Site of synthesis of membrane and nonmembrane proteins of vesicular stomatitis virus

Post-Translational Proteolytic Cleavage of In Vitro-Synthesized Turnip Yellow Mosaic Virus RNA-Coded High-Molecular-Weight Proteins

In a reticulocyte lysate, turnip yellow mosaic virus genomic RNA directs the synthesis of two proteins with molecular weights of 150,000 (150K) and 195K. We present evidence that the larger protein is processed in vitro, after its completion, in at least three fragments. The NH 2 -terminal fragment (82K) and the COOH-terminal fragment (78K) have been well characterized by different methods. The fact that the 150K protein is not cleaved in vitro, although it contains the regions that are processed in the 195K protein, could be of fundamental biological significance for the expression of the viral genes: a single polypeptide chain could be processed in several ways, leading to different peptides with distinct biological activities.

Polyamines stimulate suppression of amber termination codons in vitro by normal tRNAs

Polyamines, such as spermine and spermidine, are able to stimulate reading of amber termination codons on viral messenger RNAs in vitro. This phenomenon is not due to an overall increase of error frequency during translation, but to a specific effect on a normal tRNA that is present in various eukaryotic cell preparations. The enhancement of reading of termination codons by normal tRNAs should be of major importance for the expression of specific genes in eukaryotic cells.

Studies on the intracellular distribution of Sindbis messenger RNA in infected chick-embryo fibroblasts. 1. Presence of extrapolyribosomal 26-S RNA in the membrane fraction

Four hours after infection with Sindbis virus, chick embryo fibroblasts were studied by electron microscopy and cell fractionation. Electron microscopy of infected and non-infected cells revealed that infection produced a disaggregation of polyribosomes into monomers. Apart from this observation most cells appeared well preserved, and no degranulation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum was visible. Analysis of postnuclear supernatants by sucrose density gradients showed that no change in the relative proportions of free and membrane-bound ribosomes was produced by infection. Approximately 30% of the ribosomes and 50% of the viral RNA were found to be associated with membranes. Of the membrane-associated viral RNA, 70% was recovered as 26-S RNA. Similar results were obtained with fibroblasts infected by the temperature-sensitive Sindbis mutant ts2, which is defective in the co-translational processing of the viral gene products at the nonpermissive temperature. Sucrose gradient analysis of membrane-bound polyribosomes solubilized by detergent indicated that as much as 50% of the membrane-associated viral 26-S RNA is not integrated into polyribosomes and that most of the ribosomes are present as monomers or ribosomal subunits. Treatment with puromycin of living cells or of isolated membrane fractions under a variety of ionic conditions revealed that the viral RNA-membrane linkage is insensitive to puromycin but sensitive to high concentrations of monovalent ions. The bulk of the membrane-bound ribosomes were detached by high salt and recovered as ribosomal subunits on sucrose gradients. These results are consistent with the idea that in chick embryo fibroblasts infected with Sindbis virus only a small percentage of the ribosomes are engaged in protein synthesis, and that the Sindbis messenger RNA may attach to endoplasmic reticulum membranes through a ribosome-independent, salt-sensitive link.

Assembly and maturation of HLA-A and HLA-B antigens in vivo

HLA-A and HLA-B antigens are integral membrane glycoproteins which consist of a glycosylated heavy chain embedded in the membrane in noncovalent association with beta 2-microglobulin, a water-soluble polypeptide. The assembly and maturation of these antigens has been studied in vivo in the human B lymphoblastoid cell line T5-1 (HLA-A1, -A2, -B8, -B27). Two antigenically distinct populations of HLA-A and -B heavy chains can be detected by antisera which recognize determinants sensitive to the conformation of the heavy chain. One heavy chain population is associated with beta 2-microglobulin, whereas the other population is not. These populations can be further distinguished by their oligosaccharide structure and their localization within the cell. Pulse-chase experiments demonstrate a precursor-product relationship between these heavy chain populations and suggest the following pathway for the assembly and maturation of HLA-A and -B antigens. The completed heavy chains initially carry high mannose oligosaccharides and are largely or wholly associated with beta 2-microglobulin. During the next 10-15 min, association with beta 2-microglobulin occurs and the heavy chain conformation is altered. Beginning at about 30 min after synthesis, the oligosaccharides are converted from the high mannose form to the complex form, and between 60 and 80 min after synthesis, the mature antigens appear at the cell surface. These observations are discussed in relation to in vivo and in vitro studies on the biosynthesis of a variety of secreted proteins and membrane proteins.

