Synthesis and processing of viral glycoproteins in two nonconditional mutants of Rous sarcoma virus

Role of methylation in the induced and spontaneous expression of the avian endogenous virus ev-1: DNA structure and gene products

The endogenous avian provirus ev-1 is widespread in white leghorn chickens. Although it has no major structural defects, ev-1 has not been associated with any phenotype and is ordinarily expressed at a very low level. In this report, we describe a chicken embryo (Number 1836) cell culture containing both ev-1 and ev-6 which spontaneously expressed the ev-1 provirus. This culture released a high level of noninfectious virions containing a full complement of virion structural (gag) proteins but devoid of reverse transcriptase activity or antigen. These virions contained 70S RNA closely related to the genome of Rous-associated virus type 0, but identifiable as the ev-1 genome by oligonucleotide mapping. A fraction of the RNA molecules in the 70S complex were unusual in that they were polyadenylated 100 to 200 nucleotides downstream of the usual polyadenylation site. Eight sibling embryo cultures did not share this unusual phenotype with 1836, indicating that it was not inherited. However, an identical phenotype was inducible in the sibling cultures by treatment with 5-azacytidine, an inhibitor of DNA methylation, and the induced expression was stable for more than 10 generations. Analysis of chromatin structure and DNA methylation of the ev-1 provirus in 1836 cells revealed the presence (in a fraction of the proviruses) of both DNase I hypersensitive sites in the long terminal repeats and in gag and a pattern of cleavage sites for methyl-sensitive restriction endonuclease not found in a nonexpressing sibling. These results lend strong support to the role of DNA methylation in the control of gene expression. Additionally, they explain the lack of phenotype associated with ev-1 as due to a combination of its low expression and defectiveness in pol and env.

Role of methylation in the induced and spontaneous expression of the avian endogenous virus ev-1: DNA structure and gene products

The endogenous avian provirus ev-1 is widespread in white leghorn chickens. Although it has no major structural defects, ev-1 has not been associated with any phenotype and is ordinarily expressed at a very low level. In this report, we describe a chicken embryo (Number 1836) cell culture containing both ev-1 and ev-6 which spontaneously expressed the ev-1 provirus. This culture released a high level of noninfectious virions containing a full complement of virion structural (gag) proteins but devoid of reverse transcriptase activity or antigen. These virions contained 70S RNA closely related to the genome of Rous-associated virus type 0, but identifiable as the ev-1 genome by oligonucleotide mapping. A fraction of the RNA molecules in the 70S complex were unusual in that they were polyadenylated 100 to 200 nucleotides downstream of the usual polyadenylation site. Eight sibling embryo cultures did not share this unusual phenotype with 1836, indicating that it was not inherited. However, an identical phenotype was inducible in the sibling cultures by treatment with 5-azacytidine, an inhibitor of DNA methylation, and the induced expression was stable for more than 10 generations. Analysis of chromatin structure and DNA methylation of the ev-1 provirus in 1836 cells revealed the presence (in a fraction of the proviruses) of both DNase I hypersensitive sites in the long terminal repeats and in gag and a pattern of cleavage sites for methyl-sensitive restriction endonuclease not found in a nonexpressing sibling. These results lend strong support to the role of DNA methylation in the control of gene expression. Additionally, they explain the lack of phenotype associated with ev-1 as due to a combination of its low expression and defectiveness in pol and env.

A minimal avian retroviral packaging sequence has a complex structure

We have defined a 160-nucleotide region, Mpsi, from the 5' leader region of the Rous sarcoma virus genome that is sufficient to direct the packaging of a heterologous RNA. Mpsi contains the putative O3 stem structure that has previously been shown, and that has been confirmed in this study, to be important for the efficient packaging of avian leukosis-sarcoma virus RNA. Analyses of several O3 stem mutants revealed that other regions within Mpsi can interfere with the proper folding of altered sequences which are predicted to form a wild-type O3 stem.

