*
Department of Cell Biology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
Received 29 September 2006/ Accepted 5 December 2006
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Coronaviruses are enveloped positive-strand RNA viruses with a genome of 27 to 31 kb. These viruses are classified into group 1, 2, or 3 based on their antigenicity and sequence homology (18); however, new data suggest that the addition of additional groups and subgroups may be necessary (64). Coronaviruses infect a wide range of vertebrate species and display variable cellular tropism ranging from the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts to the nervous system. Coronaviruses are intriguing because they assemble at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC), bud into the lumen of the compartment, and then exit the cells by exocytosis (31). The advantage of assembly at this intracellular compartment is currently unknown. All known coronaviruses contain at least three envelope proteins, envelope (E), membrane (M), and spike (S), which are encoded in the last third of their genomes. The E protein is present at low levels in mature virions but may play a critical role in virus assembly (11, 33, 53). M is the most abundant protein in the viral envelope and, acting as a scaffold, orchestrates virus assembly. It interacts with E, S, and the nucleocapsid during assembly and is necessary for virus-like particle formation (2, 8, 15, 26, 45, 52, 67). The S protein is less abundant in virions; however, it is responsible for binding to receptors on target cells and determines the cell tropism of the virus (13). When expressed on the surface of infected cells, S proteins from some coronaviruses cause the fusion of infected cells with neighboring cells, resulting in the formation of syncytia (6).
Envelope proteins of viruses that assemble at intracellular compartments possess signals that direct them to the site of virus assembly (21). For instance, the CoV infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) E protein contains a Golgi-targeting signal within its cytoplasmic tail (7); the IBV M contains a Golgi-targeting signal in its first transmembrane domain (42, 63); and the IBV S contains a canonical dilysine ER retrieval signal in its cytoplasmic tail (41). The latter type of signal requires two lysine residues at the 3 and 4 (or 5) positions relative to the C terminus (65). Proteins with the dilysine signal bind to the coatomer complex I (COPI) and are recruited into vesicles that bud from the Golgi complex and travel back to the ER (9, 35). The efficiency of binding to COPI is influenced by the sequence surrounding the dilysine signal, resulting in an ER, ERGIC, or Golgi complex steady-state localization of proteins bearing this signal (65). Recombinant IBV containing a mutant S protein lacking the dilysine signal forms syncytia earlier than wild-type IBV but produces lower titers of infectious virus (71), suggesting a role for the dilysine signal in the pathogenesis and fitness of the virus.
SARS CoV has a genome organization similar to that of other coronaviruses (44, 56) and is distantly related to group 2 coronaviruses (61, 64). The virus has also been shown to assemble at and bud into the lumen of the Golgi/ERGIC region as well as into the ER (16, 46). However, as the sequence identity is only around 20% between proteins of SARS CoV and the analogous proteins from other coronaviruses (44, 56), it is possible that SARS CoV may be unique in some aspects of its biology. The SARS CoV S protein is a type I membrane protein and a class I fusion protein (5, 27, 40, 66) with 1,255 amino acids and 23 potential N-linked glycosylation sites (44, 56). It binds to the major SARS CoV receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (38), and an alternative receptor, CD209L (28), mediates virus entry and cell-cell fusion (38, 60). Previously, we reported a dibasic motif (KxHxx-COOH) in the cytoplasmic tail of SARS S that resembles a canonical dilysine signal by demonstrating that the C-terminal 11 amino acids of SARS S retain a plasma membrane reporter protein in the ERGIC (41). In the present study, we explored the function of this motif in the context of the full-length SARS S protein and in the context of the entire cytoplasmic tail of the protein. We found that in transfected cells, SARS S was predominantly localized to the cell surface but the KxHxx dibasic motif decreased the extent of trafficking to the plasma membrane. The cytoplasmic tail of SARS S also decreased the extent of trafficking of two different plasma membrane reporter proteins to the cell surface, and this activity was dependent on the KxHxx dibasic motif. The KxHxx motif bound COPI, suggesting it could contribute to the retrieval of SARS S and collect it near the virus assembly site. Importantly, when coexpressed with SARS M, SARS S was localized to the Golgi compartment, and this localization was dependent upon the KxHxx motif. These results suggest a role for the KxHxx motif in efficient M-S interaction and virus assembly.