Antigenic variation in visna virus

Two antigenic variants of visna virus were isolated sequentially from a single sheep inoculated with a plaque-purified strain of virus designated 1514. The genetically stable variants, LV1-1 and LV1-4, are of two classes: LV1-1 is partially neutralized by antibody to the inoculum strain 1514, while LV1-4 is not neutralized by antibody to 1514. The genetic mechanism responsible for generating the antigenic variants was investigated by comparing the chymotryptic and tryptic maps of the envelope glycoprotein gp135 and core polypeptides (p30, p16, p14), and by comparing the pattern of large oligonucleotides produced by digestion of the RNAs by T1 ribonuclease. We show that only the peptide maps of gp135 differ among strains, that the number of peptide fragments altered is small and that gp135 is the polypeptide that elicits neutralizing antibody. The maps of the RNAs are identical. We conclude that mutation in the glycoprotein gene rather than recombination is more probably responsible for antigenic variation, and speculate on the special aspects of visna virus replication relevant to this phenomenon.

Phosphorylation in vivo of a vaccinia-virus structural protein found associated with the ribosomes from infected cells

When vaccinia-virus-infected cells were labeled with radioactive phosphate in the absence of viral gene expression an additional phosphoprotein, containing phosphoserine, was found specifically associated with the ribosomes. The phosphoprotein was removed from the ribosomes following a 0.5 M KCl washing or after EDTA treatment. This additional phosphoprotein was found in infected cells after either a long (3-4 h) or a short (30 min) labeling period; it was detected when the infected cells were incubated in the presence or absence of an inhibitor of RNA or protein synthesis. This phosphoprotein originated from the phosphorylation of vaccinia virion structural protein VP11b (Mr 11,000) at a specific site since only a single major phosphopeptide was obtained after trypsin digestion. This phosphoprotein was also present in purified vaccinia virions labeled with radioactive phosphate. VP11b protein was phosphorylated in vitro by the protein kinase associated with the cores. When the reaction was carried out at an alkaline pH the phosphorylation in vitro occurred at different sites in the protein; at neutral pH the phosphorylation of VP11b was more specific and, as judged by tryptic peptide analysis, occurred mainly at the same site as in the phosphorylation in vivo. A role for the involvement of phosphoprotein VP11b in the establishment of the shut off of host protein synthesis by vaccinia virus is suggested.

Hepatic membrane proteins involved in ribosome binding: identification by three procedures

Rat liver ribosomes, isolated from rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum using non-ionic detergent in the presence of 25 mM KCl, were associated with non-ribosomal proteins, presumably of membranous origin. These proteins could be isolated by extracting such ribosome fractions with either deoxycholate or non-ionic detergents at higher concentrations of KCl. Analysis of the extracts by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate revealed the presence of a number of discrete polypeptides having the following approximate molecular weights: 166,000, 107,000, 100,000, 65,000 and 36,000. Ribosomes associated with the membrane-derived proteins reattached to degranulated membranes in vitro less well than did ribosomes prepared in ways which removed the proteins. Extraction of a set of similar proteins from degranulated endoplasmic reticulum by treatment with buffered 1 M urea, also interfered with ribosome reattachment. A third approach to the identification of proteins associated with ribosome attachment sites involved the labelling with radioactive succinic anhydride of apparently similar proteins in degranulated membranes, after prior treatment of the latter, before removal of bound ribosomes, with unlabelled reagent. The results indicate that certain membrane proteins may be part of the receptor sites for binding of ribosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum in rat liver.

Synthesis and infectivity of vesicular stomatitis virus containing nonglycosylated G protein

The replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is inhibited by tunicamycin (TM), an antibiotic that blocks the formation of N-acetylglucosaminelipid intermediates. We had shown previously that the viral glycoprotein (G) synthesized in cells treated with TM is not glycosylated and is not found on the outer surface of the cell plasma membrane. In this report, we shown that cells exposed to TM produce a low yield of infectious particles. The yield is increased when the temperature during infection is lowered from 37 to 30 degrees C. At 30 degrees C in the presence of TM, both wild-type VSV and the temperature-sensitive mutant ts045 produce particles that do not bind to concanavalin A Sepharose and contain only the nonglycosylated form of G. These particles have a specific infectivity (pfu/cpm) comparable to that of VSV containing glycosylated G.

