Evidence for transmembrane orientation of acylated simian virus 40 large T antigen

Immunization of mice with the N-terminal (1-272) fragment of simian virus 40 large T antigen (without adjuvants) specifically primes cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Immunization of C57BL/6 (B6) mice (H-2b) with the "large tumor antigen" (T-Ag) of simian virus 40 (SV40) in its soluble form without adjuvants primed CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in vivo. CD8+ CTL primed in vivo by this non-structural 708-amino acid (aa) viral protein, and specifically restimulated in vitro, lysed H-2b target cells, either transfected with an SV40 T-Ag-encoding vector, or transformed by SV40 infection. H-2b RMA-S transfectants expressing the complete 708 aa T-Ag (which fail to transport peptides through the endoplasmic reticulum membranes) were not lysed. CTL were also efficiently primed in vivo by injection of the N-terminal 272 aa fragment of the T-Ag. Hence, this fragment contains the structure(s) required for a soluble protein to enter the "endogenous" class I-restricted antigen processing and presentation pathway for CD8+ CTL activation. In soluble form, the complete T-Ag or the N-terminal T-Ag fragment sensitized in vitro RBL5 cells for lysis by T-Ag-specific CTL lines and clones. This in vitro sensitization was blocked by brefeldin A. In contrast, specific recognition of RBL5 cells pulsed in vitro with synthetic, immunogenic nonapeptides (derived from N-terminal T-Ag epitopes) by CTL lines was insensitive to brefeldin A. Hence, T-Ag and its 272-aa N-terminal fragment can enter the "endogenous" processing pathway and prime CD8+ CTL in vivo and in vitro.

Role of acylation of viral haemagglutinin during the influenza virus infectious cycle

We investigated fatty acid residues bound to the haemagglutinin (HA) of type A influenza viruses by growing the viruses in permissive chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF) and in non-permissive HeLa-229 cells using a maintenance medium containing 3H-palmitic acid. Our results suggest that fatty acid acylation of the major viral glycoprotein may be an important prerequisite for the production of mature viral particles. Indeed, palmitoylation is found in infected CEF, but is completely lacking in non-permissive HeLa-229 cells infected by the same virus strains. We conclude that this type of post-translational modification of virus HA glycoprotein could be a general phenomenon regulating the maturation and budding of influenza virus.

Functional interaction of nuclear transport-defective simian virus 40 large T antigen with chromatin and nuclear matrix

We analyzed the subcellular distribution of nuclear transport-defective simian virus 40 Lys-128-mutant (cT-3 [R. E. Lanford and J. S. Butel, Cell 37:801-813, 1984] and d10 [D. Kalderon, W. D. Richardson, A. F. Markham, and A. E. Smith, Nature (London) 311:33-38, 1984]) large T antigens in various Lys-128-mutant-transformed rodent cells and in Lys-128-mutant d10-infected TC7 cells. Small but significant amounts of the mutant large T antigens were found in association with nuclear substructures, both in mutant-transformed and in mutant-infected cells. Experiments with TC7 cells made incompetent for cell division by 60Co irradiation supported the assumption that Lys-128-mutant large T antigen did not associate with nuclear components during mitosis but most likely was transported into the nucleus because the Lys-128 mutation was leaky for nuclear transport. Low-level simian virus 40 DNA replication and production of infectious mutant virus progeny in TC7 cells indicated that the association of Lys-128-mutant large T antigen with nuclear substructures is functional.

Only a minor fraction of plasma membrane-associated large T antigen in simian virus 40-transformed mouse tumor cells (mKSA) is exposed on the cell surface

The bulk of simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen in SV40-infected and -transformed cells localizes within the cell nucleus, while a minor fraction specifically associates with the plasma membrane (PM) and is exposed on the cell surface. PM-associated large T seems to span the lipid bilayer but, on the other hand, does not display typical features of a transmembrane protein. To further characterize the postulated transmembrane orientation of large T, we asked whether all large T molecules associated with the plasma membrane indeed are exposed on the cell surface. We compared the amount of cell surface-exposed large T, determined on living cells by a sensitive 3H-protein A-binding assay and by external immunoprecipitation, with that of total PM-associated large T extracted from isolated PM. We demonstrate that in mKSA cells (SV40-transformed BALB/c mouse fibroblasts), total PM-associated large T accounted for a substantial portion (ca. 2%) of total cellular large T. However, only 0.1 to 0.2% of it could be detected on the cell surface. Thus, only a minor fraction of PM-associated large T (less than 10%) is exposed on the surface of these cells. Interior PM-associated large T is stably associated with the plasma membrane, while the small fraction of surface-exposed large T is rapidly released from the cell surface.

