Random Transposon-Mediated Mutagenesis of the Essential Large Tegument Protein pUL36 of Pseudorabies Virus

Homologs of the pseudorabies virus (PrV) essential large tegument protein pUL36 are conserved throughout the Herpesviridae. pUL36 functions during transport of the nucleocapsid to and docking at the nuclear pore as well as during virion formation after nuclear egress in the cytoplasm. Deletion analyses revealed several nonessential regions within the 3,084-amino-acid PrV pUL36 (S. Böttcher, B. G. Klupp, H. Granzow, W. Fuchs, K. Michael, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 80:9910-9915, 2006; S. Böttcher, H. Granzow, C. Maresch, B. Möhl, B. G. Klupp, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 81:13403-13411, 2007), while the C-terminal 62 amino acids are essential for virus replication (K. Coller, J. Lee, A. Ueda, and G. Smith, J. Virol. 81:11790-11797, 2007). To identify additional functional domains, we performed random mutagenesis of PrV pUL36 by transposon-mediated insertion of a 15-bp linker. By this approach, 26 pUL36 insertion mutants were selected and tested in transient transfection assays for their ability to complement one-step growth and/or viral spread of a PrV UL36 null mutant. Ten insertion mutants in the N-terminal half and 10 in the C terminus complemented both, whereas six insertion mutants clustering in the center of the protein did not complement in either assay. Interestingly, several insertions within conserved parts yielded positive complementation, including those located within the essential C-terminal 62 amino acids. For 15 mutants that mediated productive replication, stable virus recombinants were isolated and further characterized by plaque assay, in vitro growth analysis, and electron microscopy. Except for three mutant viruses, most insertion mutants replicated like wild-type PrV. Two insertion mutants, at amino acids (aa) 597 and 689, were impaired in one-step growth and viral spread and exhibited a defect in virion maturation in the cytoplasm. In contrast, one functional insertion (aa 1800) in a region which otherwise yielded only nonfunctional insertion mutants was impaired in viral spread but not in one-step growth without a distinctive ultrastructural phenotype. In summary, these studies extend and refine previous analyses of PrV pUL36 and demonstrate the different sensitivities of different regions of the protein to functional loss by insertion.The herpesvirus particle is composed of four structural elements. The DNA genome-containing core is enclosed in an icosahedral capsid, which, in turn, is embedded in a proteinaceous layer termed the tegument and enveloped by a cell-derived membrane containing viral glycoproteins (35). The tegument of the Alphaherpesvirinae contains more than 15 different viral and several cellular proteins and can be structurally and functionally separated into at least two layers: a capsid-proximal “inner” part and an envelope-associated “outer” part (reviewed in references 34 and 35). The largest tegument proteins in all herpesviruses analyzed so far are homologs of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) pUL36, which are essential for viral replication. pUL36, its interaction partner, pUL37, and the pUS3 kinase are part of the inner tegument and remain associated with nucleocapsids during their transport along microtubules to the nuclear pore (2, 3, 19, 31). In contrast, other tegument proteins like pUL46, pUL47, and pUL49 rapidly diffuse in the cytoplasm after fusion of the virion envelope with the plasma membrane. Proteolytic cleavage of HSV-1 pUL36 after docking of the nucleocapsid to the nuclear pore appears to be required for release of viral DNA into the nucleus (22). Besides these roles early in infection, pUL36 also functions during later stages of replication in virion maturation. After assembly in the nucleus, nucleocapsids are translocated to the cytoplasm by budding at the inner nuclear membrane and fusion with the outer nuclear membrane (34). Although functional nuclear localization motifs have been described for pseudorabies virus (PrV) and HSV-1 pUL36 (1, 37), in PrV-infected cells, pUL36 was never detected in the nucleus but was added to nascent virions early after nuclear egress (18, 27, 31, 37). It has been suggested that pUL36 interacts either directly (9, 32, 42, 