Membrane properties of the gag gene-coded p15 protein of mouse type-C RNA tumor viruses

Genetic screens in mammalian cells by enhanced retroviral mutagens

Genetic approaches such as retrovirus-mediated mutagenesis and cDNA expression libraries have contributed greatly to our understanding of signal transduction in mammalian cells. However, previously described methods for retroviral insertional mutagenesis are hindered by low mutagenesis rates and difficulties in cloning mutated genes. cDNA expression library methods are usually cell-type dependent and bias towards abundant and short messages. With the near completion of the genome projects, alternative genetic methods are needed where large numbers of genes can be more easily isolated and biochemically studied. We have developed a novel retrovirus-mediated genetic screening method in cultured cells. To achieve efficient and regulated mutagenesis, we constructed Enhanced Retroviral Mutagen (ERM) vectors that contained several engineered sequences (e.g., an ERM Tag and a splice donor) controlled by a tetracycline-responsive promoter. Endogenous genes can thus be randomly activated and tagged in a conditional system. NIH3T3 cells were used to screen for focus-forming genes using the ERM strategy. We showed that these added sequences increased the screening efficiency by >10-fold, and allowed more direct identification of the genes targeted. Sequence analysis of approximately 10% of the >600 focus clones recovered revealed both known oncogenes and novel factors such as protein kinases and GTP/GDP exchange proteins. The ERM strategy should help to facilitate large-scale gene identification in diverse pathways and integrate both genetic (with the completion of the genome projects) and functional information more readily.

Virus maturation by budding

Enveloped viruses mature by budding at cellular membranes. It has been generally thought that this process is driven by interactions between the viral transmembrane proteins and the internal virion components (core, capsid, or nucleocapsid). This model was particularly applicable to alphaviruses, which require both spike proteins and a nucleocapsid for budding. However, genetic studies have clearly shown that the retrovirus core protein, i.e., the Gag protein, is able to form enveloped particles by itself. Also, budding of negative-strand RNA viruses (rhabdoviruses, orthomyxoviruses, and paramyxoviruses) seems to be accomplished mainly by internal components, most probably the matrix protein, since the spike proteins are not absolutely required for budding of these viruses either. In contrast, budding of coronavirus particles can occur in the absence of the nucleocapsid and appears to require two membrane proteins only. Biochemical and structural data suggest that the proteins, which play a key role in budding, drive this process by forming a three-dimensional (cage-like) protein lattice at the surface of or within the membrane. Similarly, recent electron microscopic studies revealed that the alphavirus spike proteins are also engaged in extensive lateral interactions, forming a dense protein shell at the outer surface of the viral envelope. On the basis of these data, we propose that the budding of enveloped viruses in general is governed by lateral interactions between peripheral or integral membrane proteins. This new concept also provides answers to the question of how viral and cellular membrane proteins are sorted during budding. In addition, it has implications for the mechanism by which the virion is uncoated during virus entry.

Matrix protein of Akv murine leukemia virus: genetic mapping of regions essential for particle formation

Type C retroviruses assemble at the plasma membrane of the infected cell. Attachment of myristic acid to the N terminus of the Gag precursor polyprotein has been shown to be essential for membrane localization and virus morphogenesis. Here, we report that the matrix (MA) protein contains regions that in conjunction with myristylation are important for Gag protein stability and the assembly of murine leukemia viruses. We identified these domains by generating a series of Akv murine leukemia virus mutants carrying small in-frame deletions within the coding region of the MA protein encompassing 129 amino acids. Studies show that mutants with deletions within the segment encoding the first 102 amino acids were all replication defective, whereas the C-terminal residues 103 to 124 seem not to have any critical function in virus maturation. Cells expressing the replication-defective genomes did not release any detectable Gag proteins. In one mutant, deletion of 3 amino acids in the N terminus resulted in an inefficiently myristylated, stable Gag polyprotein. The remaining defect genomes encoded unstable Gag proteins, although they were modified with myristic acid. The results suggest that the matrix domain plays an important role in stabilizing the Gag polyprotein.