SV40 T-antigen as a dual oncogene: structure and function of the plasma membrane-associated population

SV40 T-antigen (T-ag) is localized in both the nucleus (nT-ag) and plasma membrane (pmT-ag) of cells and provides multiple functions necessary for cell transformation. The pmT-ag population is structurally very similar to the nT-ag. Transport to the cell surface is by an unknown mechanism that does not involve the secretory pathway. The disposition of T-ag in the membrane exposes both the amino and the carboxyl terminus on the exterior of the cell. Nuclear-transport-defective mutants of T-ag can transform established cells in culture, but not primary cells, suggesting that non-nuclear forms of T-ag may mediate some transformation-related process(es). A non-cytolytic protein extraction technique utilizing 1-butanol solubilized from SV40-transformed cells a multimeric complex composed of pmT-ag and at least five cellular proteins ranging in size from 35,000 (35K) to 60K M. Both amino- and carboxylterminal T-ag-specific monoclonal antibodies co-precipitated T-ag and the 35-60K Mr proteins, but antibodies against the internal portion of T-ag precipitated only uncomplexed T-ag. The growth state of the cells markedly influenced the expression of the T-ag-containing surface complexes; more complexes were recovered from actively dividing cells than from confluent cell cultures, and suspension cells yielded more complexes than cells on a substratum. The complex exhibited a highly dynamic association with the cell membrane, as demonstrated by pulse-chase analysis. The characteristics of growth-dependent expression and rapid turnover rate suggest a functional role for the membrane complex. The identities of the cellular proteins in the complex with pmT-ag are unknown, although one member (56K) is recognized by p53-specific monoclonal antibodies.

Quantitative analysis of cell surface-associated SV40 large T antigen using a newly developed 3H-protein A binding assay

We have established a sensitive assay for the quantitative determination of large T antigen determinants on the surface of living simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed cells (mKSA). Cells in suspension culture were incubated with monoclonal antibodies specific for large T antigen (KT3, directed against the carboxyterminus of large T antigen, and PAb 108, directed against an aminoterminal determinant on large T antigen). After incubation with secondary antibody (rabbit anti-mouse IgG), followed by incubation with 3H-protein A, the cells were sequentially extracted first with the nonionic detergent NP-40, followed by ultrasonication and extraction with the zwitterionic detergent Empigen BB. NP-40 solubilized large T antigen associated with NP-40-soluble constituents of the plasma membrane, whereas Empigen BB solubilized the plasma membrane lamina-associated subclass of large T antigen (U. Klockmann and W. Deppert, 1983, EMBO J., 7, 1151-1157). The amount of cell surface-bound 3H-protein A in the NP-40 and Empigen BB extracts was determined by liquid scintillation counting. In agreement with earlier reports, cell surface large T antigen was mainly found in association with the plasma membrane lamina (PML). Since the specific activity of 3H-protein A was known, it was possible to calculate the number of surface-bound 3H-protein A molecules, and thus to estimate the average number of surface-exposed amino- and carboxyterminal determinants of large T antigen per cell. KT3 recognized about 450-900 carboxyterminal determinants, while PAb 108 bound to about 1200-2400 aminoterminal determinants on the surface of a single mKSA cell. The cellular protein p53 also was detected on the surface of mKSA cells and was found to be present in amounts comparable to cell surface large T antigen.

Acylation of viral and eukaryotic proteins

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Solubilization of SV40 plasma-membrane-associated large tumor antigen using single-phase concentrations of 1-butanol

The nature of the interaction of the simian virus 40 (SV40) transforming protein, large tumor antigen (T-ag), with the plasma membrane of transformed cells is not well understood. We report here that SV40 plasma-membrane-associated large tumor antigen (pmT-ag) can be solubilized by using single-phase concentrations of 1-butanol. Purified plasma membranes from SV40-transformed mouse cells yielded T-ag when treated with 2.5% butanol; solubilization of T-ag from the purified membranes in butanol was temperature dependent, with approximately 10-fold more T-ag extracted at 37 degrees C than at 22 degrees C; and application of 2.5% butanol to mKSA cells after cellular surface proteins had been radiolabeled with 125I resulted in the release of iodinated T-ag. Butanol-extracted pmT-ag coprecipitated with p53 and several cellular proteins ranging in size from 35 to 60 kDa. One cellular component migrated at a mobility similar to that of tubulin (56 kDa), and a monoclonal antibody against the alpha subunit of tubulin coprecipitated T-ag. Immunoblotting of proteins immunoprecipitated with monoclonal antibodies against T-ag or p53 from butanol extracts with a monoclonal antibody against the beta subunit of tubulin revealed specific coprecipitation of tubulin with T-ag and p53. This suggests that complexes composed of tubulin, T-ag, and p53 exist in butanol extracts. Control experiments eliminated the possibility of an artifactual association of tubulin with T-ag and p53 induced by butanol. Two-dimensional gel analyses revealed that 2.5% butanol at 37 degrees C extracted a subset of membrane-associated proteins and some cytosolic proteins, as well as a number of proteins that were not soluble in either high salt or detergent. Thus, the butanol extraction conditions employed in this study recovered a species of pmT-ag that appears to complex with tubulin. As butanol reportedly is less deleterious to native protein structures than other agents, including high salts and detergents, this extraction procedure may be useful for studying the structure and function of other membrane-associated proteins.