Mutations within a putative cysteine loop of the transmembrane protein of an attenuated immunodeficiency-inducing feline leukemia virus variant inhibit envelope protein processing

A replication-defective feline leukemia virus molecular clone, 61B, has been shown to cause immunodeficiency in cats and cytopathicity in T cells after a long latency period when coinfected with a minimally pathogenic helper virus (J. Overbaugh, E. A. Hoover, J. I. Mullins, D. P. W. Burns, L. Rudensey, S. L. Quackenbush, V. Stallard, and P. R. Donahue, Virology 188:558-569, 1992). The long-latency phenotype of 61B has been mapped to four mutations in the extracellular domain of the envelope transmembrane protein, and we report here that these mutations cause a defect in envelope protein processing. Immunoprecipitation analyses demonstrated that the 61B gp85 envelope precursor was produced but that further processing to generate the surface protein (SU/gp70) and the transmembrane protein (TM/p15E) did not occur. The 61B precursor was not expressed on the cell surface and appeared to be retained in the endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus. Two of the four 61B-specific amino acid changes are located within a putative cysteine loop in a region of TM that is conserved among retroviruses. Introduction of these two amino acid changes into a replication-competent highly cytopathic virus resulted in the production of noninfectious virus that exhibited an envelope-protein-processing defect. This analysis suggests that mutations in a conserved region within a putative cysteine loop affect retroviral envelope protein maturation and viral infectivity.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2): packaging signal and associated negative regulatory element

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2)-based retroviral vectors will have several desirable features as vehicles for gene therapy. These include target cell specificity, regulated expression, and attenuated cytopathicity. Such vectors require efficient packaging of RNA into retroviral particles which depends on a cis-acting sequence element called packaging signal or psi site. For most retroviruses, the principal part of this element is located between the major splice donor site and the gag initiator codon (AUG) in the leader sequence. The deletion of the corresponding region of HIV-2 did indeed cause a packaging defect; however, it did not abolish RNA encapsidation and viral infectivity. Additionally, deletions in this region resulted in an increase in intracellular viral RNA and extracellular p27 core antigen. However, only a fraction of the intracellular viral RNA was packaged into mature particles. These effects appeared to be sequence specific as deletion of the sequence elements upstream of the splice donor site did not result in increased viral RNA and proteins. A computer-assisted analysis of the leader sequence of viral RNA shows it to be rich in secondary structure, which was markedly altered in the deletion mutants. Thus, the leader sequence of HIV-2 between the splice donor site and the gag ATG has at least two regulatory functions: one positive, affecting encapsidation, and the other negative, regulating virus expression. Because there is only a limited sequence or structural homology between the corresponding region of HIV-1 and HIV-2, they are likely to differ in their pathways regulating packaging and gene expression.

Microglial infection by a neurovirulent murine retrovirus results in defective processing of envelope protein and intracellular budding of virus particles

The observation of murine retrovirus infection of microglial cells in brain regions expressing spongiform neurodegenerative changes suggests that these cells may play an important role in pathogenesis. To evaluate this potential in vitro, murine microglial cells were infected in mixed glial cultures with the highly neurovirulent murine retrovirus, FrCasE. The microglia were then isolated from the mixed cultures on the basis of their differential adherence and shown to be approximately 98% pure. The infected microglia expressed viral envelope protein at the plasma membrane, while viral budding was primarily intracellular. Evaluation of the viral envelope protein by immunoblotting indicated that the immunoreactive species produced was exclusively a 90-kDa precursor protein. Very little of the envelope protein was associated with particles released from these cells, and viral titers in the culture supernatant were low. Interestingly, these cells were still capable of infecting permissive target cells when seeded as infectious centers. This partially defective infection of microglial cells suggests a potential cellular means by which a neurovirulent retrovirus could disrupt normal microglia and in turn central nervous system motor system functioning.

