Previous Article | Next Article 
Journal of Virology, May 2008, p. 4665-4670, Vol. 82, No. 9
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.02403-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
The Ezrin-Radixin-Moesin Family Member Ezrin Regulates Stable Microtubule Formation and Retroviral Infection
Juliane Haedicke,1
Kenia de los Santos,2
Stephen P. Goff,2 and
Mojgan H. Naghavi1,2*
Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland,1
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 100322
Received 7 November 2007/
Accepted 19 February 2008

ABSTRACT
We recently identified the cytoskeletal regulatory protein moesin
as a novel gene that inhibits retroviral replication prior to
reverse transcription by downregulation of stable microtubule
formation. Here, we provide evidence that overexpression of
ezrin, another closely related ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family
member, also blocks replication of both murine leukemia viruses
and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in Rat2 fibroblasts
before reverse transcription, while knockdown of endogenous
ezrin increases the susceptibility of human cells to HIV-1 infection.
Together, these results suggest that ERM proteins may be important
determinants of retrovirus susceptibility through negative regulation
of stable microtubule networks.

TEXT
Recently, a number of novel antiviral mechanisms have come to
light. It has been suggested that these pathways should be differentiated
from classical innate immunity by the designation "intrinsic"
immunity (
3,
19). Many owe their discovery to studies of retrovirus
biology, including Fv4 (
13), TRIM5

(
30), the APOBECs (
29), Fv1
(
1), and ZAP (
11); some of these also affect the replication
of other viruses (
2,
8,
24,
34).
In addition to these restriction factors, whose primary function appears to be to prevent retrovirus replication, an increasing number of genes that can modulate cell sensitivity to retrovirus infection in a more indirect way are also being identified. These are exemplified by Murr1, which inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) growth in unstimulated CD4+ T cells (9); protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT6, whose knockdown increases the susceptibility of HIV-1-resistant HEK293T cells to infection (4); fasciculation and elongation protein zeta 1 (FEZ-1), whose overexpression blocks the transport of retroviral DNA into the nucleus (22); and p21, which affects the sensitivity of HIV-1-resistant hematopoietic stem cells to infection (38, 39). The growing list of host proteins suggests that more such factors are yet to be identified. Understanding how these factors modulate virus replication will provide invaluable insights into host-virus interactions and could lead to the development of novel antiviral treatment strategies.
We recently demonstrated that moesin, a member of the closely related cytoskeletal regulatory family of ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins, regulates stable microtubule formation and limits retroviral infection (23). ERM proteins display degrees of redundancy in certain functions (5, 14). However, it is unknown if all ERM family members confer resistance to viral infection. In this study, we examined another family member, ezrin, for similar activity. To test whether ezrin could affect retroviral replication, full-length rat ezrin was amplified and subcloned into the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1+ (Invitrogen) using the following primers: forward, Ezr-S1-EcoRI, 5'-GCTGATGAATTCGCCACCATGCCCAAGCCAATCAACGTCC-3'; reverse, Ezr-A1-NotI, 5'-GCAACTGCGGCCGCCTACATGGCCTCAAACTCGTCGATGCG-3'. Rat2 cells (3 x 106) were then transfected with 4 µg of the ezrin construct or control empty pcDNA3.1+ vector and selected in G418 (500 µg/ml) 48 h posttransfection. Several resistant clones of each stable line were isolated, and levels of ezrin expression were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) measurement of mRNAs (Fig. 1A) using Sybr green JumpStart Taq ReadyMix (Sigma) (22). Transgene ezrin transcript levels were determined using one primer specific to ezrin sequences and one primer unique to the vector sequences (EZR-A3, 5'-CTCTGAGGGATAAGTCTCTC-3', and pCMV-forward, 5'-CGCAAATGGGCGGTAGGCGTG-3', respectively). The number of target copies in each sample was interpolated from its detection threshold (CT) value using a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) plasmid standard curve (22). As expected, no transgene expression of ezrin was detected in the wild-type (wt) Rat2, the empty pcDNA:9 vector, or the previously described control virus mutant R4-7 line (10) (Fig. 1A).