A subclass of the adenovirus 72K DNA binding protein specifically associating with the cytoskeletal framework of the plasma membrane

We have analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy and by biochemical cell fractionation the subcellular distribution of the adenovirus type 2 72K DNA binding protein (DBP) during the course of infection in HeLa cells. Early in infection, the 72K DBP was strictly localized in the cell nucleus. However, as infection progressed, the 72K DBP was additionally found in other subcellular fractions, notably in association with the cytoskeletal framework of the plasma membrane, the plasma membrane lamina. Pulse-chase experiments demonstrated that this association was specific. Control experiments excluded the possibility of an artificial redistribution of the 72K DBP during cell fractionation. Our data, therefore, demonstrate that a significant portion of the 72K DBP during late times of infection associates specifically with the cytoskeletal framework of plasma membranes of infected cells.

Ankyrin-bound fatty acid turns over rapidly at the erythrocyte plasma membrane

The membrane skeletal protein ankyrin was shown to be continuously acylated and deacylated with long-chain fatty acids in mature erythrocytes. At least a fraction of the lipid bound to ankyrin turned over rapidly (half-life, approximately 50 min) compared with the polypeptide backbone, which was stable throughout the erythrocyte life. This indicates a regulatory significance of the fatty acid modification for the function of ankyrin.

The cellular secretory pathway is not utilized for biosynthesis, modification, or intracellular transport of the simian virus 40 large tumor antigen

Unlike most proteins, which are localized within a single subcellular compartment in the eucaryotic cell, the simian virus 40 (SV40) large tumor antigen (T-ag) is associated with both the nucleus and the plasma membrane. Current knowledge of protein processing would predict a role for the secretory pathway in the biosynthesis and transport of at least a subpopulation of T-ag to account for certain of its chemical modifications and for its ability to reach the cell surface. We have examined this prediction by using in vitro translation and translocation experiments. Preliminary experiments established that translation of T-ag was detectable with as little as 0.1 microgram of the total cytoplasmic RNA from SV40-infected cells. Therefore, by using a 100-fold excess of this RNA, the sensitivity of the assays was above the limits necessary to detect the theoretical fraction of RNA equivalent to the subpopulation of plasma-membrane-associated T-ag (2 to 5% of total T-ag). In contrast to a control rotavirus glycoprotein, the electrophoretic mobility of T-ag was not changed by the addition of microsomal vesicles to the in vitro translation mixture. Furthermore, T-ag did not undergo translocation in the presence of microsomal vesicles, as evidenced by its sensitivity to trypsin treatment and its absence in the purified vesicles. Identical results were obtained with either cytoplasmic RNA from SV40-infected cells or SV40 early RNA transcribed in vitro from a recombinant plasmid containing the SP6 promoter. SV40 early mRNA in infected cells was detected in association with free, but not with membrane-bound, polyribosomes. Finally, monensin, an inhibitor of Golgi function, failed to specifically prevent either glycosylation or cell surface expression of T-ag, although it did depress overall protein synthesis in TC-7 cells. We conclude from these observations that the constituent organelles of the secretory pathway are not involved in the biosynthesis, modification, or intracellular transport of T-ag. The initial step in the pathway of T-ag biosynthesis appears to be translation on free cytoplasmic polyribosomes. With the exclusion of the secretory pathway, we suggest that T-ag glycosylation, palmitylation, and transport to the plasma membrane are accomplished by previously unrecognized cellular mechanisms.

Ankyrin-bound fatty acid turns over rapidly at the erythrocyte plasma membrane

The membrane skeletal protein ankyrin was shown to be continuously acylated and deacylated with long-chain fatty acids in mature erythrocytes. At least a fraction of the lipid bound to ankyrin turned over rapidly (half-life, approximately 50 min) compared with the polypeptide backbone, which was stable throughout the erythrocyte life. This indicates a regulatory significance of the fatty acid modification for the function of ankyrin.