Delayed cytopathicity of a feline leukemia virus variant is due to four mutations in the transmembrane protein gene

Two molecularly cloned, replication-defective variants of feline leukemia virus, called 61B and 61C, have both been shown to cause fatal immunodeficiency in cats when coinfected with a replication-competent, minimally pathogenic helper virus, but 61B exhibits a longer latency period between infection and disease (J. Overbaugh, E. A. Hoover, J. I. Mullins, D. P. W. Burns, L. Rudensey, S. L. Quackenbush, V. Stallard, and P. R. Donahue, Virology 188:558-569, 1992). Infection of the 3201 feline T-cell line with 61B plus helper virus also results in longer time from infection to cytopathic effect compared with 61C plus helper virus, providing an in vitro system with which to study the mechanism for this difference. We report that the primary determinant of cytopathicity of 61B maps to gp70, the extracellular envelope glycoprotein. The long latency of 61B, on the other hand, maps to the extracellular portion of the envelope transmembrane protein, in which there are only four predicted amino acid differences between 61B and 61C. These differences render 61B replication defective, and two of the predicted amino acid changes lie in a region that is highly conserved among many retroviruses. The eventual onset of 61B cytopathicity in cell culture was associated with the outgrowth of an apparent recombinant virus that encodes the pathogenic gp70 of 61B and replaces the transmembrane protein of 61B with that of the helper virus. Thus, during in vitro infection, a cytopathic virus evolved from a replication-defective virus and a nonpathogenic virus, suggesting that recombination between multiple variants in natural infection may influence progression of feline leukemia virus-associated immunodeficiency disease.

Genetic assay for multimerization of retroviral gag polyproteins

We have established a genetic assay for the multimerization of retroviral gag polyproteins. This assay is based on the GAL4 two-hybrid system for studying protein-protein interactions (S. Fields and O. Song, Nature (London) 340:245-246, 1989). In our initial experiments, we generated Saccharomyces cerevisiae plasmids that separately express the GAL4 DNA-binding and GAL4 activation domains fused to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gag polyprotein, Pr55gag. The coexpression of these two hybrid proteins in S. cerevisiae results in the association of the GAL4 domains and the potent activation of an integrated GAL4-responsive lacZ indicator gene. Similar results were obtained with plasmids encoding GAL4-Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) gag polyprotein hybrid proteins. In contrast, the heterologous GAL4-HIV-1 gag and GAL4-M-MuLV gag fusion proteins were unable to interact with each other to induce lacZ expression. The results suggest that this yeast system provides a rapid and specific assay for the interactions of retroviral gag proteins that occur during virion assembly.

Mutations within the proteolytic cleavage site of the Rous sarcoma virus glycoprotein define a requirement for dibasic residues for intracellular cleavage

We investigated the amino acid sequence requirements for intracellular cleavage of the Rous sarcoma virus glycoprotein precursor by introducing mutations into the region encoding the cleavage recognition site (Arg-Arg-Lys-Arg). In addition to mutants G1 (Arg-Arg-Glu-Arg) and Dr1 (deletion of all four codons) that we have reported on previously (L. G. Perez and E. Hunter, J. Virol. 61:1609-1614, 1987), we constructed two additional mutants, AR1 (Arg-Arg-Arg-Arg), in which the highly conserved lysine is replaced by an arginine, and S19 (Ser-Arg-Glu-Arg), in which no dibasic pairs remain. The results of these studies demonstrate that when the cleavage sequence is deleted (Dr1) or modified to contain unpaired basic residues (S19), intracellular cleavage of the glycoprotein precursor is completely blocked. This demonstrates that the cellular endopeptidase responsible for cleavage has a stringent requirement for the presence of a pair of basic residues (Arg-Arg or Lys-Arg). Furthermore, it implies that the cleavage enzyme is not trypsinlike, since it is unable to recognize arginine residues that are sensitive to trypsin action. Substitution of the mutated genes into a replication-competent avian retrovirus genome showed that cleavage of the glycoprotein precursor was not required for incorporation into virions but was necessary for infectivity. Treatment of BH-RCAN-S19-transfected turkey cells with low levels of trypsin resulted in the release of infectious virus, demonstrating that exogenous cleavage could generate a biologically active glycoprotein molecule.

