This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Evans, L. H.
Right arrow Articles by Rosenke, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Evans, L. H.
Right arrow Articles by Rosenke, K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, March 2009, p. 2429-2435, Vol. 83, No. 6
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01926-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Mobilization of Endogenous Retroviruses in Mice after Infection with an Exogenous Retrovirus{triangledown}

Leonard H. Evans,1* A. S. M. Alamgir,1 Nick Owens,1 Nick Weber,1 Kimmo Virtaneva,1 Kent Barbian,2 Amenah Babar,2 Frank Malik,1 and Kyle Rosenke1

Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, Montana 59840,1 Research Technologies Branch, RML Research Technologies Section, Genomics Unit, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, Montana 598402

Received 12 September 2008/ Accepted 22 December 2008

Mammalian genomes harbor a large number of retroviral elements acquired as germ line insertions during evolution. Although many of the endogenous retroviruses are defective, several contain one or more intact viral genes that are expressed under certain physiological or pathological conditions. This is true of the endogenous polytropic retroviruses that generate recombinant polytropic murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs). In these recombinants the env gene sequences of exogenous ecotropic MuLVs are replaced with env gene sequences from an endogenous polytropic retrovirus. Although replication-competent endogenous polytropic retroviruses have not been observed, the recombinant polytropic viruses are capable of replicating in numerous species. Recombination occurs during reverse transcription of a virion RNA heterodimer comprised of an RNA transcript from an endogenous polytropic virus and an RNA transcript from an exogenous ecotropic MuLV RNA. It is possible that homodimers corresponding to two full-length endogenous RNA genomes are also packaged. Thus, infection by an exogenous virus may result not only in recombination with endogenous sequences, but also in the mobilization of complete endogenous retrovirus genomes via pseudotyping within exogenous retroviral virions. We report that the infection of mice with an ecotropic virus results in pseudotyping of intact endogenous viruses that have not undergone recombination. The endogenous retroviruses infect and are integrated into target cell genomes and subsequently replicate and spread as pseudotyped viruses. The mobilization of endogenous retroviruses upon infection with an exogenous retrovirus may represent a major interaction of exogenous retroviruses with endogenous retroviruses and may have profound effects on the pathogenicity of retroviral infections.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT 59840. Phone: (406) 363-9374. Fax: (406) 363-9286. E-mail: levans{at}niaid.nih.gov

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 30 December 2008.

Journal of Virology, March 2009, p. 2429-2435, Vol. 83, No. 6
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01926-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»