Intracellular trafficking of VP22 in bovine herpesvirus-1 infected cells

VP8, the Major Tegument Protein of Bovine Herpesvirus-1, Is Partially Packaged during Early Tegument Formation in a VP22-Dependent Manner

Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) is a major cause of rhinotracheitis and vulvovaginitis in cattle. VP8, the major tegument protein of BoHV-1, is essential for viral replication in the host. VP8 is phosphorylated by the viral kinase US3, mediating its translocation to the cytoplasm. VP8 remains nuclear when not phosphorylated. Interestingly, VP8 has a significant presence in mature BoHV-1YmVP8, in which the VP8 phosphorylation sites are mutated. This suggests that VP8 might be packaged during primary envelopment of BoHV-1. This was investigated by mass spectrometry and Western blotting, which showed VP8, as well as VP22, to be constituents of the primary enveloped virions. VP8 and VP22 were shown to interact via co-immunoprecipitation experiments, in both BoHV-1-infected and VP8-transfected cells. VP8 and VP22 also co-localised with one another and with nuclear lamin-associated protein 2 in BoHV-1-infected cells, suggesting an interaction between VP8 and VP22 in the perinuclear region. In cells infected with VP22-deleted BoHV-1 (BoHV-1ΔUL49), VP8 was absent from the primary enveloped virions, implying that VP22 might be critical for the early packaging of VP8. In conclusion, a novel VP22-dependent mechanism for packaging of VP8 was identified, which may be responsible for a significant amount of VP8 in the viral particle.

Alphaherpesvirus Major Tegument Protein VP22: Its Precise Function in the Viral Life Cycle

Alphaherpesviruses are zoonotic pathogens that can cause a variety of diseases in humans and animals and severely damage health. Alphaherpesvirus infection is a slow and orderly process that can lie dormant for the lifetime of the host but may be reactivated when the immune system is compromised. All alphaherpesviruses feature a protein layer called the tegument that lies between the capsid and the envelope. Virus protein (VP) 22 is one of the most highly expressed tegument proteins; there are more than 2,000 copies of this protein in each viral particle. VP22 can interact with viral proteins, cellular proteins, and chromatin, and these interactions play important roles. This review summarizes the latest literature and discusses the roles of VP22 in viral gene transcription, protein synthesis, virion assembly, and viral cell-to-cell spread with the purpose of enhancing understanding of the life cycle of herpesviruses and other pathogens in host cells. The molecular interaction information herein provides important reference data.

VP8, the Major Tegument Protein of Bovine Herpesvirus 1, Interacts with Cellular STAT1 and Inhibits Interferon Beta Signaling

The UL47 gene product, VP8, is the most abundant tegument protein of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1). Previously, we demonstrated that a UL47-deleted BoHV-1 mutant (BoHV1-ΔUL47) exhibits 100-fold-reduced virulence in vitro and is avirulent in vivo In this study, we demonstrated that VP8 expression or BoHV-1 infection inhibits interferon beta (IFN-β) signaling by using an IFN-α/β-responsive plasmid in a luciferase assay. As transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) is an essential component in the IFN-signaling pathways, the effect of VP8 on STAT was investigated. An interaction between VP8 and STAT1 was established by coimmunoprecipitation assays in both VP8-transfected and BoHV-1-infected cells. Two domains of VP8, amino acids 259 to 482 and 632 to 686, were found to be responsible for its interaction with STAT1. The expression of VP8 did not induce STAT1 ubiquitination or degradation. Moreover, VP8 did not reduce STAT1 tyrosine phosphorylation to downregulate IFN-β signaling. However, the expression of VP8 or a version of VP8 (amino acids 219 to 741) that contains the STAT1-interacting domains but not the nuclear localization signal prevented nuclear accumulation of STAT1. Inhibition of nuclear accumulation of STAT1 also occurred during BoHV-1 infection, while nuclear translocation of STAT1 was observed in BoHV1-ΔUL47-infected cells. During BoHV-1 infection, VP8 was detected in the cytoplasm at 2 h postinfection without any de novo protein synthesis, at which time STAT1 was already retained in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that viral VP8 downregulates IFN-β signaling early during infection, thus playing a role in overcoming the antiviral response of BoHV-1-infected cells.

IMPORTANCE

Since VP8 is the most abundant protein in BoHV-1 virions and thus may be released in large amounts into the host cell immediately upon infection, we proposed that it might have a function in the establishment of conditions suitable for viral replication. Indeed, while nonessential in vitro, it is critical for BoHV-1 replication in vivo In this study, we determined that VP8 plays a role in downregulation of the antiviral host response by inhibiting IFN-β signaling. VP8 interacted with and prevented nuclear accumulation of STAT1 at 2 h postinfection in the absence of de novo viral protein synthesis. Two domains of VP8, amino acids 259 to 482 and 632 to 686, were found to be responsible for this interaction. These results provide a new functional role for VP8 in BoHV-1 infection and a potential explanation for the lack of viral replication of the UL47 deletion mutant in cattle.

Intracellular localization of Equine herpesvirus type 1 tegument protein VP22

Intracellular localization of Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) tegument protein VP22 was examined by using a plasmid that expressed VP22 fused with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Also a recombinant EHV-1 expressing VP22 fused with a red fluorescent protein (mCherry) was constructed to observe the localization of VP22 in infected cells. When EGFP-fused VP22 was overexpressed in the cells, VP22 localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Live cell imaging suggested that the fluorescently tagged VP22 also localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. These results show that VP22 localizes in the cytoplasm and nucleus independently of other viral proteins. Experiments with truncation mutants of pEGFP-VP22 suggested that 154-188 aa might be the nuclear localization signal of EHV-1 VP22.

VP22 and cytosine deaminase fusion gene modified tissue-engineered neural stem cells for glioma therapy

PURPOSE

The herpes simplex virus type 1 tegument protein VP22 has the remarkable property of intercellular trafficking, thus making it a promising tool for improving gene transfer efficiency.

METHODS

To investigate whether the fusion of VP22 to the cytosine deaminase (CD) suicide gene could enhance the therapeutic efficiency of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the treatment for C6 glioma, the lentiviral vectors pHIV-VP(22)-EGFP, pHIV-CD, and pHIV-VP(22)-CD were constructed based on the pHIV-EGFP vector. After packaging, vectors were transduced into rat NSCs.

RESULTS

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis revealed that the fusion of VP22-EGFP increased the expression rate of EGFP in NSCs compared with lenti-EGFP transduced cells. Under incubation with the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), the survival rates of C6 cells co-cultured with NSCs/VP(22)-CD (NSCs transduced with lenti-VP(22)-CD) decreased tremendously compared with those of C6 and NSCs/CD. Similar results were also observed in vivo; a significant reduction in tumor volumes in C6 glioma-bearing rats was observed in the NSCs/VP(22)-CD therapy group when compared with other control groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal that VP22 increases the transduction efficiency of lentivirus into NSCs and enhances the therapeutic efficacy of CD-engineered rat NSCs in the treatment for C6 glioma, demonstrating that VP22 might be a useful tool for the gene therapy of engineered NSCs and providing a potential novel strategy for enhancing the effectiveness of gene therapy in other diseases.