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Journal of Virology, October 1998, p. 8083-8088, Vol. 72, No. 10
Medical Virology Section, Laboratory of
Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Received 27 May 1998/Accepted 13 July 1998
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) encodes five gene products that do not
have homologs in herpes simplex virus. One of these genes, VZV open
reading frame 32 (ORF32), is predicted to encode a protein of 16 kDa.
VZV ORF32 protein was shown to be phosphorylated and located in the
cytosol of virus-infected cells. Antibody to ORF32 protein
immunoprecipitated 16- and 18-kDa phosphoproteins from VZV-infected
cells. Since VZV encodes two protein kinases that might phosphorylate
ORF32 protein, immunoprecipitations were performed with cells infected
with VZV mutants unable to express either of the viral protein kinases.
Cells infected with VZV unable to express the ORF66 protein kinase
contained both the 16- and 18-kDa ORF32 phosphoproteins; however, cells
infected with the VZV ORF47 protein kinase mutant showed only the
16-kDa ORF32 phosphoprotein. Treatment of
[35S]methionine-labeled proteins with calf intestine
alkaline phosphatase resulted in a decrease in size of the ORF32
proteins from 16 and 18 kDa to 15 and 17 kDa, respectively. VZV unable
to express ORF32 protein replicated in human melanoma cells to titers
similar to those seen with parental virus; however, VZV unable to
express ORF32 was impaired for replication in U20S osteosarcoma cells. Thus, VZV ORF32 protein is posttranslationally modified by the ORF47
protein kinase. Since the VZV ORF47 protein kinase has recently been
shown to be critical for replication in human fetal skin and
lymphocytes, its ability to modify the ORF32 protein suggests that the
latter protein may have a role for VZV replication in human tissues.
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) ORF32 Encodes a
Phosphoprotein That Is Posttranslationally Modified by the VZV ORF47
Protein Kinase
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Bldg. 10, Rm.
11N214, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-5221. Fax: (301) 496-7383. E-mail:
Jeffrey_Cohen{at}nih.gov.
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