Role of virus receptor Hyal2 in oncogenic transformation of rodent fibroblasts by sheep betaretrovirus env proteins

The ovine betaretroviruses jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV) cause contagious cancers in the lungs and upper airways of sheep and goats. Oncogenic transformation assays using mouse and rat fibroblasts have localized the transforming activity to the Env proteins encoded by these viruses, which require the putative lung and breast cancer tumor suppressor hyaluronidase 2 (Hyal2) to promote virus entry into cells. These results suggested the hypothesis that the JSRV and ENTV Env proteins cause cancer by inhibiting the tumor suppressor activity of Hyal2. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that human Hyal2 and other Hyal2 orthologs that can promote virus entry, including rat Hyal2, can suppress transformation by the Env proteins of JSRV and ENTV. Furthermore, we provide direct evidence for binding of the surface (SU) region of JSRV Env to human and rat Hyal2. However, mouse Hyal2 did not mediate entry of virions bearing JSRV or ENTV Env proteins, bound JSRV SU poorly if at all, and did not suppress transformation by the JSRV or ENTV Env proteins, indicating that mouse Hyal2 plays no role in transformation of mouse fibroblasts and that the Env proteins can transform at least some cells by a Hyal2-independent mechanism. Expression of human Hyal2 in mouse cells expressing JSRV Env caused a marked reduction in Env protein levels, indicating that human Hyal2 suppresses Env-mediated transformation in mouse cells by increasing Env degradation rather than by exerting a more general Env-independent tumor suppressor activity.     

Improved enzootic nasal tumor virus pseudotype packaging cell lines reveal virus entry requirements in addition to the primary receptor Hyal2

Enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV) and jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) are closely related retroviruses that cause epithelial cancers of the respiratory tract in sheep and goats. Both viruses use the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored cell surface protein hyaluronidase 2 (Hyal2) as a receptor for cell entry, and entry is mediated by the envelope (Env) proteins encoded by these viruses. Retroviral vectors bearing JSRV Env can transduce cells from a wide range of species, with the exception of rodent cells. Because of the low titer of vectors bearing ENTV Env, it has been difficult to determine the tropism of ENTV vectors, which appeared to transduce cells from sheep and humans only. Here we have developed high-titer ENTV packaging cells and confirm that ENTV has a restricted host range compared to that of JSRV. Most cells that are not transduced by JSRV or ENTV vectors can be made susceptible following expression of human Hyal2 on the cells. However, five rat cell lines from different rat strains and different tissues that were engineered to express human Hyal2 were still only poorly infected by ENTV vectors, even though the ENTV Env protein could bind well to human Hyal2 expressed on four of these cell lines. These results indicate the possibility of a coreceptor requirement for these viruses.     

Critical role of leucine-valine change in distinct low pH requirements for membrane fusion between two related retrovirus envelopes

Many viruses use a pH-dependent pathway for fusion with host cell membrane, the mechanism of which is still poorly understood. Here we report that a subtle leucine (Leu)-valine (Val) change at position 501 in the envelope glycoproteins (Envs) of two related retroviruses, jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV), is responsible for their distinct low pH requirements for membrane fusion and infection. The Leu and Val residues are predicted to reside within the C-terminal heptad repeat (HR2) region of JSRV and ENTV Envs, particularly proximal to the hairpin turn of the putative six-helix bundle (6HB). Substitution of the JSRV Leu with a Val blocked the Env-mediated membrane fusion at pH 5.0, whereas replacement of the ENTV Val with a Leu rendered the ENTV Env capable of fusing at pH 5.0. A Leu-Val change has no apparent effect on the stability of native Env, but appears to stabilize an intermediate induced by receptor binding. These results are consistent with the existence of at least two metastable conformations of these viral glycoproteins, the native prefusion conformation and a receptor-induced metastable intermediate. Collectively, this work represents an interesting perhaps unique example whereby a simple Leu-Val change has critical impact on pH-dependent virus fusion and entry.     

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus utilizes a pH-dependent endocytosis pathway for entry

Using Moloney murine leukemia virus pseudovirions bearing the envelope protein of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), we report here that entry was weakly inhibited by lysosomotropic agents but was profoundly blocked by bafilomycin A1 (BafA1). Kinetics studies revealed that JSRV entry is a slow process and was substantially blocked by a dominant-negative mutant of dynamin. Interestingly, a low-pH pulse overcame the BafA1 block to JSRV infection, although this occurred only if virus-bound cells were preincubated at 37 degrees C, consistent with a very early entry event such as endocytosis being required before the low-pH-dependent step occurs. Moreover, JSRV pseudovirions were resistant to low-pH inactivation. Altogether, this study reveals that JSRV utilizes a pH-dependent, dynamin-associated endocytosis pathway for entry that differs from the classical pH-dependent entry pathway of vesicular stomatitis virus.     