Gycoprotein and protein precursors to plasma membranes in vesicular stomatitis virus infected HeLa cells

Vesicular stomatitis virus is known to mature at HeLa cell plasma membranes. To study the process, cells, infected with vesicular stomatitis virus, were fractionated after short term labeling studies (1 min pulse, 1 min chase) to determine the assembly kinetics of G protein and M protein into plasma membranes. Newly synthesized M protein was found released in the supernatant from which free polysomes were sedimented during sucrose gradient analysis of these polysomes. If this M protein is particle bound, it must have a density of less than 1.08 g/ml. About 40% of this M protein so labeled was not sedimentable at 165,000 X g for 16 h. This newly synthesized M protein had not yet assembled into plasma membrane and thus must represent an internal pool. This and previous studies show that it has a subsequent transit time to the plasma membrane of about 2 min. Once associated with plasma membranes, M protein decayed in an approximately logarithmic fashion indicating that newly synthesized M randomly mixes (and turns over) with preexisting M protein. G protein was particle bound in a 1 min pulse, 1 min chase, and was never found released in a soluble form. At the later time when fucose is added to G protein, the oligosaccharide moiety is near to complete, and on completion is about 2,000 in molecular weight. Evidence is presented showing that fucose is probably attached to the N-acetylglucosamine of the protein carbohydrate linkage. G protein to which fucose had just been added was located internally on a membranous fraction of density 1.14 g/ml in sucrose; its subsequent transit time from this pool (which in uninfected cells is between 1--2% of the total cell fucosyl glycoprotein) was about 15 min. Because their densities were different and their transit times were different, internal newly synthesized M and fucosyl G protein which assemble into plasma membranes were not on the same internal membranous component. Association of M protein with the plasma membranes may thus occur from a nonsedimentable soluble cytoplasmic pool by a process of direct adsorption.

A joint produce of the genes gag and pol of avian sarcoma virus: a possible precursor of reverse transcriptase

A virus-specific protein of approximately 180,000 daltons has been identified in cells transformed by avian sarcoma virus. The protein, designated P180, includes immunological determinants of both viral core proteins and reverse transcriptase. Its tryptic peptides represent essentially the sum of those of the precursor of the core proteins (Pr76gag) and reverse transcriptase. Thus P180 must arise from the uninterrupted translation of gag and pol. The kinetics of its formation and decay suggest that P180 is the precursor of reverse transcriptase.

Synchronised transmembrane insertion and glycosylation of a nascent membrane protein

Studies of the synthesis and incorporation of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein into membranes in a synchronised cell-free system demonstrate a tight coupling between polypeptide synthesis and membrane insertion, as a result of which the nascent chain crosses the membrane. The studies reveal a surprisingly precise sequence by which the nascent chain of this membrane glycoprotein is glycosylated in two steps. These findings have important implications for the mechanisms of membrane assembly.

Synthesis of Newcastle disease virus polypeptides in a wheat germ cell-free system

We have isolated 18S RNA from cytoplasmic extracts of Newcastle disease virus-infected Chinese hamster ovary cells and tested its ability to direct protein synthesis in extracts derived from wheat germ. The products of the cell-free reaction directed by this RNA contain polypeptides that comigrate with NP, M,F, and 47K roteins from virions. In addition, the products contain a polypeptide (67K) that migrates on polyacrylamide gels slightly faster than the HN protein from virions. Tryptic peptide analysis of the cell-free products and proteins from virions confirms their identity.

Kinetics of biosynthesis of acetylcholine receptor and subsequent incorporation into plasma membrane of cultured chick skeletal muscle

