Synthesis and distribution of vesicular stomatitis virus-specific polypeptides in the absence of progeny production

Formation of heterotrimers between the membrane-integrated and the soluble glycoproteins of vesicular stomatitis virus leads to their intracellular cotransport

BHK cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus serotype Indiana generate intracellularly two different types of glycoproteins: the authentic membrane-integrated G protein of virions and a smaller soluble Gs protein lacking the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains which is secreted into the growth medium. A Gs1 protein species which is formed during or shortly after translation in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen is modified in the same way as the G1 protein by endoglycosidase H-sensitive oligosaccharides of the high-mannose type. Both G1 and Gs1 are almost simultaneously transported, trimmed, and processed into G2 and Gs2 species which possess carbohydrate side chains of the complex type, making both glycoproteins resistant to endoglycosidase H cleavage. Secretion of Gs2 protein into the growth medium and arrival of G2 protein on the cell surface occur concomitantly. Membrane-integrated G protein and the soluble Gs protein molecules oligomerize intracellularly into heterotrimers which can be immunoprecipitated after chemical cross-linking. Gs protein seems to contain sufficient structural information for the formation of heterotrimers which are efficiently transported to the cell surface. Heterotrimer formation between G and Gs proteins explains the rapid secretion of Gs molecules.

Intracellular formation of two soluble glycoproteins in BHK cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus serotype New Jersey

Infection of BHK 21 cells with VSV serotype New Jersey gave rise to three intracellular viral glycoproteins: the membrane-integrated G protein and the two soluble glycoproteins Gs and Gss which lacked the cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains as was deduced from limited chemical cleavage of the glycoproteins by hydroxylamine. Both soluble glycoproteins were completely protected by the microsomal membrane against proteolytic digestion. The soluble glycoproteins were formed in the endoplasmic reticulum because both were fully endo H sensitive after a 5-min pulse with [35S]methionine. Protease inhibitors and lysosomorphic agents had no effect on the yield of Gs and Gss. Tunicamycin treatment of VSV-infected cells reduced extensively viral particle maturation without affecting significantly the release of Gs and Gss. Two other glycosylation inhibitors, swainsonine and deoxynojirimycin did not decrease virus particle formation and secretion of both soluble glycoproteins. Since the glycosylation inhibitors showed a differential effect on the processing and transport of the glycoproteins a precursor-product relationship between G protein and soluble glycoproteins is highly unlikely. Both soluble glycoproteins were also synthesized in vitro in a reticulocyte lysate without microsomal membranes when primed with RNA extracted from VSV-infected cells or with newly transcribed mRNA from nucleocapsids in a coupled transcription system. Thus, proteases localized in the lumen of the ER seemed to be not essential for the generation of both soluble glycoproteins.

The soluble viral glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus efficiently sensitizes target cells for lysis by CD4+ T lymphocytes

The soluble glycoprotein Gs of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), at approximately 10(4) molecules per cell, sensitized target cells for lysis by clones of CD4+ cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL). In addition to lysis, the clones responded by proliferation and interleukin-2 release. Targets sensitized by Gs competed effectively with VSV-infected cells for recognition. Immune cytolysis by these CD4+ CTLs was restricted by class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens and was specific to VSV. The specific class II MHC antigen which was restricting for each clone remained the same whether the targets were sensitized by infection with VSV or by exogenously added soluble antigen. Sensitization by Gs appeared to require prior processing because the antigen-presenting cells that were fixed prior to exposure to Gs failed to be recognized by the CTL clones. The high efficiency of this uptake and processing was suggested by the inability of Gs at concentrations up to 10(7) per cell to block superinfection by VSV or to effect the RNA-synthetic machinery of uninfected cells. Also, Gs failed to hemolyze sheep erythrocytes when there was hemolysis by virions or an amino-terminal peptide of the VSV glycoprotein. Extrapolation of these results to viral diseases was possible because soluble viral glycoproteins were naturally synthesized during many viral infections and class II MHC antigens were inducible in cells of nonlymphoid origin. Therefore, CD4+ CTLs may be important participants in increasing virus-induced pathology, especially among adjacent uninfected cells.