These clones were then tested in transduction assays using Moloney
murine leukemia virus (MoMLV)-puro pseudotyped with vesicular
stomatitis virus glycoprotein as described previously (
22).
All four tested variants of ezrin conferred resistance to infection
relative to control Rat2 or empty vector lines (Fig.
1B). Although
the degree of resistance did not directly correlate with ezrin
expression levels, this likely reflects the clonal nature of
the lines generated. To examine whether the resistance induced
by ezrin was virus specific and/or envelope dependent, two of
these lines were also tested for susceptibility to HIV-1-puro
pseudotyped with amphotropic envelope protein (HIV-1-ampho-puro)
(Fig.
1C). Again, these lines significantly inhibited the replication
of HIV-1 vectors, which enter the cell by fusion at the plasma
membrane, indicating a block in a general aspect of the retroviral
life cycle independent of the route of entry. As expected, high
levels of resistance to both MoMLV-puro (Fig.
1B) and HIV-1-puro
(Fig.
1C) challenges were also observed for the previously described
virus-resistant rat fibroblast line R4-7, which was included
as a positive control (
10). Ezrin-overexpressing lines also
inhibit replication of wt MoMLV virus, as measured by the appearance
of reverse transcriptase in culture media of cells infected
with 10-fold serial dilutions of MoMLV (
22) (Fig.
1D and E).
In conclusion, ezrin overexpression induces a potent resistance
to infection by both genetically marked and wt retroviruses.
To determine the point in the viral life cycle at which the block to infection occurs, viral DNA synthesis was examined after infection of one ezrin-overexpressing line with ecotropic MLV-green fluorescent protein (GFP) (10). At 24 h postinfection, Hirt DNA was isolated and used as template for quantitative PCR (22). Primers to amplify GFP sequence, the MLV minus-strand strong-stop DNA, the plus-strand viral DNA, and the MLV long terminal repeat (LTR)-LTR junction were previously reported (22). Very low levels of linear viral DNA (Fig. 2A), minus-strand strong-stop DNA (Fig. 2B) and plus-strand DNA (Fig. 2C) were produced in EZR:6 cells overexpressing ezrin, suggesting that the block occurs before the initiation of reverse transcription.
ERM proteins colocalize with actin filaments at cell surface
structures, cross-link actin in the cortical layer, and control
cell shape and movement (
33). They have been suggested to be
important in establishing leading plasma membranes and directional
cell migration (
25,
28). Several studies suggest that, upon
entry, retroviruses use actin filaments for short-range transport
in the cell periphery, while they seem to hijack microtubule
motor dyneins for long-range transport from the cell periphery
to the nucleus (
21). Disruption of the actin cytoskeleton using
cytochalasin D (Sigma) reduced viral infectivity in both control
pcDNA:9 and ezrin-overexpressing EZR:6 lines (Fig.
3A). Combined
with previous reports that cortical actin facilitates trafficking
of viral cores at the cell periphery after entry (
6,
16,
17,
20,
32), this result suggests that the effects of ezrin occur
after initial actin-mediated entry events and that moesin and
ezrin may function in the subsequent transition of viral cores
to or along the microtubule network, allowing reverse transcription
and movement toward the nuclear periphery. Our previous findings
suggested that moesin disrupts a small subset of detyrosinated
(stable) microtubules (
18), termed Glu-MTs, involved in vesicle
and cytoskeletal trafficking (
37), which could affect the transition
and/or motility of viral cores (
23). To test if ezrin also specifically
affected stable microtubule formation, we examined the levels
of Glu-MTs and tyrosinated tubulin (termed Tyr-MTs) in ezrin-overexpressing
and control empty vector lines. Cells grown on coverslips were
stained for stable and dynamic MTs using rabbit polyclonal (SG)
or rat monoclonal (YL1/2) antibodies, respectively, and detected
using preabsorbed fluorescence-labeled secondary antibodies
(Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories) and an Olympus BX50 microscope
(
23). Ezrin-overexpressing lines EZR:6 (Fig.