N myristoylation of the spleen necrosis virus matrix protein is required for correct association of the Gag polyprotein with intracellular membranes and for particle formation

To determine whether myristoylation is required for spleen necrosis virus replication, we constructed a substitution mutation in the gag gene that alters the putative myristate acceptor glycine residue. This single amino acid change was lethal for virus replication, resulted in aberrant proteolytic processing, and interrupted virion assembly and the release of virus from cells. Immunofluorescence analysis indicated that the amount of Gag polyprotein at the cell periphery and in Golgi-associated vesicles is severely reduced in the myristoylation mutant, indicating that correct intracellular targeting is affected by a lack of myristoylation. Coexpression of wild-type Gag polyprotein did not complement and rescue the replication-defective phenotype of the myristoylation mutant. Thus, it appears that the nonmyristoylated polyproteins are incapable of interacting with their myristoylated counterparts to form biologically active particles.

Analysis of structural polypeptides of the lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) of turkeys

The polypeptide composition of the lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) of turkeys was shown to comprise several polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 76, 31, 28, 20 and 15 kDa. This polypeptide pattern is distinctly different from the protein profiles of avian leukosis viruses, reticuloendotheliosis virus, or murine leukemia viruses. Moreover, LPD virions contain 2 major structural proteins (p31 and p28), in contrast to only one major internal protein present in most other retroviruses. The 76 kDa protein was established as the major viral envelope glycoprotein. The uniqueness of the LPDV polypeptide pattern is consistent with the lack of genetic relatedness of LPDV genome to other retroviruses, establishing LPDV as a representative of a distinct group of retroviridae.

Purification and chemical and immunological characterization of avian reticuloendotheliosis virus gag-gene-encoded structural proteins

Five gag-gene-encoded structural proteins, designated p12, pp18, pp20, p30, and p10 were purified from replication-competent avian reticuloendotheliosis-associated virus (REV-A) by high-performance liquid chromatography complemented with chloroform-methanol extraction and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Based on amino acid composition and NH2- and COOH-terminal sequence analysis p12, pp18, p30, and p10 are distinct from one another, whereas pp20 is likely identical to pp18 in primary structure. The p12 was resistant to Edman degradation and was found to be myristylated at the NH2-terminal amino group. Sequence comparisons among the retrovirus family show that pp18/pp20 and p10 are, respectively, homologs of phospho-proteins and nucleic acid-binding proteins. A comparison of terminal sequences with the nucleotide sequence of spleen necrosis virus (SNV) revealed that the gag genes of SNV and REV-A are highly conserved; together with the identification of REV-A gag-precursor polyprotein, Pr60gag in immunoprecipitates of radiolabeled cell lysates, this comparison also led to the establishment of the organization of Pr60gag, viz., NH2-p12-pp18-p30-p10-OH. Sequence comparisons show that REV-A/SNV is related to mammalian type C viruses: the pp18-p30 region is most homologous to the macaque/colobus group and least to simian sarcoma virus (SSV), whereas both the 5'- and 3'-gag regions (i.e., p12 and p10) are clostest to SSV. Immunological studies using monospecific antisera and Western-blot analysis showed that antigenic determinants of REV-A p30 are conserved in most of mammalian type C and type D viruses, but those of REV-A p12 are shared only with simian sarcoma-associated virus (SSAV) and endogenous viruses of macaques.

Fine-structure analyses of lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions of gag protein p19 of the avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses by cyanogen bromide mapping

In avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses, the gag protein p19 functions structurally as a matrix protein, connecting internal components with the viral envelope. We have used a combination of in situ cross-linking and peptide mapping to localize within p19 the regions responsible for two major interactions in this complex, p19 with lipid and p19 with p19. Lipid-protein cross-links were localized near the amino terminus within the first 35 amino acids of the polypeptide. Homotypic protein-protein disulfide bridges were found to originate from near the carboxy terminus of p19, from cysteine residues at amino acids 111 and 153. These results suggest that p19 is divided into domains with distinct functions. The peptide maps constructed for p19, and for the related proteins p23 in avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses and p19 beta in recombinant avian sarcoma viruses, should serve as useful tools for other types of studies involving these proteins.