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Cells and transfection. HeLa cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (Invitrogen, Grand Island, NY) containing 10% fetal calf serum (Atlanta Biologicals, Lawrenceville, GA) and 0.1 mg/ml Normocin (InvivoGen, San Diego, CA). CHO cells were maintained in alpha-modified minimum essential Eagle's medium (with sodium bicarbonate, without L-glutamine, ribonucleosides, deoxyribonucleosides) (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 1% nonessential amino acids, 1% L-glutamine, and 0.1 mg/ml Normocin. Transient transfections were performed using a total of 1 to 2 µg of pCAGGS-based expression vectors encoding the appropriate cDNAs and FuGENE 6 transfection reagent (Roche, Indianapolis, IN), following the manufacturer's instructions. For vaccinia/T7 RNA polymerase-driven expression, HeLa cells were infected with vTF7-3 (12) at a multiplicity of infection of 5 for 1 h and then transfected with 1.5 µg of pcDNA3.1/Hygro or pcDNA3.1/SARS S and 6 µl of LT1 transfection reagent (Mirus, Madison, WI). Expression was analyzed at the indicated times posttransfection.
Antibodies.
The rabbit polyclonal antibody to
SARS S (anti-SCT) was generated by immunizing rabbits with a
conjugate of keyhole limpet hemocyanin and a peptide (CDSEPVLKGVKLHYT)
derived from the C-terminal 14 amino acids of SARS S, with an
N-terminal cysteine added for conjugation (Covance Research Products,
Denver, PA). The rabbit polyclonal antibody to SARS M was made in a
similar manner using a synthetic peptide corresponding to the
C-terminal 14 amino acids, with a cysteine added for coupling
(CDHAGSNDNIALLVQ). The mouse anti-VSV G monoclonal antibody
(MAb) used in immunofluorescence recognizes the ectodomain of VSV G
(36). A rabbit polyclonal
anti-VSV antiserum (69)
was used for immunoprecipitation. The mouse monoclonal and rabbit
polyclonal anti-Tac antibodies were a generous gift from M. Marks
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA). The
mouse monoclonal anti-ERGIC-53 antibody was a kind gift from
H. P. Hauri (Basel, Switzerland). The mouse anti-SARS immune
serum was a generous gift from K. Subbarao (National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD). By indirect
immunofluorescence, the anti-SARS mouse immune serum did not recognize
the SARS M protein. The mouse monoclonal anti-GM130 antibody was from
Transduction Labs (San Jose, CA). The golgin-160 antibody was
previously described
(24). Polyclonal rabbit
anti-
-COP antibody was a generous gift from M. Krieger
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA). Texas
Red-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) was obtained
from Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc. (West Grove, PA), and
Alexa 488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG was from Molecular Probes,
Inc. (Eugene, OR). Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit
IgG was from Amersham.
GST fusion protein expression and purification. Constructs encoding the GST fusion proteins were transformed into competent Escherichia coli BL21 cells, and expression and purification of fusion proteins were performed primarily following the manufacturer's instructions (GST Gene Fusion System; Amersham). Briefly, transformed E. coli cells were grown to an optical density at 600 nm (OD600) of approximately 0.7, and expression was induced with 0.1 mM isopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactoside. After 3 h of induction, cells were harvested and sonicated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) binding buffer (10 mM EDTA, 5 mM benzamide, and protease inhibitor cocktail [Sigma, St. Louis, MO] in PBS). Glutathione-Sepharose 4B beads (Amersham) were added to the soluble protein fraction and incubated at 4°C for 1 h. After the beads were extensively washed in PBS binding buffer, the GST fusion proteins were eluted off the beads using increasing concentrations of GST elution buffer (10 to 50 mM glutathione, 50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0]).
Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. HeLa cells were plated on coverslips in 35-mm-diameter dishes 1 day before transfection and transfected as described above. At the indicated times posttransfection, cells were fixed in 3% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 10 min at room temperature, permeabilized with 0.5% Triton X-100 for 3 min, and stained with the appropriate primary antibodies as previously described (63). Secondary antibodies were Texas Red-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Alexa 488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG. To label surface SARS S proteins, intact cells were washed with ice-cold PBS and incubated with mouse anti-SARS serum for 10 min at 4°C. Cells were then washed twice with ice-cold PBS, fixed and permeabilized as described above, and stained for intracellular proteins with rabbit anti-SCT. A similar protocol was used to label surface G-S and Tac-S chimeric proteins, except that monoclonal anti-VSV and anti-Tac antibodies were used, respectively. For cells expressing both SARS S and M, surface localization was assessed by positive plasma membrane/rim staining. Images were acquired with a Zeiss Axioscop microscope (Thornwood, NY) equipped for epifluorescence with a Sensys charge-coupled-device camera (Photometrics, Tucson, AZ), using IPLab software (Scanalytics, Vienna, VA).
