Synthesis and assembly of hepatitis A virus-specific proteins in BS-C-1 cells.

To determine the mechanism for the delayed and inefficient replication of the picornavirus hepatitis A virus in cell culture, we studied the kinetics of synthesis and assembly of virus-specific proteins by metabolic labeling of infected BS-C-1 cells with L-[35S]methionine and L-[35S]cysteine. Sedimentation, electrophoresis, and autoradiography revealed the presence of virions, provirions, procapsids, and 14S (pentameric) subunits. Virions and provirions contained VP1, VP0, VP2, and VP3; procapsids contained VP1, VP0, and VP3; and pentamers contained PX, VP0, and VP3, as previously shown by immunoblotting (D.A. Anderson and B.C. Ross, J. Virol. 64:5284-5289, 1990). Under single-cycle growth conditions label was found in 14S subunits immediately after labeling from 15 to 18 h postinfection (p.i.); however, a proportion of labeled polyprotein was not cleaved and assembled into pentamers for a further 18 h. When analyzed at 72 h p.i., incorporation of label which flowed into virions was detected from 3 h p.i., with maximal uptake levels being observed from 12 to 15 h p.i. Viral antigen, infectious virus, and viral RNA were determined in parallel, with coincident peaks in these variables being observed 12 h after the period of maximum label uptake. It was also found that the lag between the synthesis of the viral polyprotein and assembly of viral particles was the same after labeling from either 12 to 15 or 27 to 30 h p.i. despite increased levels of viral RNA during this period, suggesting that factors additional to the level of RNA are involved in the restriction of viral replication. Sedimentation and immunoblot analysis revealed an additional protein of approximately 100 kDa containing both VP1- and VP2-reactive sequences and sedimenting slightly more slowly than 14S pentamers, which may represent intact P12A assembled into pentamers as has been reported for the P1 of some other picornaviruses (S. McGregor and R. R. Rueckert, J. Virol. 21:548-553, 1977). The results of this study suggest that cleavage of the hepatitis A virus polyprotein to produce pentamers is protracted (though not rate limiting) early in infection, while the assembly of pentamers into higher structures is a rapid process once sufficient viral RNA is produced for encapsidation.     

通过基因组定量研究猪瘟病毒在细胞中的增殖特性

应用间接免疫荧光、Real-time PCR和病毒感染滴度(TCID50)测定技术,分别从病毒抗原、病毒基因组RNA复制水平和病毒感染滴度变化3个方面,研究了猪瘟病毒(CSFV)在PK-15细胞中增殖的特点,用猪瘟病毒石门株感染96孔板培养的细胞,1×102个TCID50/孔,间接免疫荧光检测结果显示感染后8h能检测到被荧光抗体染色的感染细胞,随感染时间的延长,出现荧光的细胞数量逐渐增多,在感染后72h,几乎所有细胞均能出现荧光。Real-time PCR结果显示在细胞感染初期的8~24h,病毒的基因组RNA复制呈加速趋势,其拷贝数在感染后72h达到高峰。此外,在感染后8h能检测到病毒基因组负链RNA转录,不过负链RNA在病毒增殖过程中维持在较低的水平。TCID50测定结果表明CSFV的感染滴度增加趋势与基因组类似,在病毒感染8h后能检测到具有感染性的子代病毒,感染滴度在8~20h之间逐渐增长,24~48h之间增长速度稍减慢,在感染后48~52h达到高峰,能在72h之内维持较高的感染滴度。     

Replication kinetics of coxsackievirus A16 in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells

Coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16), together with enterovirus type 71 (EV71), is responsible for most cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) worldwide. Recent findings suggest that the recombination between CVA16 and EV71, and the co-circulation of these two viruses may have contributed to the increase of HFMD cases in China over the past few years. It is therefore important to further understand the virology, epidemiology, virus-host interactions and host pathogenesis of CVA16. In this study, we describe the viral kinetics of CVA16 in human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cells by analyzing the cytopathic effect (CPE), viral RNA replication, viral protein expression, viral RNA package and viral particle secretion in RD cells. We show that CVA16 appears to first attach, uncoat and enter into the host cell after adsorption for 1 h. Later on, CVA16 undergoes rapid replication from 3 to 6 h at MOI 1 and until 9 h at MOI 0.1. At MOI 0.1, CVA16 initiates a secondary infection as the virions were secreted before 9 h p.i. CPE was observed after 12 h p.i., and viral antigen was first detected at 6 h p.i. at MOI 1 and at 9 h p.i. at MOI 0.1. Thus, our study provides important information for further investigation of CVA16 in order to better understand and ultimately control infections with this virus.     