Cytoskeleton-associated Pr65gag and assembly of retrovirus temperature-sensitive mutants in chronically infected cells

Certain temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of murine leukemia virus (MuLV) were observed to be defective in virus assembly. These mutants also accumulated intracellular core protein precursor, Pr65gag, at 39 degrees, the nonpermissive temperature. At 39 degrees, virions released from cells infected with the various ts mutants also contained elevated levels of Pr65gag relative to virions released at 33 degrees, the permissive temperature. Detergent extraction of pulse-labeled cells with Nonidet P-40 (NP-40) generated an NP-40-insoluble cytoskeleton-enriched fraction. Reextraction of this fraction with deoxycholate followed by gel electrophoresis of solubilized, immunoprecipitated viral proteins showed that in Moloney MuLV (Mo-MuLV) ts3-infected cells, and in Rauscher MuLV (R-MuLV) ts17- and ts24-infected cells, increased amounts of intracellular viral Pr65gag rapidly become associated with the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction during pulse labeling at nonpermissive temperature. Furthermore, examination of cell extracts from chase-incubated cells infected with these ts mutants revealed that Pr65gag accumulated in the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction at 39 degrees but not at 33 degrees. During steady-state labeling, as much as half of the intracellular Pr65gag becomes associated with the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction (i.e., is not solubilized by NP-40) at 39 degrees. At permissive temperature only 10-15% of the intracellular Pr65gag is cytoskeleton associated. In contrast, cells infected with R-MuLV ts25 or ts26 showed little or no preferential localization of Pr65gag in the cytoskeleton-enriched cell fraction during a short pulse at 39 degrees, but Pr65gag accumulated in both the NP-40-soluble and -insoluble fractions during a chase incubation relative to the condition at 33 degrees. Based upon these and previous results (Edbauer and Naso, 1983), models for retrovirus assembly are described in which the association of Pr65gag with the cell membrane and cytoskeleton plays a critical role in virus assembly, budding, and postbudding maturation.

Cytoskeleton-associated Pr65gag and retrovirus assembly

Our studies have shown a rapid and specific association of Rauscher murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV) precursor polyprotein Pr65gag with cytoskeletal elements in infected mouse fibroblasts. The Pr65gag associated with Nonidet P-40 (NP-40)-insoluble cytoskeletal structures appears to be subphosphorylated in comparison to NP-40-soluble Pr65gag. The association of Pr65gag with skeletal elements can be disrupted by extraction of the cytoskeleton with sodium deoxycholate, an ionic detergent, or with buffers of high ionic strength. Both the skeleton-associated Pr65gag and its NP-40-soluble counterpart can be labeled with [3H]palmitate, indicating their probable association with lipids presumably in the plasma membrane. Pr65gag molecules bound to skeletal elements in the infected cell appear to be more stable to proteolytic processing than NP-40-soluble Pr65gag. While the association of Pr65gag with cytoskeleton elements in the cell is neither increased nor decreased by blocking virus assembly and release with interferon, Pr65gag appears to accumulate in the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction of cells chronically infected with a temperature sensitive mutant of R-MuLV (ts 17) when such cells are grown at the nonpermissive temperature. Based on these and other results, we have proposed a model for the active role of cytoskeleton associated Pr65gag in retrovirus assembly.

In vivo modification of retroviral gag gene-encoded polyproteins by myristic acid

It has recently been shown by mass spectral analysis (Henderson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80:339-343, 1983) that the p15gag protein of murine leukemia viruses contains a novel post-translational modification, an amino-terminal myristyl (tetradecanoyl) amide. In this report we show that p15gag is the only structural protein to contain this fatty acid. In addition, the gag precursor polyproteins of type B, C, and D retroviruses have been examined for the presence of myristic acid by metabolic labeling and immunoprecipitation studies. In a panel of mammalian type C retroviruses we found that the precursor polyprotein Pr65gag homologs, but not the glycosylated forms (gPr80gag homologs), were specifically labeled after a 5-min incubation of infected cells with [3H]myristic acid. The gag precursor polyprotein was also labeled in mouse mammary tumor virus and in Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, but Pr76gag of Rous sarcoma virus failed to incorporate [3H]myristate. Under similar conditions, [3H]palmitate was not found to be incorporated into any viral gag proteins. Thus, myristylation appears to be a common feature of mammalian type B, C, and D retroviruses but not of avian retroviruses.