Kinetic, quantitative, and functional analysis of multiple forms of the vesicular stomatitis virus nucleocapsid protein in infected cells

Multiple forms of the vesicular stomatitis virus nucleocapsid protein N have been detected in infected cells. One form is complexed with the viral NS protein in a 1:1 molar ratio, and the other forms are distinguished by their more rapid sedimentation rates on glycerol gradients. I performed a series of experiments designed to analyze the relationships between these forms of the N protein. Pulse-chase experiments demonstrate that the N protein is made first as the form which binds to the NS protein, forming a 1-to-1 molar complex, and that with increasing times of chase it is either assembled into nucleocapsids or converted to the two higher sedimenting forms. Using a newly developed quantitative immunoblotting procedure, I have quantitated the three differentially sedimenting species of the N protein and have shown that at later times postinfection (6 to 7 h), the faster-sedimenting forms of the N protein account for as much as 50% of the soluble N protein in the cell. The activity of these forms has been assessed, with only the 1-to-1 molar N-NS complex demonstrating the ability to support the replication and encapsidation of viral genomic RNA. A model for the conversion of the N protein from the active N-NS complex into the other forms of the protein is presented, and the possible function of the N-protein self-complexes is discussed.

Further characterization of the soluble form of the G glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus

A soluble form of the G glycoprotein, the attachment protein, of respiratory syncytial virus is shed from infected HEp-2 cells. The Gs proteins of the Long and 18537 strains have apparent molecular sizes of 82 and 71 kilodaltons, respectively, 6 to 9 kilodaltons smaller than the virion-associated forms (Gv). The Gs protein of the Long strain was further characterized. Approximately one in six of all of the radiolabeled G molecules in these cultures at 24 h postinfection was present as the Gs protein. The Gs protein was clearly evident in culture fluids at 6 h postinfection, but the Gv protein could not be discerned until 12 h after infection, an observation that is consistent with the 12-h eclipse period for respiratory syncytial virus. Therefore, the Gs protein is shed, in part at least, from intact, infected cells and before the appearance of progeny virus. The appearance of a smaller Gs protein (74 kilodaltons) in fluids of infected calls which were incubated with tunicamycin shows that addition of N-linked oligosaccharides is not required for the genesis and shedding of the Gs protein. Sequencing of the amino terminus of purified Gs protein revealed two different termini, whose generations are consistent with cleavages of the full-length G protein between amino acids 65 and 66 and between residues 74 and 75. This result suggests that the Gs protein is present in two different forms which lack the proposed intracytoplasmic and transmembrane domains of the full-length G protein.

Effects of transport inhibitors on the generation and transport of a soluble viral glycoprotein

The generation and transport of the soluble glycoprotein (Gs) of wild-type vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) were studied using cell fractionation and transport inhibitors. Gs was found in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and the Golgi-enriched membrane fractions of infected Chinese hamster ovary cells. The identity of intracellular Gs was confirmed by its precipitation with a monoclonal antibody to the ectodomain but not with a anti-peptide antibody directed against the first 15 amino acids at the carboxy terminus of the VSV transmembrane glycoprotein G. Their extracellular appearance was affected in a concentration-dependent manner by monensin and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) and was completely inhibited by incubation at 20 degrees. Inhibitors failed to dissociate the transport of Gs from G. These experiments indicate that in fibroblast cells Gs can be generated intracellularly, probably in the RER, and that Gs, like G, is transported from there to the Golgi complex and then presumably to the extracellular environment.

Further characterization of the vesicular stomatitis virus temperature-sensitive O45 mutant: intracellular conversion of the glycoprotein to a soluble form

Reexamination of the viral products of tsO45, a glycoprotein mutant of vesicular stomatitis virus, showed that at 39 degrees C there was a conversion of the glycoprotein (G) to a truncated, soluble form, Gs, which subsequently appeared in the extracellular medium. The half-life for this intracellular conversion and extracellular appearance was about 2 h at 39 degrees C. Gs was precipitated by a monoclonal antibody to the ektodomain but not by an antipeptide serum made against the first 15 amino acids at the carboxy terminus of G. Gs was also resistant to endoglycosidase H digestion. On the basis of pulse-chase experiments, the generation of Gs most probably occurred in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. This additional phenotype of the tsO45 mutant provides another approach for studying the generation and subsequent transport of a secreted protein in fibroblast cells.