44) or indirectly via capsid-associated pUL25 (10) with the capsid shell starting the tegumentation process in the cytosol.In PrV, pUL36 is the only tegument protein which has been shown to be truly essential. It consists of 3,084 amino acids (aa), resulting in a molecular mass of more than 300 kDa (27). Deletion of pUL36 in HSV-1 and PrV abolished viral replication. Ultrastructurally, similar phenotypes with nonenveloped nucleocapsids present in the cytoplasm and the lack of extracellular particles indicated a defect in virion maturation in the cytoplasm (13, 16). Several functional domains have been identified in pUL36. The interaction domain of pUL36 with pUL37 (5, 16, 20, 27, 36, 42) could be located in the N-terminal part of PrV and HSV-1 pUL36 (16, 36) (Fig. ​(Fig.1).1). Deletion of the pUL37 binding site in PrV pUL36 (PrV-UL36BSF) resulted in a similar phenotype to deletion of pUL37 with an impairment of secondary envelopment in the cytoplasm (16, 26). Unlike in PrV, pUL37 is essential for replication in HSV-1 (14, 30).Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.Schematic overview of PrV pUL36 and corresponding insertion mutants. (A) Diagram of the PrV genome with the unique long (U_L) and unique short (U_S) regions as well as repeat regions (internal repeat, IR; terminal repeat, TR). The positions of BamHI restriction sites are indicated, and restriction fragments are numbered according to their size. (B) Schematic diagram of the UL36 open reading frame with conserved regions. Pfam analysis (4; http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Software/Pfam/) delineated two highly conserved PfamA domains within pUL36 homologs of herpesviruses of all three herpesvirus subfamilies [box I, Herpes_teg_N PrV (p)UL36, aa 11 to 178] and of alphaherpesviruses [box II, Herpes_UL36 PrV (p)UL36, aa 1000 to 1251] as well as PfamB domains (hatched rectangles) (6) (C) Known essential and nonessential regions in PrV pUL36. Nonessential regions are shown in gray, with the positions of the amino acids deleted in the corresponding constructs (6, 8). Deletions tested by Lee et al. (28) are shown below, marked by arrows. The essential C terminus is shown in black. Besides the N-terminal deletion Δ6-225, none of the truncated proteins was functional. (D) Predicted or identified motifs in pUL36: USP (Cys26), active-site cysteine of the deubiquitinating activity (24); pUL37 interaction domain (16, 27); NLS, nuclear localization signal (37); leucine zipper (27); and late domain motifs PPKY and PSAP (6). (E) Locations of linker insertions in pUL36 are indicated by arrows and the position of the amino acid immediately preceding the insertion. Insertions shown by arrows pointing upwards yielded functional proteins, while arrows pointing downwards indicate nonfunctional mutants. Insertions resulting in proteins which were impaired but not fully deficient in complementation are underlined. For orientation, the BamHI site separating BamHI fragments 1 and 2 is indicated.A second functional domain in the N terminus of pUL36 comprises a ubiquitin-specific cysteine protease (USP) activity which could be identified in all three herpesvirus subfamilies (24, 40, 41). Interestingly, the USP activity is not essential for virus replication in cell culture (7, 21, 25, 43). However, it is relevant for oncogenicity of Marek′s disease virus (MDV) (21) and for virion maturation and neuroinvasion of PrV (7, 8, 29).Several other regions in PrV pUL36 were deleted without abolishing virus replication (6, 8, 28). While deletion of nearly 1/3 of the protein in the C-terminal part (aa 2087 to 2981) had only a slight effect, deletion of a region containing two leucine zipper motifs impaired virus replication and spread more strongly (8). The highly conserved C-terminal 62 amino acids, except for the extreme C-terminal 6 amino acids, are essential for virus replication (6, 28). Due to the size of the protein, a more detailed mutagenesis analysis has, however, not yet been undertaken.Therefore, the aim of our study was to construct random insertion mutants of PrV pUL36 using transposon-mediated insertion mutagenesis resulting in a 5-amino-acid linker insertion. Mutant proteins were analyzed functionally in transient transfection assays for complementation, and stable recombinants were isolated and further characterized.     