Binding of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA to recombinant HIV-1 gag polyprotein

We have expressed the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gag polyprotein (Pr55gag) in bacteria under the control of the T7 phage gene 10 promoter. When the gene encoding the viral protease is included in cis, in the -1 reading frame, the expected proteolytic cleavage products MA and CA are produced. Disruption of the protease-coding sequence prevents proteolytic processing, and full-length polyprotein is produced. Pr55gag, separated from bacterial proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and immobilized on nitrocellulose membranes, binds RNA containing sequences from the 5' end of the HIV-1 genome. This binding is tolerant of a wide range of pH and temperature but has distinct salt preferences. Conditions were identified which prevented nonspecific binding of RNA to bacterial proteins but still allowed binding to Pr55gag. Under these conditions, irrelevant RNA probes lacking HIV-1 sequences bound Pr55gag less efficiently. Quantitation of binding to Pr55gag by HIV-1 RNA probes with deletions mutations demonstrated that there are two regions lying within the HIV-1 gag gene which independently promote binding of RNA to Pr55gag.

A single amino acid substitution within the matrix protein of a type D retrovirus converts its morphogenesis to that of a type C retrovirus

Two different morphogenic processes of retroviral capsid assembly have been observed: the capsid is either assembled at the plasma membrane during the budding process (type C), or preassembled within the cytoplasm (types B and D). We describe here a gag mutant of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, a type D retrovirus, in which a tryptophan substituted for an arginine in the matrix protein results in efficient assembly of capsids at the plasma membrane through a morphogenic process similar to that of type C retroviruses. We conclude that a type D retrovirus Gag polyprotein contains an additional, dominant signal that prevents immediate transport of precursors from the site of biosynthesis to the plasma membrane. Instead, they are directed to and retained at a cytoplasmic site where a concentration sufficient for self-assembly into capsids occurs. Thus, capsid assembly processes for different retroviruses appear to differ only in the intracellular site to which capsid precursors are directed.

Preassembled capsids of type D retroviruses contain a signal sufficient for targeting specifically to the plasma membrane

The capsids of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), an immunosuppressive type D retrovirus, are preassembled in the infected cell cytoplasm and are then transported to the plasma membrane, where they are enveloped in a virus glycoprotein-containing lipid bilayer. The role of viral glycoprotein in intracellular transport of M-PMV capsids was investigated with a spontaneous mutant (5A) of M-PMV, which we show here to be defective in envelope glycoprotein biosynthesis. DNA sequence analysis of the env gene of mutant 5A reveals a single nucleotide deletion in the middle of the gene, which results in the synthesis of a truncated form of the envelope glycoprotein. Evidence is presented showing that the mutant glycoprotein is not expressed at the cell surface but is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum. Normal levels of gag-pro-pol precursor polyproteins are made and processed in mutant genome-transfected cells, and high levels of noninfectious particles lacking viral glycoprotein are released with normal kinetics into the culture medium. No intracisternal budding of capsids is observed. We conclude that viral glycoprotein is required neither for targeting preassembled capsids of M-PMV to the plasma membrane for final maturation nor for the budding process. Since the presence or absence of M-PMV glycoprotein at the site of budding does not affect the efficiency or kinetics of the targeting process, the preassembled capsid of M-PMV, in contrast to those of intracisternal type A particles, appears to have an intrinsic signal for intracellular transport to the plasma membrane.

Studies of the mechanisms of action of the antiretroviral agents hypericin and pseudohypericin

Administration of the aromatic polycyclic dione compounds hypericin or pseudohypericin to experimental animals provides protection from disease induced by retroviruses that give rise to acute, as well as slowly progressive, diseases. For example, survival from Friend virus-induced leukemia is significantly prolonged by both compounds, with hypericin showing the greater potency. Viremia induced by LP-BM5 murine immunodeficiency virus is markedly suppressed after infrequent dosage of either substance. These compounds affect the retroviral infection and replication cycle at least at two different points: (i) Assembly or processing of intact virions from infected cells was shown to be affected by hypericin. Electron microscopy of hypericin-treated, virus-producing cells revealed the production of particles containing immature or abnormally assembled cores, suggesting the compounds may interfere with processing of gag-encoded precursor polyproteins. The released virions contain no detectable activity of reverse transcriptase. (ii) Hypericin and pseudohypericin also directly inactivate mature and properly assembled retroviruses as determined by assays for reverse transcriptase and infectivity. Accumulating data from our laboratories suggest that these compounds inhibit retroviruses by unconventional mechanisms and that the potential therapeutic value of hypericin and pseudohypericin should be explored in diseases such as AIDS.