Metabolic labeling, immunoprecipitation, and glycosidase digestion. HeLa cells were transfected with pCAGGS-based vectors encoding SARS S, SARS S2A, G-S, G-S2A, Tac S, or Tac S2A as described above and were starved for 20 min at 24 h or 18 h posttransfection with methionine- and cysteine-free medium at 37°C. The cells were then labeled with 100 to 200 µCi of [35S]methionine-cysteine ([35S]Promix; Amersham) per ml in methionine- and cysteine-free medium for 20 min at 37°C and chased in normal growth medium for various times. After a rinse in ice-cold PBS, the cells were lysed in a detergent solution (62.5 mM EDTA, 50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 0.4% deoxycholate, 1% NP-40) containing a protease inhibitor cocktail. After the removal of nuclei and debris by centrifugation at 14,000 x g for 10 min, the lysate was adjusted to 0.2% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and incubated at room temperature for 6 h with 6 µl of rabbit anti-SCT antiserum (for full-length SARS S and S2A) for 1 h at room temperature or overnight at 4°C with 2 µl anti-VSV MAb or 200 µl of mouse anti-Tac MAb (for chimeric proteins). Antibody-antigen complexes were collected by incubation with fixed Staphylococcus aureus (Pansorbin; Calbiochem, San Diego, CA) for 20 min at room temperature. Immunoprecipitates were washed three times in radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) buffer (0.1% SDS, 50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 1% Na-deoxycholate, 150 mM NaCl, 1% Triton X-100) and subsequently eluted in 20 µl of 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 6.8), 1% SDS by incubation at 95°C for 3 min. Ten microliters of eluate was mixed with 10 µl of 0.15 M sodium citrate (pH 5.5) without (mock) or with 0.1 mU of recombinant endoglycosidase H (endo H) (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA) and incubated for 16 to 20 h at 37°C. The samples were then subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) using 6, 8, or 10% gels. Images were obtained by a Molecular Imager FX phosphorimager (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). Oligosaccharide processing was quantified by comparing band densities of endo H-sensitive and -resistant forms using Quantity One software (Bio-Rad).
COPI binding experiments.
CHO cells from
a confluent 10-cm dish were lysed in 1 ml of lysis buffer [90 mM KCl,
0.5% Triton X-100, and 50 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic
acid (pH 6.5) or 50 mM HEPES (pH 7.4)] plus protease inhibitor
cocktail. Binding experiments were similar to those described by Gomez
et al. (17). Briefly, 10
µg of each purified GST fusion protein was preincubated with 20
µl of glutathione-Sepharose 4B beads for 1 h at room
temperature in PBS binding buffer (10 mM EDTA, 5 mM benzamide, and
protease inhibitor cocktail in PBS). The beads were washed once in PBS
and mixed with 100 µl of cell lysate. After incubation for
2 h at room temperature, beads were washed three times in
lysis buffer and once in PBS. Bound proteins were then eluted off the
beads by boiling in 65 µl of sample buffer (100 mM Tris-HCl [pH
6.8], 4% SDS, 30% glycerol, 0.2% bromophenol blue, and 10%
2-mercaptoethanol) for 3 min at 95°C. Half of the eluate was
then subjected to 15% SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis using
anti-
-COP antibody. The other half was run on 15% SDS-PAGE
gels and stained with Coomassie blue for protein
quantification.
Western blotting analysis. Samples were subjected to SDS-PAGE and transferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Millipore Corporation, Bedford, MA). The membrane was blocked for 30 min at room temperature with 5% nonfat dry milk in TBST (150 mM NaCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.4], 0.05% Tween 20). The membrane was incubated overnight at 4°C with primary antiserum or purified antibodies diluted in TBST containing 0.02% NaN3 and 5% nonfat dry milk or 3% bovine albumin. After extensive washing, the membrane was incubated for 1 h at room temperature with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-rabbit secondary antibody diluted in 5% nonfat dry milk-TBST. Antibody binding was detected with a chemiluminescent substrate (Amersham) and X-ray film.