Role of viral persistence in retaining CD8(+) T cells within the central nervous system

The continued presence of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells within the central nervous system (CNS) following resolution of acute viral encephalomyelitis implicates organ-specific retention. The role of viral persistence in locally maintaining T cells was investigated by infecting mice with either a demyelinating, paralytic (V-1) or nonpathogenic (V-2) variant of a neurotropic mouse hepatitis virus, which differ in the ability to persist within the CNS. Class I tetramer technology revealed more infiltrating virus-specific CD8(+) T cells during acute V-1 compared to V-2 infection. However, both total and virus-specific CD8(+) T cells accumulated at similar peak levels in spinal cords by day 10 postinfection (p.i.). Decreasing viral RNA levels in both brains and spinal cords following initial virus clearance coincided with an overall progressive loss of both total and virus-specific CD8(+) T cells. By 9 weeks p.i., T cells had largely disappeared from brains of both infected groups, consistent with the decline of viral RNA. T cells also completely disappeared from V-2-infected spinal cords coincident with the absence of viral RNA. By contrast, a significant number of CD8(+) T cells which contained detectable viral RNA were recovered from spinal cords of V-1-infected mice. The data indicate that residual virus from a primary CNS infection is a vital component in mediating local retention of both CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells and that once minimal thresholds of stimuli are lost, T cells within the CNS cannot survive in an autonomous fashion.     

Protein synthesis in BHK-21 cells infected with semliki forest virus.

[3H]leucine-labeled proteins synthesized in BHK-21 cells infected with Semliki Forest virus were fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Cellular and virus-specific proteins were identified by difference analysis of the PAGE profiles. The specific activity of intracellular [3H-A1leucine was determined. Two alterations of protein synthesis, which develop with different time courses, were discerned. (i) In infected cultures an inhibition of overall protein synthesis to about 25% of the protein synthesis in mock-infected cultures develops between about 1 and 4 h postinfection (p.i.). (ii) The relative amount of virus-specific polypeptides versus cellular polypeptides increases after infection. About 80% of the proteins synthesized at 4 h p.i. are cellular proteins. Since significant amounts of nontranslocating robosomes in polyribosomes were not detected up to 7 h p.i., the inhibition of protein synthesis is not caused by inactivation of about 75% of all polyribosomes but by a decreased protein synthetic activity of the majority of polyribosomes. Indirect evidence indicates that an inhibition of elongation and/or release of protein synthesis develops in infected cells, which is sufficient to account for the observed inhibition of protein synthesis. Inhibition of over-all protein synthesis developed when virus-specific RNA began to accumulate at the maximal rate. This relationship was observed during virus multiplication at 37, 30, and 25 C. A possible mechanism by which synthesis of virus-specific RNA in the cytoplasm could inhibit cellular protein synthesis is discussed. Indirect evidence and analysis of polyribosomal RNA show that the increased synthesis of virus-specific protein is brought about by a substitution of cellular by viral mRNA in the polyribosomes.     

Specific cessation of minus-strand RNA accumulation at an early stage of tobacco mosaic virus infection.

The time course of accumulation of viral plus-strand RNAs (genomic RNA and subgenomic mRNA for the coat protein) and minus-strand RNA in tobacco protoplasts synchronously infected with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) RNA was examined. In protoplasts infected with the wild-type TMV L RNA, the plus and minus strands accumulated differently not only in quantity but also in the outline of kinetics. The time courses of accumulation of the genomic RNA and coat protein mRNA were similar: they became detectable at 2 or 4 h postinoculation (p.i.), and their accumulation increased until 14 to 18 h p.i. The accumulation rate reached the maximum at about 4 h p.i. and then gradually decreased. In contrast, accumulation of the minus-strand RNA ceased at 6 to 8 h p.i., at which time the plus-strand accumulation was already about 100 times greater and still continued vigorously. This specific halt of minus-strand accumulation was not caused exclusively by encapsidation of the genomic RNA, because a similar halt was observed upon infection with a deletion mutant that lacks the 30K and coat protein genes. Upon infection with a mutant that could not produce the 130K protein (one of the two proteins that are thought to be involved in viral RNA replication), the accumulation levels of both plus and minus strands were lower than that of the parental wild-type virus. Given these observations, possible mechanisms of TMV replication are discussed.     