Transformation of madin-darby canine kidney epithelial cells by sheep retrovirus envelope proteins

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV) induce epithelial tumors in the airways of sheep and goats. In both of these simple retroviruses, the envelope (Env) protein is the active oncogene. Furthermore, JSRV Env can transform cultured cells by two distinct mechanisms. In rat and mouse fibroblasts, the cytoplasmic tail of JSRV Env is essential for transformation, which involves activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, and the virus receptor hyaluronidase 2 (Hyal2) is not involved. In contrast, in the BEAS-2B human bronchial epithelial cell line, transformation is mediated by JSRV Env binding to Hyal2 followed by Hyal2 degradation and activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase RON, the activity of which is normally suppressed by Hyal2. Here we show that JSRV and ENTV Env proteins can also transform Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells, but by a mechanism similar to that observed in fibroblast cell lines. In particular, the cytoplasmic tail of Env is required for transformation, the PI3K/Akt pathway is activated, expression of RON (which is not normally expressed in MDCK cells) does not affect transformation, and canine Hyal2 appears uninvolved. These results show that the JSRV and ENTV Env proteins can transform epithelial cells besides BEAS-2B cells and argue against a model for Env transformation involving different pathways that are uniquely active in fibroblasts or epithelial cells.     

Receptor Binding and Low pH Coactivate Oncogenic Retrovirus Envelope-Mediated Fusion

Fusion of enveloped viruses with host cells is triggered by either receptor binding or low pH but rarely requires both except for avian sarcoma leukosis virus (ASLV). We recently reported that membrane fusion mediated by an oncogenic Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) envelope (Env) requires an acidic pH, yet receptor overexpression is required for this process to occur. Here we show that a soluble form of the JSRV receptor, sHyal2, promoted JSRV Env-mediated fusion at a low pH in normally fusion-negative cells and that this effect was blocked by a synthetic peptide analogous to the C-terminal heptad repeat of JSRV Env. In contrast to the receptor of ASLV, sHyal2 induced pronounced shedding of the JSRV surface subunit, as well as unstable conformational rearrangement of its transmembrane (TM) subunit, yet full activation of JSRV Env fusogenicity, associated with strong TM oligomerization, required both sHyal2 and low pH. Consistently, sHyal2 enabled transduction of nonpermissive cells by JSRV Env pseudovirions, with low efficiency, but substantially blocked viral entry into permissive cells at both binding and postbinding steps, indicating that sHyal2 prematurely activates JSRV Env-mediated fusion. Altogether, our study supports a model that receptor priming promotes fusion activation of JSRV Env at a low pH, and that the underlying mechanism is likely to be different from that of ASLV. Thus, JSRV may provide a useful alternate model for the better understanding of virus fusion and cell entry.Fusion is a fundamental event in the life cycle of enveloped viruses and is essential for viral replication. While viral fusion proteins are highly divergent in primary sequence, their structures and modes of activation share striking similarities, permitting their classification into two major groups (41). Class I fusion proteins, as exemplified by the retrovirus envelope (Env) and influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA), are composed mainly of alpha-helices, and they are present as metastable trimers on the viral surface (11). Class II fusion proteins, represented by alphavirus E1 and flavivirus E, contain predominantly beta-sheets and exist as dimers in the prefusion state (16). Of note, the vesicular stomatitis virus G (VSV-G) and herpesvirus gB proteins were recently assigned to a newly established class III, for fusion proteins combining properties of both class I and class II (13, 30). Despite these differences, one common and intriguing characteristic of all viral fusion proteins is their ability to undergo dramatic conformational rearrangements upon activation, i.e., the formation of trimers of hairpins, which drive fusion between viral and cellular membranes (11, 17).Retrovirus Env is a typical type I transmembrane protein composed of surface (SU) and transmembrane (TM) subunits and belongs to the class I fusion proteins. SU is responsible for binding to cognate cellular receptors or cofactors, while TM directly mediates membrane fusion (6). Most retroviruses use a pH-independent pathway for entry, during which receptor binding relieves the ability of SU to restrain TM, resulting in conformational changes in TM and subsequent fusion with the cell membrane (11). Interestingly, increasing numbers of retroviruses have recently been shown to require a low pH (3, 15, 24, 28, 31) or pH-dependent protease activities to trigger fusion (18); the latter property has also been demonstrated for some other enveloped viruses (2, 14, 18, 26, 27, 33, 34). Among these, avian sarcoma leukosis virus (ASLV) is unique in that it uses a two-step mechanism for fusion, in which receptor binding primes the second trigger of low pH (24).Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) is a simple betaretrovirus etiologically responsible for contagious lung tumors in sheep (12). The native Env protein of JSRV functions as a potent oncogene that induces cell transformation in vitro and in animals (4, 9, 21, 29, 42). The cell entry receptor for JSRV has been identified as hyaluronidase 2 (Hyal2), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein belonging to the hyaluronidase family (29); Hyal2 itself has low hyaluronidase activity, and this activity is not associated with JSRV entry and infection (38). Intrigued by the oncogenic nature of JSRV Env, we recently examined the mechanism of JSRV entry and found that JSRV Env-mediated fusion and cell entry require a low pH (1, 8). These observations led us to hypothesize that the pH-dependent fusion activation of JSRV Env may be advantageous for its oncogenesis, given that extreme cell-cell fusion of the plasma membrane at a neutral pH would result in syncytium formation and often cell death. Curiously, we noticed that overexpression of Hyal2 is necessary for JSRV Env to induce membrane fusion at a low pH in vitro, suggesting that Hyal2 may play an active role in the pH-dependent fusion process. Here we provide direct evidence that Hyal2 functions in cooperation with a low pH to trigger the JSRV Env-mediated fusion activation yet exhibits some striking differences from the mechanism of ASLV fusion. The multistep pathway for JSRV Env-mediated fusion activation might be important for its replication fitness and oncogenesis.     