Antiretroviral effect of interferon: proposed mechanism

Interferon (IFN) treatment of NIH Swiss mouse embryo cells chronically infected with Rauscher murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV) drastically reduced the release of virus particles from the cells. The characterization of intracellular and extracellular viral specific proteins and polyproteins immunologically with various antisera, and structurally by tryptic digest mapping experiments, indicated that the antiretroviral action of IFN was not due to an IFN-induced alteration in the synthesis of any viral protein. Steady state labeling experiments, however, showed that the processing of three viral specific precursor polyproteins, namely gPr90env, Pr40gag, and Pr25gag, were perceptively slowed in IFN-treated cells. This effect was apparently not related to the ability of these proteins to be modified by phosphorylation or glycosylation after translation since these processes occurred normally in the IFN-treated cells. The treatment of cells with IFN also caused the accumulation of a small amount of a fucosylated viral glycoprotein precursor, termed gP93env, in virus. With the exception of this minor protein, virus released from IFN-treated cells were normal in their content of viral proteins. These virus particles were only slightly less infectious, particle for particle, than virus released from control cultures. Based on these results, we suggest that IFN causes an as yet unelucidated alteration in cell membrane structure of function, or both, which prevents either the insertion of viral core precursor molecules into membrane or the recruitment or clustering of such viral polyproteins into virus assembly centers in the membrane. This suggested mechanism of IFN action is discussed in detail.

Recombinants between temperature-sensitive mutants of rauscher murine leukemia virus and BALB:virus-2: genetic mapping of the Rauscher murine leukemia virus genome

Recombinant viruses were generated in tissue culture between Rauscher murine leukemia virus (MuLV) temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants restricted at different steps in virus replication and a mouse endogenous xenotropic virus, BALB:virus-2. Mutants used included ts 28, a late mutant which releases noninfectious viruses at 39 degrees C, and ts 29, a double mutant with a ts lesion in its reverse transcriptase and a late block affecting virus budding. Immunological typing of the translational products of clonal recombinant viruses made it possible to establish their partial genetic maps and localize regions of the viral genome affected by different ts lesions. Recombinants involving Rauscher MuLV ts 28 invariably contained BALB-virus-2 p15, p12, and p30 proteins, localizing the late defect in replication by this mutant to the 5' moiety of the viral gag gene. All ts 29-derived recombinants contained the entire BALB:virus-2 gag and pol genes. Substitution of the pol gene is in agreement with the reported thermolability of Rauscher MuLV ts 29 reverse transcriptase (Tronick et al., J. Virol. 16:1476-1482, 1975). Substitution of the gag gene suggests that internal structural proteins are actively involved in the virus budding processing. Rauscher MuLV recombinants were used to establish the genetic map of the Rauscher MuLV genome by T1 oligonucleotide fingerprinting analysis. Detection of Rauscher MuLV T1 oligonucleotides in representative recombinant viruses, whose protein phenotypes were established by immunological techniques, permitted their assignment to specific regions of the viral genome. The genetic map of Rauscher MuLV generated in these studies should be useful for identifying and characterizing the viral gene(s) involved in leukemogenesis.

Rat sarcoma virus: further analysis of individual viral isolates and the gene product

Rasheed rat sarcoma virus, derived by in vitro cocultivation of two rat cell lines (Rasheed et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75:2972-2976, 1978), has been reported to code for a protein of 29,000 Mr, immunologically related to the 21,000 Mr src gene product of Harvey and Kirsten sarcoma viruses. Rat sarcoma virus p29 was thought to contain at least part of a rat type C virus structural protein, since antiserum prepared against whole rat virus was able to immunoprecipitate rat sarcoma virus p29 but not Harvey or Kirsten sarcoma virus p21 (Young et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76:3523-3527, 1979). We now report that antiserum directed against rat type C virus p15, but not viral p12, p10, or p27, immunoprecipitated rat sarcoma virus p29. The p15 antiserum was also able to immunoprecipitate both denatured p29 and a peptide derived by V-8 protease cleavage of p29, indicating that this antiserum contains antibodies directed against primary amino acid determinants. Finally, five separate isolates of rat sarcoma virus were found to code for p29, which indicates that a highly specific site of recombination is involved in the generation of sarcoma viruses in rat cells.