3B) and EZR:7 (data
not shown) showed significantly lower levels of Glu-MTs (44%
and 39% of cells staining positive, respectively) than did control
empty pcDNA:9 cells (68% positive) (Fig.
3B). The effect was
specific for stable microtubules, as tyrosinated microtubule
staining was similar to control pcDNA:9 cells (Fig.
3C). Furthermore,
ezrin overexpression did not affect other parameters, such as
cell shape, size, or doubling time (data not shown). Overall,
the inhibitory effects of actin-depolymerizing agents on viral
infection even in ezrin-overexpressing cells and the inhibitory
effects of ezrin on viruses that enter the cell by either fusion
or endocytosis suggest that ezrin blocks infection postentry,
after transition from the actin cytoskeleton. The failure to
detect strong-stop DNA suggests that ezrin's effects on the
microtubule network of the cell likely block events that lead
to reverse transcription complex/preinitiation complex formation
or transport, effecting an early block to infection.
The endogenous levels of the related ERM proteins ezrin and
moesin in both Rat2 and the human rhabdomyosarcoma TE cells
were determined by QPCR measurement of mRNAs (Fig.
4A and B)
using primers specific to rat (
23) or human ezrin and moesin
sequences (hEzr-S, 5'-CCAGGCCCGAGATGAGAATA-3'; hEzr-A, 5'-TGCCACGTTTCCTTTAATGATG-3';
and hMsn-S2, 5'-GCCAATGACATGATCCATGC-3'; hMsn-A2, 5'-CCTAGGTCCTGTCTCATTCC-3',
respectively) as described above. The number of target copies
in each sample was interpolated from its
CT value using a cyclophilin
A plasmid (a kind gift from J. Luban, Switzerland Institute
for Research in Biomedicine, Bellinzona, Switzerland) standard
curve.
To test whether endogenous levels of human ezrin influence virus
susceptibility, RNA interference was used to reduce ezrin expression
in TE cells, and cells were challenged with genetically marked
retroviruses. TE cells were transfected with 300 pmol of either
a pool of three short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) (Santa Cruz)
specific to human ezrin or a nonspecific control siRNA duplex
targeted to GFP on 2 consecutive days. Cells were subsequently
seeded, infected with various amounts of HIV-1-puro, and selected
(
22). Ezrin-specific RNA interference duplexes induced a fourfold
increase in the susceptibility of these cells to HIV-1-puro
infection, while the nonspecific siRNA duplex had no effect
(Fig.
4C). Levels of ezrin expression were measured by Western
blotting of whole-cell lysates fractionated by sodium dodecyl
sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and probed with the
indicated antiserum: anti-ezrin (a gift from A. Bretscher, Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY) or anti-GAPDH (Santa Cruz). The partial
increase (3.9-fold) in susceptibility correlated with decreased
ezrin expression (3.8-fold or 60% reduction in the intensity
of the band) (Fig.
4D, upper panel), suggesting that even endogenous
levels of ezrin are sufficient to limit virus infection.