Envelope-induced cell transformation by ovine betaretroviruses

Ovine betaretroviruses include Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV). JSRV and ENTV represent a unique class of oncogenic retroviruses that induce tumors of the respiratory tract. JSRV and ENTV are highly related but induce different diseases. Expression of the JSRV envelope (Env) induces transformation of rodent fibroblasts in vitro and phosphorylation of Akt, a central player in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K)/Akt signal transduction pathway. However, little information is available on the molecular biology of ENTV. In this study, we initially assessed whether the ENTV Env has the same properties as the homologous JSRV protein. We performed entry and interference assays using retroviral vectors pseudotyped with either the JSRV or the ENTV Env and sheep choroid plexus cells, choroid plexus cells stably expressing the JSRV Env protein, human 293T cells, mouse NIH 3T3 cells, or NIH 3T3 cells expressing human hyaluronidase 2 (HYAL2), the cellular receptor for JSRV. The results obtained indicated that ENTV and JSRV share the same receptor in sheep cells and that they can use human HYAL2 as a cellular receptor in mouse cells. The ENTV Env induces transformation of rodent fibroblasts in vitro. As with the JSRV Env, the tyrosine at position 590 is critical for ENTV Env-induced cell transformation, and Akt is phosphorylated in ENTV Env-transformed cells but not in the parental cell lines. Thus, ovine betaretroviruses share a common mechanism of cell transformation. We further investigated the relevance of Akt activation in cells transformed by ovine betaretroviruses. A PI-3K inhibitor blocked Akt phosphorylation in JSRV Env-transformed cells, suggesting a possible involvement of PI-3K in JSRV and ENTV Env-induced cell transformation. In addition, phosphorylated Akt was detected in a cell line derived from a lung tumor of a sheep with naturally occurring ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma.     

Putative phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) binding motifs in ovine betaretrovirus Env proteins are not essential for rodent fibroblast transformation and PI3K/Akt activation