In vitro transcription and translation (IVTT). TNT Quick Coupled Transcription/Translation Systems (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI) was used to produce radiolabeled SARS M according to the manufacturer's protocol. Briefly, pcDNA3.1/SARS M was incubated in a TNT master mix containing [35S]methionine (Redivue; Amersham) in the presence of canine pancreatic microsomal membranes (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI) for 90 min at 30°C. The reaction was then diluted into IVTT binding buffer containing 50 mM HEPES (pH 7.1), 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, 5 mM MgCl2, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 0.1% NP-40. Equal amounts of the IVTT reaction mixture were added to purified GST fusion proteins (GST, GST SARS S, or GST SARS S2A) prebound to glutathione-Sepharose 4B beads and incubated for 2 h at room temperature. After extensive washing in IVTT binding buffer, samples were eluted in sample buffer and subjected to 15% SDS-PAGE. Images were obtained by a Molecular Imager FX phosphorimager. Binding was quantified using Quantity One software, and total M protein bound to the GST fusion proteins was determined by comparison with 10% input of the IVTT reaction.
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FIG. 1. Localization
of full-length SARS S. (A) Specificity of anti-SCT
antibody. HeLa cells infected with vTF7-3 and transfected with
pcDNA3.1/Hygro (lane 1) or pcDNA3.1/SARS S (lane 2) for 7 h
were lysed and subjected to Western blotting analysis using a rabbit
antiserum (anti-SCT, 1:5,000) raised against a peptide
derived from the cytoplasmic tail of SARS S. Molecular masses in kDa
are shown on the left. (B) Amino acid sequences
of the cytoplasmic tails from SARS S and its mutant SARS
S2A, with the lysine-histidine motif and alanine mutations
in boldface type. (C) HeLa cells transfected with pCAGGS/SARS
S or S2A for 24 h were fixed, permeabilized, and
double labeled with mouse anti-SARS immune serum and rabbit
anti-golgin-160 antibodies. (D) Cells transfected as in panel
C were surface-labeled with SARS mouse immune serum at 4°C,
fixed, permeabilized, and then stained with rabbit anti-SCT.
Secondary antibodies were Alexa-488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG and
Texas Red-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG. Bar, 10
µm.
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FIG. 2. Oligosaccharide
processing of SARS S and SARS S2A. (A) HeLa cells
transfected with pCAGGS/SARS S or pCAGGS/SARS S2A for
24 h were pulse-labeled with
[35S]methionine-cysteine for 20 min, chased for 0, 10, 20,
30, or 40 min, lysed, and immunoprecipitated with rabbit
anti-SCT antibody. The immunoprecipitates were mock treated
() or treated with endo H (+) and subjected to 6%
SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. The positions of the endo H-sensitive and
-resistant forms of the proteins are indicated. (B) Endo H
resistance was quantified, and the averages ± standard
deviations from three independent experiments are
shown.
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FIG. 3. Localization
of Tac-S chimeric proteins. (A) Schematicrepresentation of Tac, SARS S, Tac-S, and Tac-S2A. TMD,
transmembrane domain. (B) HeLa cells transfected with
pCAGGS/Tac-S for 5 h were fixed, permeabilized and double
labeled with rabbit anti-SCT and mouse anti-ERGIC-53
antibodies. (C and D) HeLa cells transfected with pCAGGS/Tac-S or
pCAGGS/Tac-S2A for 5 h or 18 h
were surface
stained with a mouse monoclonal anti-Tac antibody at 4°C,
fixed, permeabilized, and then stained with rabbit anti-Tac antibody
for internal expression. Secondary antibodies were Alexa-488-conjugated
goat anti-mouse IgG and Texas Red-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG.
Bar, 10
µm.