The fact that ezrin and moesin confer resistance to retroviral infection suggests that a common mechanism and protein domains or interacting proteins exist among this family of cytoskeletal regulators that block retroviral replication. This may occur indirectly through their effect on stable MT formation and the factors involved therein to prevent viral movement within the cell. Stable microtubule formation is influenced by cytoskeletal regulatory Rho-GTPases (7, 27), which are regulated by ERM proteins (14, 31, 35). ERM protein overexpression may therefore sequester a cellular protein(s) involved in Rho-GTPase pathways that in turn regulate stable microtubules. Alternatively, ERM proteins or ERM-associated factors may directly interact with viral factors, as several studies have shown the presence of both ezrin and moesin inside HIV-1 virions (26), the binding of ERM proteins to the envelope protein gp120 (12), and a correlation between ERM/ERM-related proteins and HIV-1 pathogenesis (15, 36). The ERM proteins moesin and ezrin are clearly important natural determinants of cellular sensitivity to retroviral infection. An understanding of whether they play a direct role in viral replication or inhibit replication through their effect on stable MT formation will provide important insights into early events in the retroviral life cycle and the cortical actin-microtubule transition.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank A. Bretscher for kindly providing us with the ezrin
antibodies.
M.H.N. is supported by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under grant no. 06/IN.1/B78, and S.P.G. was supported by a grant from the NCI (R37-CA30488) and is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Phone: 353 1 716 1223. Fax: 353 1 716 1239. E-mail:
mojgan.naghavi{at}ucd.ie 
Published ahead of print on 27 February 2008. 

REFERENCES
1 - Best, S., P. Le Tissier, G. Towers, and J. P. Stoye. 1996. Positional cloning of the mouse retrovirus restriction gene Fv1. Nature 382:826-829.[CrossRef][Medline]
2 - Bick, M. J., J. W. Carroll, G. Gao, S. P. Goff, C. M. Rice, and M. R. MacDonald. 2003. Expression of the zinc-finger antiviral protein inhibits alphavirus replication. J. Virol. 77:11555-11562.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
3 - Bieniasz, P. D. 2004. Intrinsic immunity: a front-line defense against viral attack. Nat. Immunol. 5:1109-1115.[CrossRef][Medline]
4 - Boulanger, M. C., C. Liang, R. S. Russell, R. Lin, M. T. Bedford, M. A. Wainberg, and S. Richard. 2005. Methylation of Tat by PRMT6 regulates human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gene expression. J. Virol. 79:124-131.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
5 - Bretscher, A. 1999. Regulation of cortical structure by the ezrin-radixin-moesin protein family. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 11:109-116.[CrossRef][Medline]
6 - Bukrinskaya, A., B. Brichacek, A. Mann, and M. Stevenson. 1998. Establishment of a functional human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcription complex involves the cytoskeleton. J. Exp. Med. 188:2113-2125.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
7 - Cook, T. A., T. Nagasaki, and G. G. Gundersen. 1998. Rho guanosine triphosphatase mediates the selective stabilization of microtubules induced by lysophosphatidic acid. J. Cell Biol. 141:175-185.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
8 - Dohner, K., C. H. Nagel, and B. Sodeik. 2005. Viral stop-and-go along microtubules: taking a ride with dynein and kinesins. Trends Microbiol. 13:320-327.[CrossRef][Medline]
9 - Ganesh, L., E. Burstein, A. Guha-Niyogi, M. K. Louder, J. R. Mascola, L. W. Klomp, C. Wijmenga, C. S. Duckett, and G. J. Nabel. 2003. The gene product Murr1 restricts HIV-1 replication in resting CD4+ lymphocytes. Nature 426:853-857.[CrossRef][Medline]