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV) are simple betaretroviruses that cause epithelial cell tumors in the lower and upper airways of sheep and goats. The envelope (Env) glycoproteins of both viruses can transform rodent and chicken fibroblasts, indicating that they play an essential role in oncogenesis. Previous studies found that a YXXM motif in the Env cytoplasmic tail, a putative docking site for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) after tyrosine phosphorylation, was necessary for rodent cell transformation but was not required for transformation of DF-1 chicken fibroblasts. Here we show that JSRV and ENTV Env proteins with tyrosine or methionine mutations in the YXXM motif can still transform rodent fibroblasts, albeit with reduced efficiency. Akt was activated in cells transformed by JSRV or ENTV Env proteins and in cells transformed by the proteins with tyrosine mutations. Furthermore, the PI3K-specific inhibitor LY294002 could inhibit Akt activation and cell transformation in all cases, indicating that Akt activation and transformation is PI3K dependent. However, we could not detect tyrosine phosphorylation of JSRV or ENTV Env proteins or an interaction between the Env proteins and PI3K in the transformed cells. We found no evidence for mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in cells that were transformed by the JSRV or ENTV Env proteins. We conclude that ovine betaretrovirus Env proteins transform the rodent fibroblasts by indirectly activating the PI3K/Akt pathway.     

Foamy virus envelope glycoprotein-mediated entry involves a pH-dependent fusion process

In general, enveloped viruses use two different entry strategies and are classified accordingly into pH-dependent and pH-independent viruses. Different members of the retrovirus family use one or the other strategy. Little is known about the uptake of foamy viruses (FV), a special group of retroviruses, into the target cells. In this study, we examined the pH dependence of FV entry by analyzing FV envelope glycoprotein (Env)-mediated infection of target cells with murine leukemia virus or FV vector pseudotypes in the presence of various lysosomotropic agents. Similar to vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein G (VSV-G)-mediated uptake, FV Env-mediated entry was inhibited by various lysosomotropic agents, suggesting a pH-dependent endocytic pathway. However, in contrast to its effect on VSV-G pseudotypes, chloroquine failed to reduce the infectivity of FV Env pseudotypes, implying that the pathway is different from that of VSV-G. Glycoproteins of various other FV species showed inhibition profiles similar to that of the prototype FV (PFV) Env. Analysis of the pH dependence of the FV Env-mediated fusion process in a cell-to-cell fusion assay revealed an induction of syncytium formation by a short exposure to acidic pH, peaking around pH 5.5. Interestingly, of all FV Env species analyzed, only the PFV Env had a significant fusion activity at neutral pH. Taken together, these data suggest a pH-dependent endocytic pathway for infection of target cells by FV.     

Fusogenicity of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus envelope protein is dependent on low pH and is enhanced by cytoplasmic tail truncations

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) envelope (Env) is an active oncogene responsible for neoplastic transformation in animals and cultured cells. In this study, we used syncytium induction and fluorescence-based cell fusion assays to investigate JSRV Env fusion and its modulation by the cytoplasmic tail (CT). We found that JSRV Env induced syncytia in cells overexpressing the receptor for JSRV and that a low pH was required for this process to occur. Fusion kinetics studies revealed that cell-cell fusion by JSRV Env at neutral pH was poor, taking up to a day, in sharp contrast to fusion at low pH, which peaked within 2 min following a low-pH trigger. Deletion of the C-terminal 7 or 16 amino acids of the JSRV Env CT had no or little effect on fusion, yet additional truncation toward the membrane-spanning domain, resulting in mutants retaining as little as 1 amino acid of the CT, led to progressively increased syncytium formation at neutral pH that was further enhanced by low-pH treatment. Notably, the severely truncated mutants showed elevated levels of surface subunits in culture medium, suggesting that the CT truncations resulted in conformational changes in the ectodomain of Env that impaired surface subunit associations. Taken together, this study reveals for the first time that the fusion activity of the JSRV Env protein is dependent on a low pH and is modulated by the CT, whose truncation overcomes, at least partially, the low-pH requirement for fusion and enhances Env fusion activity and kinetics.     

Envelope proteins of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus and enzootic nasal tumor virus induce similar bronchioalveolar tumors in lungs of mice

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) induces bronchioalveolar tumors in sheep and goats. Expression of the JSRV envelope (Env) protein in mouse airway epithelial cells induces similar tumors, indicating that Env expression is sufficient for tissue-specific tumor formation. Enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV) is related to JSRV but induces tumors in the nasal epithelium of sheep and goats. Here we found that ENTV Env can also induce tumors in mice but, unexpectedly, with a phenotype identical to that of tumors induced by the JSRV Env, indicating that factors other than Env mediate the tissue specificity of tumor induction by ENTV.     