Protein Synthesis in BHK-21 Cells Infected with Semliki Forest Virus

[³H]leucine-labeled proteins synthesized in BHK-21 cells infected with Semliki Forest virus were fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Cellular and virus-specific proteins were identified by difference analysis of the PAGE profiles. The specific activity of intracellular [³H]leucine was determined. Two alterations of protein synthesis, which develop with different time courses, were discerned. (i) In infected cultures an inhibition of overall protein synthesis to about 25% of the protein synthesis in mock-infected cultures develops between about 1 and 4 h postinfection (p.i.). (ii) The relative amount of virus-specific polypeptides versus cellular polypeptides increases after infection. About 80% of the proteins synthesized at 4 h p.i. are cellular proteins. Since significant amounts of nontranslocating ribosomes in polyribosomes were not detected up to 7 h p.i., the inhibition of protein synthesis is not caused by inactivation of about 75% of all polyribosomes but by a decreased protein synthetic activity of the majority of polyribosomes. Indirect evidence indicates that an inhibition of elongation and/or release of protein synthesis develops in infected cells, which is sufficient to account for the observed inhibition of protein synthesis. Inhibition of over-all protein synthesis developed when virus-specific RNA began to accumulate at the maximal rate. This relationship was observed during virus multiplication at 37, 30, and 25 C. A possible mechanism by which synthesis of virus-specific RNA in the cytoplasm could inhibit cellular protein synthesis is discussed. Indirect evidence and analysis of polyribosomal RNA show that the increased synthesis of virus-specific protein is brought about by a substitution of cellular by viral mRNA in the polyribosomes.     

Temperature-sensitive Mutants of Sindbis Virus: Biochemical Correlates of Complementation

Temperature-sensitive mutants of Sindbis virus fail to grow at a temperature that permits growth of the wild type, but when certain pairs of these mutants, mixed together, infect cells at that temperature, viral growth (i.e., complementation) occurs. The yield from this complementation, however, is of the same order of magnitude as the infectivity in the inoculum. Since in animal virus infections the protein components of the virion probably enter the cell with the viral nucleic acid, it was necessary to demonstrate that the observed complementation required synthesis of new viral protein and nucleic acid rather than some sort of rearrangement of the structural components of the inoculum. To demonstrate that complementation does require new biosynthesis, three biochemical events of normal virus growth have been observed during complementation and correlated with the efficiency of viral growth seen in complementation. These events include: (i) entrance of parental viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) into a double-stranded form; (ii) subsequent synthesis of viral RNA; and (iii) synthesis and subsequent incorporation of viral protein(s) into cell membranes where they were detected by hemadsorption. Although the infecting single-stranded RNA genome of the wild type was converted to a ribonuclease-resistant form, the genome of a mutant (ts-11) incapable of RNA synthesis at a nonpermissive temperature was not so converted. However, during complementation with another mutant also defective in viral RNA synthesis, some of the RNA of mutant ts-11 was converted to a ribonuclease-resistant form, and total synthesis of virus-specific RNA was markedly enhanced. The virus-specific alteration of the cell surface, detected by hemadsorption, was also extensively increased during complementation. These observations support the view that complementation between temperature-sensitive mutants and replication of wild-type virus are similar processes.     

Herpes simplex virus type 1 corneal infection results in periocular disease by zosteriform spread

In humans and animal models of herpes simplex virus infection, zosteriform skin lesions have been described which result from anterograde spread of the virus following invasion of the nervous system. Such routes of viral spread have not been fully examined following corneal infection, and the possible pathologic consequences of such spread are unknown. To investigate this, recombinant viruses expressing reporter genes were generated to quantify and correlate gene expression with replication in eyes, trigeminal ganglia, and periocular tissue. Reporter activity peaked in eyes 24 h postinfection and rapidly fell to background levels by 48 h despite the continued presence of viral titers. Reporter activity rose in the trigeminal ganglia at 60 h and peaked at 72 h, concomitant with the appearance and persistence of infectious virus. Virus was present in the periocular skin from 24 h despite the lack of significant reporter activity until 84 h postinfection. This detection of reporter activity was followed by the onset of periocular disease on day 4. Corneal infection with a thymidine kinase-deleted reporter virus displayed a similar profile of reporter activity and viral titer in the eyes, but little or no detectable activity was observed in trigeminal ganglia or periocular tissue. In addition, no periocular disease symptoms were observed. These findings demonstrate that viral infection of periocular tissue and subsequent disease development occurs by zosteriform spread from the cornea to the periocular tissue via the trigeminal ganglion rather than by direct spread from cornea to the periocular skin. Furthermore, clinical evidence is discussed suggesting that a similar mode of spreading and disease occurs in humans following primary ocular infection.     

Novobiocin and coumermycin A1 inhibit viral replication and the reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 from the trigeminal ganglia of latently infected mice.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 was reactivated from the trigeminal ganglia of latently infected mice in a quantitative and time-dependent manner. Novobiocin and coumermycin A1 reversibly inhibited the reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1. They did not inhibit viral replication in permissive cells (CV-1) but did inhibit replication in cells of neuronal origin (C1300) and acutely infected trigeminal ganglia.