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To further evaluate the contribution of the KxHxx motif to the retention of the reporter protein in the ERGIC, the rates of trafficking of Tac-S and Tac-S2A through the Golgi complex were compared. HeLa cells transfected with pCAGGS/Tac-S or pCAGGS/Tac-S2A for 18 h were pulse-labeled with [35S]methionine-cysteine for 20 min and chased for various times. The expressed proteins were immunoprecipitated and subjected to endo H digestion (Fig. 4A). Tac-S2A trafficked through the medial Golgi compartment significantly faster than Tac-S, as indicated by the results of pulse-chase labeling and endo H digestion experiments (Fig. 4B). Note that the endo H-resistant forms of the Tac chimeric proteins have much a slower mobility because Tac also acquires O glycosylation as it reaches the Golgi complex (37). After 60 min of chase, 45% of Tac-S acquired endo H resistance, while approximately 75% of Tac-S2A was resistant to endo H digestion. Taken together, the steady-state localization in the ERGIC/Golgi region at low expression levels and the slow processing of Tac-S compared with that of Tac-S2A suggest that the dibasic motif in the SARS S cytoplasmic tail plays a role in retrieval similar to that of the dilysine signal in the C terminus of IBV S.
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FIG. 4. Oligosaccharide
processing of Tac-S and Tac-S2A. (A) HeLa cells
expressing Tac-S or Tac-S2A for 18 h from
pCAGGS-based vectors were pulse-labeled with
[35S]methionine-cysteine for 20 min, chased for 0, 20, 40,
or 60 min, lysed, and immunoprecipitated with mouse anti-Tac antibody.
The immunoprecipitates were mock treated () or treated with
endo H (+) and subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE and phosphorimaging. A
representative gel is shown. The endo H-sensitive and -resistant forms
are indicated. Note that the endo H-resistant forms of the Tac chimeric
proteins have a much slower mobility because Tac also acquires O
glycosylation (37).
(B) Endo H resistance was quantified, and the averages
± standard deviations from three independent experiments are
shown.
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FIG. 5. Localization
of G-S and G-S2A chimeric proteins. (A) Schematic
representation of SARS S, VSV-G, G-S, and G-S2A chimeric
proteins. TMD, transmembrane domain. (B) For the localization
of G-S, HeLa cells transfected with pCAGGS/G-S were fixed,
permeabilized, and double labeled with rabbit
anti-SCT and mouseanti-ERGIC-53 antibodies. Secondary
antibodies were Alexa-488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG and
Texas Red-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG. (C) For surface
and internal staining of G-S and G-S2A chimeric proteins,
HeLa cells transfected with pCAGGS/G-S or pCAGGS/G-S2A for
8 h were incubated with mouse anti-VSV G antibody at
4°C, fixed, permeabilized, and then stained with rabbit
anti-SCT for internal expression. Secondary antibodies were
Alexa-488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG and Texas
Red-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG. Bar, 10
µm.
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FIG. 6. Oligosaccharide
processing of G-S and G-S2A. (A) HeLa cells
expressing G-S or G-S2A from pCAGGS-based vectors for
18 h were pulse-labeled with
[35S]methionine-cysteine for 20 min, chased for 0, 30, or 60
min, lysed, and immunoprecipitated with rabbit anti-SCT
serum. The precipitates were mock treated () or treated with
endo H (+) and subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE and phosphorimaging to
determine the extent of endo H resistance. A representative image is
shown. The endo H-resistant and -sensitive forms are indicated.
(B) Quantification of oligosaccharide processing rates. The
data represent the averages ± standard deviations from three
independent
experiments.
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-COP antibody. As shown
in Fig.
7A, the IBV S GST fusion proteins behaved as expected: GST-IBV S bound
COPI, whereas GST-IBV S2A did not. Neither GST-SARS S nor
GST-SARS S2A bound COPI above the background levels bound by
GST alone (Fig. 7A).
However, when the cell lysate was prepared at pH 6.5, closer to the
pKa of histidine, COPI specifically coprecipitated with
GST-SARS S, indicating that GST-SARS S bound to COPI at this pH (Fig.
7B). Mutation of the KLHYT
in GST-SARS S to ALAYT in GST-SARS S2A disrupted binding
(Fig. 7B), indicating that
the binding of GST-SARS S to COPI was indeed mediated by the dibasic
motif. Given the results of steady-state localization and trafficking
of the chimeric proteins, as well as COPI binding, we conclude that the
dibasic motif (KxHxx-COOH) is an ER retrieval signal that
plays a role similar to a canonical dilysine
signal.
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FIG. 7. COPI
binding to GST fusion proteins. CHO cell lysate (100 µl) was
incubated at room temperature for 2 h with 10 µg of
purified GST, GST-IBV S, GST-IBV S2A, GST-SARS S, or
GST-SARS S2A prebound to glutathione-Sepharose 4B beads.