Receptor usage and fetal expression of ovine endogenous betaretroviruses: implications for coevolution of endogenous and exogenous retroviruses

Betaretroviruses of sheep include two exogenous viruses, Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV), and a group of endogenous viruses known as enJSRVs. The exogenous JSRV and ENTV are the etiological agents of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) and enzootic nasal tumor (ENT), respectively. Sheep affected by OPA or ENT do not show an appreciable antibody response to JSRV or ENTV. Consequently, it is conceivable that enJSRV expression in the fetal lamb tolerizes sheep to the related exogenous viruses. In this study, possible mechanisms of interference between the sheep exogenous and endogenous betaretroviruses were investigated. In situ hybridization detected enJSRV RNAs in lymphoid cells associated with the lamina propria of the small intestine and in the thymus of sheep fetuses. Low-level expression of enJSRVs was also detected in the lungs. In addition, expression of enJSRVs was found to block entry of the exogenous JSRV, presumably via mechanisms of receptor interference. Indeed, enJSRVs, like JSRV and ENTV, were found to utilize hyaluronidase-2 as a cellular receptor.     

Membrane fusion and cell entry of XMRV are pH-independent and modulated by the envelope glycoprotein's cytoplasmic tail

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) is a gammaretrovirus that was originally identified from human prostate cancer patients and subsequently linked to chronic fatigue syndrome. Recent studies showed that XMRV is a recombinant mouse retrovirus; hence, its association with human diseases has become questionable. Here, we demonstrated that XMRV envelope (Env)-mediated pseudoviral infection is not blocked by lysosomotropic agents and cellular protease inhibitors, suggesting that XMRV entry is not pH-dependent. The full length XMRV Env was unable to induce syncytia formation and cell-cell fusion, even in cells overexpressing the viral receptor, XPR1. However, truncation of the C-terminal 21 or 33 amino acid residues in the cytoplasmic tail (CT) of XMRV Env induced substantial membrane fusion, not only in the permissive 293 cells but also in the nonpermissive CHO cells that lack a functional XPR1 receptor. The increased fusion activities of these truncations correlated with their enhanced SU shedding into culture media, suggesting conformational changes in the ectodomain of XMRV Env. Noticeably, further truncation of the CT of XMRV Env proximal to the membrane-spanning domain severely impaired the Env fusogenicity, as well as dramatically decreased the Env incorporations into MoMLV oncoretroviral and HIV-1 lentiviral vectors resulting in greatly reduced viral transductions. Collectively, our studies reveal that XMRV entry does not require a low pH or low pH-dependent host proteases, and that the cytoplasmic tail of XMRV Env critically modulates membrane fusion and cell entry. Our data also imply that additional cellular factors besides XPR1 are likely to be involved in XMRV entry.     

Ability of hyaluronidase 2 to degrade extracellular hyaluronan is not required for its function as a receptor for jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) uses hyaluronidase 2 (Hyal2) as a cell entry receptor. By making inactivating mutations to the catalytic residues of human Hyal2, we found that hyaluronidase activity was dispensable for its receptor function. The affinities of the JSRV envelope glycoprotein for Hyal2 and the Hyal2 mutant were similar, and hyaluronan did not block either high-affinity interaction or virus infection. While generating the Hyal2 mutant, we discovered that our previous analysis of the hyaluronidase activity of Hyal2 was affected by a contaminating hyaluronan lyase, which we have identified as the occlusion-derived baculovirus E66 protein of the recombinant baculovirus used to produce Hyal2. We now report that purified human Hyal2 is a weak acid-active hyaluronidase.     

Retroviral entry mediated by receptor priming and low pH triggering of an envelope glycoprotein

Avian leukosis virus (ALV) has been used as a model system to understand the mechanism of pH-independent viral entry involving receptor-induced conformational changes in the viral envelope (Env) glycoprotein that lead to membrane fusion. Here, we report the unexpected finding that ALV entry depends on a critical low pH step that was overlooked when this virus was directly compared to the classical pH-dependent influenza A virus. In contrast to influenza A virus, receptor interaction plays an essential role in priming ALV Env for subsequent low pH triggering. Our results reveal a novel principle in viral entry, namely that receptor interaction can convert a pH-insensitive viral glycoprotein to a form that is responsive to low pH.     