20% of the acetylcholine receptors in cultured chick skeletal muscle remain unbound following long-term growth of muscle in medium containing a potent, essentially irreversible receptor-blocking agent, alpha-bungarotoxin. About half the receptors which are unavailable for interaction with extracellular alpha-bungarotoxin are newly synthesized molecules which presumably are being processed and transported to the plasma membrane. When the muscle cultures are switched to a medium containing 2H, 13C, 15N-amino acids, these receptors are rapidly labeled, the fraction of labeled molecules beginning to plateau at 3 hr. Few labeled receptors appear in the plasma membrane during the first 3 hr of labeling with 2H, 13C, 15N-amino acids. After 3.5 hr of labeling, virtually all the receptors being incorporated into the plasma membrane are labeled receptors. The kinetics of labeling of the "pool" and "surface" receptors with 2H, 13C, 15N-amino acids confirm the "precursor-product" type relationship of pool and surface acetylcholine receptors. In this study, receptors synthesized in medium containing 2H, 13C, 15N-amino acids were resolved from 1H, 12C, 14N-receptors by velocity sedimentation in sucrose-deuterium oxide and sucrose-H2O gradients, and their densities were estimated from sedimentation rates in shallow gradients of various average density. Estimated densities were 1.32 g/cm3 for 1H, 12C, 14N-receptors and 1.41 g/cm3 for 2H, 13C, 15N-receptors. This density difference corresponds to 80% substitution of normal aminoacyl residues by 2H, 13C, 15N-residues in the denser receptor.

Membrane asymmetry

The components of biological membranes are asymmetrically distributed between the membrane surfaces. Proteins are absolutely asymmetrical in that every copy of a polypeptide chain has the same orientation in the membrane, and lipids are nonabsolutely asymmetrical in that almost every type of lipid is present on both sides of the bilayer, but in different and highly variable amounts. Asymmetry is maintained by lack of transmembrane diffusion. Two types of membrane proteins, called ectoproteins and endoproteins, are distinguished. Biosynthetic pathways for both types of proteins and for membrane lipids are inferred from their topography and distribution in the formed cells. Note added in proof. A cell-free system has now been developed which permits the mechanisms of membrane protein assembly to be studied (108). The membrane glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus has been synthesized by wheat germ ribosomes in the presence of rough endoplasmic reticulum from pancreas. The resulting polypeptide is incorporated into the membrane, spans the lipid bilayer asymmetrically, and is glycosylated (108). The amino terminal portion of this transmembrane protein is found inside the endoplasmic reticulum vesicle, while the carboxyl terminal portion is exposed on the outer surface of the vesicle. Furthermore, addition of the glycoprotein to membranes after protein synthesis does not result in incorporation of the protein into the membrane in the manner described above (108). Consequently, protein synthesis and incorporation into the membrane must be closely coupled. Indeed, using techniques to synchronize the growth of nascent polypeptides, it has been shown (109) that no more than one-fourth of the glycoprotein chain can be made in the absence of membranes and still cross the lipid bilayer when chains are subsequently completed in the presence of membranes. These findings demonstrate directly that the extracytoplasmic portion of an ectoprotein can cross the membrane only during biosynthesis, and not after.

Membrane assembly: synthesis and intracellular processing of the vesicular stomatitis viral glycoprotein

The glycoprotein (G) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is synthesized on membrane-bound polyribosomes. Approximately 30 min after its synthesis, it reaches the surface plasma membrane where it is incorporated into budding virus. The first part of this paper focuses on the 2 intracellular, membrane-bound, glycosylated forms of the glycoprotein which are intermediates in its biogenesis. All glycosylation and processing is completed in the smooth microsome fraction before the protein reaches the surface. Next, we turn to the mechanism by which G is synthesized on membrane-bound polyribosomes. All of the G mRNA is bound to membranes, and studies with puromycin suggest that this attachment of G mRNA is mediated by the nascent glycoprotein chain. After its synthesis G is a transmembrane protein with about 30 amino acids at the carboxyl terminus remaining on the cytoplasmic side of the endoplasmic reticulum. Since 95% of the glycoprotein, containing the carbohydrate residues, is resistant to attack by external proteases, it appears to be within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum or embedded within the lipid bilayer. Finally, we show that synthesis, glycosylation, and proper asymmetric insertion of G into the ER can be achieved in cell-free extracts. Both glycosylation of G and proper insertion into the ER membrane in this cell-free system require concomitant protein synthesis.

Translation of murine leukemia virus RNA in cell-free systems from animal cells

The virion RNA of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV) has been translated in eukaryotic cell-free systems derived from mouse L- and human HeLa cells. In both systems at least three polypeptides, approximately 60,000, 70,000, and 180,000 in apparent molecular weight, were formed in response to the added 35S MuLV RNA. All three polypeptides were precipitable with antiserum to detergent-disrupted MuLV. Fingerprint analysis of tryptic digests indicated that all three contain anino acid sequences in common with each other and with the major methionine-containing structural proteins of the virion.