The effects of 2-deoxyglucose and tunicamycin on the biosynthesis of the murine mammary tumor virus proteins, and on the assembly and release of the virus

The role of glycosylation in the biosynthesis, processing, and shedding of the murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) glycoproteins and in virus production was investigated in a clonal mammary tumor cell line, GR-3A, using two inhibitors of protein glycosylation, 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) and tunicamycin (TM). It was found that both 2-DG and TM completely inhibited the synthesis of the MuMTV envelope precursor polyprotein, Pr70env, and, as a consequence, the synthesis of the viral glycoproteins gp52 and gp36. By contrast, the synthesis of Pr73gag, the polyprotein precursor of the internal structural proteins of the virus, was only inhibited by 10-15% by 2-DG and TM. Although 2-DG and TM blocked the synthesis of Pr70env, a new polypeptide, related to gp52 and gp36, with a mol wt of 60,000 (P60env) was found to be synthesized in the treated cells. The P60env molecules appeared to be degraded intracellularly since they were not found to (1) undergo site-specific cleavage; (2) accumulate inside the cell or on the cell surface; (3) be secreted into the culture medium; and (4) be incorporated into the virions produced during the drug treatment. In spite of the lack of gp52 and gp36 synthesis in the presence of TM and 2-DG, mature MuMTV particles containing the characteristic surface projections known to be composed of gp52 and gp36 continued to be assembled and released at a reduced rate for at least 30 hr. In addition, the buoyant density and the polypeptide composition of the particles were found to be identical to virions produced by untreated cells. Thus, the virions assembled and released during 2-DG and TM treatment were not defective. Our investigations into the origin of gp52 and gp36 in these particles revealed that both molecules were synthesized prior to 2-DG and TM treatment and continued to be incorporated, along with the newly synthesized viral core proteins, into budding virions during the drug treatment. Furthermore, we found that gp52 and P75env (an aberrant form of Pr70env) that were not incorporated into virions continued to be shed normally from the cell during drug treatment. In conclusion, our results suggest that MuMTV assembly is not dependent on the synchronized synthesis of the viral core and envelope polypeptides, and that the assembled virions contain the correct ratio of these polypeptides, even when their ratio in the cell varies.

The soluble glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus is formed during or shortly after the translation process

Gs protein is a shorter, soluble form of the viral G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) lacking the membrane-anchoring domain. Production of Gs protein appears to be a general property of VSV because infection of BHK-21 cells by five different isolates of the VSV serotype Indiana led in all cases to the synthesis of Gs protein. Moreover, it is formed in a variety of eucaryotic cell lines after VSV infection. In pulse-chase experiments, we observed a time-dependent change in the ratio of G to Gs protein released into the growth medium, suggesting that Gs is formed intracellularly rather than on the cell surface. Further experiments revealed that Gs protein can be synthesized in vitro in the reticulocyte lysate system after addition of a viral mRNA fraction and in a coupled transcription-translation system with VSV core particles. In the presence of microsomal membranes both G and Gs protein were glycosylated in the reticulocyte lysate, confirming that the authentic Gs protein is synthesized in vitro. The addition of various protease inhibitors to the cell-free system and variation of the incubation conditions did not alter the ratio of G to Gs formation. Taken together, these experiments suggest strongly that Gs protein is not a product of a membrane-associated proteolytic activity but is formed during or shortly after the translation process. Our attempts to detect a specific, shorter mRNA coding for the Gs protein by molecular hybridization procedures did not reveal the existence of such a mRNA species.

Characterization of the soluble glycoprotein released from vesicular stomatitis virus-infected cells

Vesicular stomatitis virus-infected Chinese hamster ovary cells release into the extracellular medium a soluble form of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (G protein) termed Gs (Kang and Prevec, Virology 46:678-680, 1971). The properties of this molecule and the cellular site at which it is generated were characterized. By comparing the sizes and the peptide maps of the unglycosylated forms of G and Gs, we found that between 5,000 and 6,000 daltons of the carboxy-terminal end of the G protein is cleaved to generate the Gs molecule. This truncated molecule contains no fatty acid. Gs released from cells grown at 39 degrees C migrated on polyacrylamide gels slightly slower than Gs released at 30 degrees C. The unglycosylated form of Gs also showed this size difference. Furthermore, unglycosylated Gs was resolved into two species upon isoelectric focusing: the relative amounts of the two species depended upon the temperature at which infected cells were incubated. Full-sized unglycosylated virus-associated G also was resolved into two species, but the more basic form predominated at both 30 and 39 degrees C. The appearance of Gs in the extracellular medium depended upon the presence of stable, full-sized G at the cell surface. The amount of Gs released was quantitated in seven different situations in which the migration of G to the cell surface was inhibited. In all cases, the amount of Gs released was also decreased. In addition, incubation of cells surface labeled with 125I resulted in the release of 125I-labeled Gs protein, as well as full-sized G protein. These results suggest that Gs is generated primarily by proteolytic cleavage of plasma membrane-associated G at a site in the molecule just amino terminal to the membrane-spanning region of the molecule.