Differential pH-dependent cellular uptake pathways among foamy viruses elucidated using dual-colored fluorescent particles

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: It is thought that foamy viruses (FVs) enter host cells via endocytosis because all FV glycoproteins examined display pH-dependent fusion activities. Only the prototype FV (PFV) glycoprotein has also significant fusion activity at neutral pH, suggesting that its uptake mechanism may deviate from other FVs. To gain new insights into the uptake processes of FV in individual live host cells, we developed fluorescently labeled infectious FVs. RESULTS: N-terminal tagging of the FV envelope leader peptide domain with a fluorescent protein resulted in efficient incorporation of the fluorescently labeled glycoprotein into secreted virions without interfering with their infectivity. Double-tagged viruses consisting of an eGFP-tagged PFV capsid (Gag-eGFP) and mCherry-tagged Env (Ch-Env) from either PFV or macaque simian FV (SFVmac) were observed during early stages of the infection pathway. PFV Env, but not SFVmac Env, containing particles induced strong syncytia formation on target cells. Both virus types showed trafficking of double-tagged virions towards the cell center. Upon fusion and subsequent capsid release into the cytosol, accumulation of naked capsid proteins was observed within four hours in the perinuclear region, presumably representing the centrosomes. Interestingly, virions harboring fusion-defective glycoproteins still promoted virus attachment and uptake, but failed to show syncytia formation and perinuclear capsid accumulation. Non-fused or non-fusogenic viruses are rapidly cleared from the cells by putative lysosomal degradation. Monitoring the fraction of viruses containing both Env and capsid signals as a function of time demonstrated that PFV virions fused within the first few minutes, whereas fusion of SFVmac virions was less pronounced and observed over the entire 90 minutes measured. CONCLUSIONS: The characterized double-labeled FVs described here provide new mechanistic insights into FV early entry steps, demonstrating that productive viral fusion occurs early after target cell attachment and uptake. The analysis highlights apparent differences in the uptake pathways of individual FV species. Furthermore, the infectious double-labeled FVs promise to provide important tools for future detailed analyses on individual FV fusion events in real time using advanced imaging techniques.     

Function of the cytoplasmic domain of a retroviral transmembrane protein: p15E-p2E cleavage activates the membrane fusion capability of the murine leukemia virus Env protein.

In the murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs), the Env complex is initially cleaved by a cellular protease into gp70SU and pre15ETM. After the virus particle is released from the cell, the C-terminal 16 residues are removed from the cytoplasmic domain of pre15E by the viral protease, yielding the mature p15ETM and p2E. We have investigated the function of this cleavage by generating a Moloney MuLV mutant, termed p2E-, in which the Env coding region terminates at the cleavage site. This mutant synthesizes only the truncated, mature form of TM rather than its extended precursor. When cells expressing this truncated Env protein are cocultivated with NIH 3T3 cells, they induce rapid cell-cell fusion. Thus, the truncated form, which is normally found in virions but not in virus-producing cells, is capable of causing membrane fusion. We conclude that the 16-residue p2E tail inhibits this activity of Env until the virus has left the cell. p2E- virions were found to be infectious, though with a lower specific infectivity than that of the wild type, showing that p2E does not play an essential role in the process of infection. Fusion was also observed with a chimeric p2E- virus in which gp70SU and nearly all of p15ETM are derived from amphotropic, rather than Moloney, MuLV. In a second mutant, an amino acid at the cleavage site was changed. The pre15E protein in this mutant is not cleaved. While the mutant Env complex is incorporated into virions, these particles have a very low specific infectivity. This result suggests that the cleavage event is essential for infectivity, in agreement with the idea that removal of p2E activates the membrane fusion capability of the Env complex.     

The hr1 and fusion peptide regions of the subgroup B avian sarcoma and leukosis virus envelope glycoprotein influence low pH-dependent membrane fusion

The avian sarcoma and leukosis virus (ASLV) envelope glycoprotein (Env) is activated to trigger fusion by a two-step mechanism involving receptor-priming and low pH fusion activation. In order to identify regions of ASLV Env that can regulate this process, a genetic selection method was used to identify subgroup B (ASLV-B) virus-infected cells resistant to low pH-triggered fusion when incubated with cells expressing the cognate TVB receptor. The subgroup B viral Env (envB) genes were then isolated from these cells and characterized by DNA sequencing. This led to identification of two frequent EnvB alterations which allowed TVB receptor-binding but altered the pH-threshold of membrane fusion activation: a 13 amino acid deletion in the host range 1 (hr1) region of the surface (SU) EnvB subunit, and the A32V amino acid change within the fusion peptide of the transmembrane (TM) EnvB subunit. These data indicate that these two regions of EnvB can influence the pH threshold of fusion activation.