10 - Gao, G., and S. P. Goff. 1999. Somatic cell mutants resistant to retrovirus replication: intracellular blocks during the early stages of infection. Mol. Biol. Cell 10:1705-1717.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
11 - Gao, G., X. Guo, and S. P. Goff. 2002. Inhibition of retroviral RNA production by ZAP, a CCCH-type zinc finger protein. Science 297:1703-1706.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
12 - Hecker, C., C. Weise, J. Schneider-Schaulies, H. C. Holmes, and V. ter Meulen. 1997. Specific binding of HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 to the structural membrane proteins ezrin and moesin. Virus Res. 49:215-223.[CrossRef][Medline]
13 - Ikeda, H., and H. Sugimura. 1989. Fv-4 resistance gene: a truncated endogenous murine leukemia virus with ecotropic interference properties. J. Virol. 63:5405-5412.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
14 - Ivetic, A., and A. J. Ridley. 2004. Ezrin/radixin/moesin proteins and Rho GTPase signalling in leucocytes. Immunology 112:165-176.[CrossRef][Medline]
15 - Janket, M. L., J. S. DeRicco, L. Borowski, and V. Ayyavoo. 2007. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) Vpr induced downregulation of NHE1 induces alteration in intracellular pH and loss of ERM complex in target cells. Virus Res. 126:76-85.[CrossRef][Medline]
16 - Kizhatil, K., and L. M. Albritton. 1997. Requirements for different components of the host cell cytoskeleton distinguish ecotropic murine leukemia virus entry via endocytosis from entry via surface fusion. J. Virol. 71:7145-7156.[Abstract]
17 - Komano, J., K. Miyauchi, Z. Matsuda, and N. Yamamoto. 2004. Inhibiting the Arp2/3 complex limits infection of both intracellular mature vaccinia virus and primate lentiviruses. Mol. Biol. Cell 15:5197-5207.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
18 - Lin, S. X., G. G. Gundersen, and F. R. Maxfield. 2002. Export from pericentriolar endocytic recycling compartment to cell surface depends on stable, detyrosinated (glu) microtubules and kinesin. Mol. Biol. Cell 13:96-109.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
19 - Mangeat, B., and D. Trono. 2005. Lentiviral vectors and antiretroviral intrinsic immunity. Hum. Gene Ther. 16:913-920.[CrossRef][Medline]
20 - McDonald, D., M. A. Vodicka, G. Lucero, T. M. Svitkina, G. G. Borisy, M. Emerman, and T. J. Hope. 2002. Visualization of the intracellular behavior of HIV in living cells. J. Cell Biol. 159:441-452.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
21 - Naghavi, M. H., and S. P. Goff. 2007. Retroviral proteins that interact with the host cell cytoskeleton. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 19:402-407.[CrossRef][Medline]
22 - Naghavi, M. H., T. Hatziioannou, G. Gao, and S. P. Goff. 2005. Overexpression of fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1 (FEZ1) induces a post-entry block to retroviruses in cultured cells. Genes Dev. 19:1105-1115.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
23 - Naghavi, M. H., S. Valente, T. Hatziioannou, K. de los Santos, Y. Wen, C. Mott, G. G. Gundersen, and S. P. Goff. 2007. Moesin regulates stable microtubule formation and limits retroviral infection in cultured cells. EMBO J. 26:41-52.[CrossRef][Medline]
24 - Naranatt, P. P., H. H. Krishnan, M. S. Smith, and B. Chandran. 2005. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus modulates microtubule dynamics via RhoA-GTP-diaphanous 2 signaling and utilizes the dynein motors to deliver its DNA to the nucleus. J. Virol. 79:1191-1206.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
25 - Ng, T., M. Parsons, W. E. Hughes, J. Monypenny, D. Zicha, A. Gautreau, M. Arpin, S. Gschmeissner, P. J. Verveer, P. I. Bastiaens, and P. J. Parker. 2001. Ezrin is a downstream effector of trafficking PKC-integrin complexes involved in the control of cell motility. EMBO J. 20:2723-2741.[CrossRef][Medline]