Mutations within the proteolytic cleavage site of the Rous sarcoma virus glycoprotein that block processing to gp85 and gp37

We have investigated the specificity of the proteolytic cleavage of the Rous sarcoma virus glycoprotein precursor by introducing two mutations into the putative cleavage region (Arg-Arg-Lys-Arg). We show that neither a deletion of the cleavage sequence nor a glutamic acid for lysine substitution altered intracellular transport or surface expression of the env gene products. However, both the four-amino-acid deletion and the glutamic acid substitution block processing of the env precursor. Susceptibility of the glutamic acid-substituted env precursor to proteases indicated that tertiary protein structure was unaffected. While inhibitor experiments suggested that more than one endopeptidase might be capable of mediating the proteolytic cleavage, the results presented here point to the presence in the Golgi apparatus of a novel endopeptidase, required for retroviral glycoprotein cleavage, that has a high specificity for lysine-containing peptides.

Alterations in the transport and processing of Rous sarcoma virus envelope glycoproteins mutated in the signal and anchor regions

The env gene of Rous sarcoma virus codes for two glycoproteins which are located on the surface of infectious virions. Subcloning of these coding sequences in the place of the late region of SV40 DNA has allowed the expression of a normally glycosylated, functionally active glycoprotein complex on the surface of monkey cells. Through the use of site-directed mutagenesis, the role of specific amino acids in the signal peptide, signal peptidase cleavage site, and membrane anchor region have been investigated. Amino-terminal mutations have shown that deletion of the signal peptidase cleavage site along with one or two amino acids of the hydrophobic signal peptide results in the synthesis of an unglycosylated, uncleaved, and presumably cytoplasmically located precursor. Nevertheless, changing the signal peptidase cleavage site from ala/asp to ala/asn does not block the translocation of the glycoprotein across the membrane or the action of the peptidase. At the other end of the molecule, carboxy-terminal mutations have shown that the deletion of the hydrophobic membrane anchor region is not sufficient for the secretion of the truncated glycoprotein. Interpretations of these results based on recent models for protein transport and secretion are discussed.

Rous sarcoma virus mutant LA3382 is defective in virion glycoprotein assembly

LA3382 is a temperature-sensitive replication-defective mutant of Rous sarcoma virus that contains four active mutations. In this study we performed experiments to determine the biochemical defect that blocks the synthesis of infections virus late in the replication cycle. At the nonpermissive temperature (41 degrees C) cells infected with LA3382 synthesized virus particles which were noninfectious and exhibited significant reductions in the amounts of gp85 and gp37 present in the virions. An analysis of the intracellular viral polypeptides indicated that the precursor of the viral glycoproteins (Pr95) were synthesized normally but underwent cleavage at a reduced rate at the restrictive temperature. Pr95 did not accumulate in infected cells ans was inserted into mutant virions at 41 degrees C; however, Pr95 was cleaved in such a way that gp85 was released from the viruses and could be detected in the supernatant medium by immunoprecipitation. The virus-free glycoprotein was indistinguishable from wild-type gp85 and may have been released due to an anomalous cleavage. Pulse-chase experiments also indicated that the Pr180 polyprotein precursor of the reverse transcriptase was cleaved to the active form of the enzyme more slowly at 41 degrees C in LA3382-infected cells. This accounted for the twofold lower level of polymerase activity found in mutant virions at 41 degrees C, defect which probably did not account for the observed 20- to 50-fold reduction in infectivity. Furthermore, the replication defect was not complemented by an env deletion mutant Rous sarcoma virus [RSV(-)[, which should complement a pol defect. Therefore, we conclude that the major lesion that impairs replication in LA3382 is within the env gene.

Transfer of defective avian tumor virus genomes by a Rous sarcoma virus RNA packaging mutant

SE21Q1b, a Rous sarcoma virus mutant which packages cellular rather than viral RNA, is competent for infection of quail cells and can transmit defective transforming retrovirus genes. Stably transformed recipient clones have been obtained by using this mutant.