After washing, bound materials were eluted in SDS sample buffer. One
half of each eluate was subjected to Western blotting analysis by using
rabbit anti- -COP antibody. As an input control, an aliquot of
the cell lysate corresponding to 10% of the amount used in binding
assays was also included on the gel. (A) A blot
representative of two experiments is shown for binding at pH 7.4.
(B) A blot representative of five independent experiments is
shown for binding at pH 6.5. (C) The other half of each
eluate was run on 15% SDS-PAGE gels and stained with Coomassie blue. A
representative gel is shown for the samples from the same assay as in
panel A. All the lanes from each experiment were from the same gel with
the same
exposure.
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FIG. 8. Relocalization
of SARS S by SARS M and its dependence on the dibasic motif.
(A) HeLa cells transfected with pCAGGS/SARS M for
24 h were fixed, permeabilized, and double labeled with
rabbit anti-M and mouse anti-GM130 antibodies. (B) HeLa cells
cotransfected for 24 h with plasmids encoding SARS S (along
with vector alone) or SARS S and SARS M were fixed, permeabilized, and
double labeled with rabbit anti-M and mouse anti-SARS immune serum.
(C) HeLa cells cotransfected for 24 h with plasmids
encoding SARS S2A (along with vector alone) or SARS
S2A and SARS M were fixed, permeabilized, and double labeled
with rabbit anti-M and mouse anti-SARS immune serum. (D)
Cells were evaluated for the surface expression of S or S2A
in the absence or presence of M as described in Materials and Methods.
n 230 cells for each. The averages from four
experiments ± standard deviations are shown. (E) SARS
M interacts equally well with the cytoplasmic tails of SARS S and
S2A. Equal amounts of in vitro-transcribed and -translated M
were incubated with equal amounts of GST fusion proteins. Samples were
washed, subjected to 15% SDS-PAGE, and visualized by
phosphorimaging.
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The KxHxx motif present at the C terminus of SARS S is a novel functional ER retrieval signal. Two types of ER localization signals have been well characterized for membrane proteins: dilysine and diarginine signals (65). Dilysine signals found in type I transmembrane proteins require two lysine residues at the 3 and 4 (or 5) positions relative to the C terminus (65). By contrast, diarginine motifs for membrane proteins are less strict in their position requirements: they can function at the N or C terminus of a membrane protein and do not require specific spacing relative to either terminus (57, 72). Proteins bearing a dilysine or a diarginine motif are retrieved from ER compartments back to the ER through direct interactions with the COPI complex, which forms the coat of COPI vesicles (35, 72). Although the COPI complex directly interacts with the dilysine or diarginine signal, the efficiency of binding is influenced by residues surrounding the motifs (65) and can affect the steady-state localization of a protein, as reported for ERGIC-53 (1).
It could be reasoned that the KxHxx motif found in group 1 coronaviruses and SARS coronavirus (41) can mimic the dilysine signal if the histidine residue is protonated. In fact, it has been shown that a histidine residue at the 3 position of the oligosaccharide transferase subunit OST48 can substitute for the lysine residue normally present at this position (23). Our analysis of the KxHxx motif found at the C terminus of SARS S showed that the dibasic motif is likely to function in ER retrieval. The KxHxx motif from SARS S retained reporter proteins in the ERGIC region at low expression levels and significantly reduced the rates of their trafficking to the cell surface. It is important to note that the acquisition of endo H resistance reports only the rate of the first passage through the medial Golgi; it cannot measure the transport of a cycling protein that has already been processed. Importantly, the results of in vitro binding experiments showed that the KxHxx motif binds the COPI complex at pH 6.5. Since histidine has a low pKa compared with those of lysine and arginine, it is likely to be less efficiently protonated in the neutral cytoplasm, and hence, the binding of the KxHxx motif to COPI in vivo might be weaker than that of a dilysine or a diarginine motif. This is reflected in the reduced efficiency of chimeric proteins with the SARS S tail to localize to the ERGIC region at high expression levels compared to those with the IBV S tail. This reduction in binding efficiency could explain why full-length SARS S is transported to the surface of cells while S proteins with a canonical dilysine signal, like those in IBV, are efficiently retained intracellularly. However, pH microenvironments can exist near membranes (43, 55), so it is possible that the histidine could be protonated during S trafficking. The Golgi complex has resident ion pumps and channels whose activities could alter the cytoplasmic pH near Golgi membranes (20). Also, the intracellular environment may change in infected cells. It has been previously shown that SARS infection can lead to apoptosis at late times postinfection (70). Interestingly, an event preceding apoptosis is acidification of the cytoplasm (19). This acidification could lead to an increase in the efficiency of S protein ER retrieval in infected cells as SARS CoV infection progresses. However, there is not yet enough information on the timing of apoptosis in SARS CoV-infected cells to predict the consequences for ER retrieval of SARS S on virus production.