26 - Ott, D. E., L. V. Coren, B. P. Kane, L. K. Busch, D. G. Johnson, R. C. Sowder II, E. N. Chertova, L. O. Arthur, and L. E. Henderson. 1996. Cytoskeletal proteins inside human immunodeficiency virus type 1 virions. J. Virol. 70:7734-7743.[Abstract]
27 - Palazzo, A. F., T. A. Cook, A. S. Alberts, and G. G. Gundersen. 2001. mDia mediates Rho-regulated formation and orientation of stable microtubules. Nat. Cell Biol. 3:723-729.[CrossRef][Medline]
28 - Prag, S., M. Parsons, M. D. Keppler, S. M. Ameer-Beg, P. Barber, J. Hunt, A. J. Beavil, R. Calvert, M. Arpin, B. Vojnovic, and T. Ng. 2007. Activated ezrin promotes cell migration through recruitment of the GEF Dbl to lipid rafts and preferential downstream activation of Cdc42. Mol. Biol. Cell 18:2935-2948.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
29 - Sheehy, A. M., N. C. Gaddis, J. D. Choi, and M. H. Malim. 2002. Isolation of a human gene that inhibits HIV-1 infection and is suppressed by the viral Vif protein. Nature 418:646-650.[CrossRef][Medline]
30 - Stremlau, M., C. M. Owens, M. J. Perron, M. Kiessling, P. Autissier, and J. Sodroski. 2004. The cytoplasmic body component TRIM5alpha restricts HIV-1 infection in Old World monkeys. Nature 427:848-853.[CrossRef][Medline]
31 - Takahashi, K., T. Sasaki, A. Mammoto, K. Takaishi, T. Kameyama, S. Tsukita, and Y. Takai. 1997. Direct interaction of the Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor with ezrin/radixin/moesin initiates the activation of the Rho small G protein. J. Biol. Chem. 272:23371-23375.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
32 - Taunton, J. 2001. Actin filament nucleation by endosomes, lysosomes and secretory vesicles. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 13:85-91.[CrossRef][Medline]
33 - Tsukita, S., and S. Yonemura. 1999. Cortical actin organization: lessons from ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin) proteins. J. Biol. Chem. 274:34507-34510.[Free Full Text]
34 - Turelli, P., B. Mangeat, S. Jost, S. Vianin, and D. Trono. 2004. Inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication by APOBEC3G. Science 303:1829.[Free Full Text]
35 - Vanni, C., A. Parodi, P. Mancini, V. Visco, C. Ottaviano, M. R. Torrisi, and A. Eva. 2004. Phosphorylation-independent membrane relocalization of ezrin following association with Dbl in vivo. Oncogene 23:4098-4106.[CrossRef][Medline]
36 - Wei, B. L., V. K. Arora, A. Raney, L. S. Kuo, G. H. Xiao, E. O'Neill, J. R. Testa, J. L. Foster, and J. V. Garcia. 2005. Activation of p21-activated kinase 2 by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Nef induces merlin phosphorylation. J. Virol. 79:14976-14980.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
37 - Wen, Y., C. H. Eng, J. Schmoranzer, N. Cabrera-Poch, E. J. Morris, M. Chen, B. J. Wallar, A. S. Alberts, and G. G. Gundersen. 2004. EB1 and APC bind to mDia to stabilize microtubules downstream of Rho and promote cell migration. Nat. Cell Biol. 6:820-830.[CrossRef][Medline]
38 - Zhang, J., E. Attar, K. Cohen, C. Crumpacker, and D. Scadden. 2005. Silencing p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) expression increases gene transduction efficiency in primitive human hematopoietic cells. Gene Ther. 12:1444-1452.[CrossRef][Medline]
39 - Zhang, J., D. T. Scadden, and C. S. Crumpacker. 2007. Primitive hematopoietic cells resist HIV-1 infection via p21. J. Clin. Investig. 117:473-481.[CrossRef][Medline]
Journal of Virology, May 2008, p. 4665-4670, Vol. 82, No. 9
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.02403-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Barrero-Villar, M., Cabrero, J. R., Gordon-Alonso, M., Barroso-Gonzalez, J., Alvarez-Losada, S., Munoz-Fernandez, M. A., Sanchez-Madrid, F., Valenzuela-Fernandez, A.
(2009). Moesin is required for HIV-1-induced CD4-CXCR4 interaction, F-actin redistribution, membrane fusion and viral infection in lymphocytes. J. Cell Sci.
122: 103-113
[Abstract]
[Full Text]