Shedding of vesicular stomatitis virus soluble glycoprotein by removal of carboxy-terminal peptide

A comparison of partial NH2-terminal sequences of vesicular stomatitis viral glycoprotein G (molecular weight, 69,000) and the soluble extracellular glycoprotein antigen Gs (molecular weight, 57,000) shows that both of the sequences are identical. Tryptic fingerprint analyses show that Gs lacks the carboxy-terminal region containing the membrane-anchoring hydrophobic domain of G. These results suggest that Gs is formed by cleavage in the carboxy-terminal region of G.

Structural changes in BHK cell plasma membrane caused by the binding of vesicular stomatitis virus

Spin label electron spin resonance techniques using a nitroxide derivative of stearic acid were used to detect changes in plasma membrane structure caused by the binding of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) to cell plasma membranes of intact BHK-21 cells. The results indicate that binding of VSV to cell surface receptors causes an increase in the observed rigidity of the plasma membrane lipid bilayer. This change in membrane structure, which appears to be caused by the cross-linking of receptors in the plane of the plasma membrane, could be prevented by treating the cells with colchicine before addition of virus and could be reversed by treating the cells with colchicine after addition of virus. Cells treated with a monovalent, water-soluble derivative of VSV G-protein (Gs) did not show an increase in plasma membrane bilayer rigidity. However, addition of anti-VSV G-protein immunoglobulin G to cells pretreated with G8 caused an increase in plasma membrane bilayer rigidity. This increased rigidity could also be reversed by the addition of colchicine. Fluorescence microscopy was used to determine the distribution of fluorescein-labeled VSV particles on the cell surface after addition of virus. Approximately 30 min after addition of virus, discrete areas on the cell surface showed fluorescent staining, which coalesced to apical regions of the cell after approximately 40 min.

Reconstituted G protein-lipid vesicles from vesicular stomatitis virus and their inhibition of VSV infection

The single glycoprotein (G) of vesiclar stomatitis virus (VSV) was isolated in nearly quantitative yield by extraction of the purified virions with 0.05 M octyl-beta-D- glucoside (OG) in 0.01 M sodium phosphate, pH 8.0. The extract contained essentially all of the viral phospholipids and glycolipids, and was free of other essentially all of the viral phospholipids and glycolipids, and was free of other viral proteins. Dialysis to remove OG resulted in the formation of G protein-viral lipid vesicles having a lipid-G protein ratio similar to that of the intact virions. The vesicles were 250-1,000 A in diameter, with a "fuzzy" external layer also similar to that of intact virions. The vesicles were predominantly unilamellar and sealed, with both phosphatidyl ethanolamine and gangliosides symmetrically distributed in the bilayer. G protein was asymmetrically oriented, with about 80 percent accessible to exogenous protease. Addition of soybean phospholipid to the viral extract before dialysis resulted in vesicles that incorporated viral proteins and lipids quantitatively, but that were markedly decreased in buoyant density. The G neutralized protein-lipid vesicles were effective in eliciting specific anti-G antibodies that neutralized viral infectivity. Competitive radioimmunoassay showed that both reconstituted vesicles and a soluble form of G protein (Gs) were indistinguishable from purified VSV in their antibody binding properties. Addition of G protein-lipid vesicles of BHK-21 cells before, or simultaneously with, infection by VSV inhibited viral infectivity, as measured by two independent techniques (viral RNA production in the presence of actinomycin D and a neutral red assay of cell viability). The total inhibitory activity of G protein in the vesicular form was, however, less than 5 percent of that found for intact virus particles that have been inactivated by ultraviolet light irradiation. Gs was inactive as an inhibitor as determined by the RNA production assay.

The matrix (M) protein of vesicular stomatitis virus regulates transcription

Temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) belonging to complementation group III contain a lesion in the matrix (M) protein. This results in a 2--5 fold increase in transcription at the nonpermissive temperature. Co-infection of cells with one of these mutants and wild-type virus reverses this mutant phenotype. Separation of the transcriptional and translational products from mutant-infected cells reveals an overall increase in each of the viral mRNA species concomitant with degradation of the M protein at the nonpermissive temperature. The increase in mRNA, however, does not lead to increased synthesis of viral proteins. Quantitation of individual mRNA species indicates that M protein acts as a direct inhibitor of transcription as well as an attenuator of sequential transcription.