Importantly, we showed that the SARS S KxHxx motif may be necessary for efficient interaction with the M protein. When S and M were coexpressed, S localization shifted dramatically from the plasma membrane to the Golgi region. A similar result was shown for MHV S: when expressed alone, it is transported to the cell surface, but when it is coexpressed with M, it is localized to the Golgi region (52). We showed that this dramatic change in SARS S localization can be disrupted by mutating the KxHxx motif. Since the cytoplasmic tails of these proteins can bind M equally well, we hypothesize that the cycling of SARS S (which is prevented by the mutations in S2A) is responsible for the differential localization of S and S2A when coexpressed with M. In this case, the S protein moves through the Golgi past the budding site but is retrieved back to the ER by COPI-coated vesicles, thus providing more opportunities to interact with M. When the KxHxx motif is mutated, the lack of retrieval would preclude efficient interaction with M. It will be important to determine the contribution of these signals to SARS CoV infection by using an infectious cDNA clone.
Implications of dibasic signals in the biology of coronaviruses. Previously, we reported that the KxHxx-COOH motif found in the S protein of SARS CoV is also present in group 1 coronaviruses, including transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) (41). However, Schwegmann-Wessels and colleagues reported that a tyrosine-based motif in the cytoplasmic tail of TGEV S protein was responsible for intracellular localization (58). The difference between their conclusions and ours could be due to the different cell types and expression systems used and/or the fact that they analyzed only steady-state localization by immunofluorescence microscopy and long biosynthetic labeling periods. Thus, rapid internalization of their truncation mutants lacking the dibasic motif from the plasma membrane could have been missed. In addition to the KKxx-COOH motif found in the S proteins of group 3 CoV, we have found that IBV S contains a tyrosine-based endocytosis signal upstream of the dilysine signal in its cytoplasmic tail (41). However, no similar signals are observed in the S proteins from group 2 coronaviruses such as bovine coronavirus or mouse hepatitis virus (41). This raises interesting issues about the importance of these signals in the biology of coronaviruses.
Accumulation of the CoV envelope proteins at the virus assembly site is required for efficient virus production. An ER retrieval signal in the S protein is likely to contribute to this targeting. On the other hand, when expressed on the cell surface, the S proteins from coronaviruses, including SARS CoV, induce cell-cell fusion, resulting in the formation of syncytia and accompanying intracellular reorganization (6, 48). Syncytium formation may reduce the efficiency of virus replication or virion release, as suggested by our recent study with a mutant IBV lacking the KKxx motif (71). By limiting the level of surface S protein through ER retrieval or retention, the virus could have sufficient time for replication, maturation, and release. Late in infection, when the expression levels of S increase, the ER retrieval machinery could be saturated and the S protein would be transported to the plasma membrane. At this stage, endocytosis signals in some coronaviruses may further ensure that S proteins that reach the cell surface do not remain there for long. The group 2 coronaviruses, which lack ER retrieval and endocytosis signals in their S proteins, may depend on direct cell-to-cell spread of the infection through the formation of syncytia to a greater extent than coronaviruses of other groups. Alternatively, group 2 coronaviruses might have another as-yet-unidentified mechanism to control the levels of their S proteins on the cell surface. Further experiments are needed to test these possibilities.
We are grateful to Michael Marks for providing Tac cDNA and antibodies, Hans-Peter Hauri, Monty Krieger and Kanta Subbarao for antibodies, and Paul Bates for the expression plasmid pCAGGS-MCS. We also thank the members of the Machamer lab for helpful comments on the manuscript.
Published ahead of print on 13 December 2006. ![]()
These
authors contributed equally to this work. ![]()
Present address: Department of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287. ![]()
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