伪狂犬病病毒ul24基因表达蛋白的胞内定位研究

根据GenBank已发表的PrV ul24基因序列(NC006151),设计并合成一对引物,PCR扩增出ul24基因编码区,克隆于pEGFP-N1载体,得到重组质粒pUL24-GFP.酶切鉴定,测序及Western Blot验证重组质粒.ul24基因序列测定结果已提交GenBank,登录号DQ226544.Western blot分析结果表明UL24-GFP融合蛋白为45KD.将pUL24-GFP转染真核细胞,激光共聚焦显微镜观察融合蛋白的细胞内定位,结果表明UL24-GFP融合蛋白定位于细胞核.     

伪狂犬病病毒ul24基因表达蛋白的胞内定位研究

根据GenBank已发表的PrVul24基因序列(NC006151),设计并合成一对引物,PCR扩增出ul24基因编码区,克隆于pEGFP-N1载体,得到重组质粒pUL24-GFP。酶切鉴定,测序及WesternBlot验证重组质粒。ul24基因序列测定结果已提交GenBank,登录号DQ226544。Westernblot分析结果表明UL24-GFP融合蛋白为45KD。将pUL24-GFP转染真核细胞,激光共聚焦显微镜观察融合蛋白的细胞内定位,结果表明UL24-GFP融合蛋白定位于细胞核。     

Structure and Capsid Association of the Herpesvirus Large Tegument Protein UL36

The tegument of all herpesviruses contains a high-molecular-weight protein homologous to herpes simplex virus (HSV) UL36. This large (3,164 amino acids), essential, and multifunctional polypeptide is located on the capsid surface and present at 100 to 150 copies per virion. We have been testing the idea that UL36 is important for the structural organization of the tegument. UL36 is proposed to bind directly to the capsid with other tegument proteins bound indirectly by way of UL36. Here we report the results of studies carried out with HSV type 1-derived structures containing the capsid but lacking a membrane and depleted of all tegument proteins except UL36 and a second high-molecular-weight protein, UL37. Electron microscopic analysis demonstrated that, compared to capsids lacking a tegument, these capsids (called T36 capsids) had tufts of protein located at the vertices. Projecting from the tufts were thin, variably curved strands with lengths (15 to 70 nm) in some cases sufficient to extend across the entire thickness of the tegument (∼50 nm). Strands were sensitive to removal from the capsid by brief sonication, which also removed UL36 and UL37. The findings are interpreted to indicate that UL36 and UL37 are the components of the tufts and of the thin strands that extend from them. The strand lengths support the view that they could serve as organizing features for the tegument, as they have the potential to reach all parts of the tegument. The variably curved structure of the strands suggests they may be flexible, a property that could contribute to the deformable nature of the tegument.All herpesviruses have a tegument, a layer of protein located between the virus capsid and membrane. The tegument accounts for a substantial proportion of the overall virus structure. Its thickness (30 to 50 nm), for example, may be comparable to the capsid radius, and tegument proteins can account for 40% or more of the total virion protein. Herpesvirus tegument proteins are thought to function promptly after initiation of infection, before expression of virus genes can take place (11, 13, 14, 21, 33, 37).Electron microscopic analysis of virions has demonstrated that the tegument is not highly structured (9, 22). It does not have icosahedral symmetry like the capsid, and it may be uniformly or asymmetrically arranged around the capsid (26). Tegument structure is described as fibrous or granular, and its morphology is found to change as the virus matures. Studies with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), for example, indicate that the tegument structure is altered in cell-associated compared to extracellular virus (26).The tegument has been most thoroughly studied in HSV-1, where biochemical analyses indicate that it is composed of approximately 20 distinct, virus-encoded protein species. The predominant components are the products of the genes UL47, UL48, and UL49, with each protein present in 800 or more copies per virion (12, 40). Other tegument proteins can occur in 100 or fewer copies, and trace amounts of cell-encoded proteins are also present (17). Tegument proteins are classified as inner or outer components based on their association with the capsid after it enters the host cell cytoplasm. The inner tegument proteins (UL36, UL37, and US3) are those that remain bound to the capsid after entry, while the others (the outer tegument proteins) become detached (7, 18).The HSV-1 UL36 protein has the potential to play a central role in organizing the overall structure of the tegument. With a length of 3,164 amino acids, UL36 could span the thickness of the tegument multiple times. One hundred to 150 UL36 molecules are present in the tegument (12), and they are bound to the capsid by way of an essential C-terminal domain (2, 16). UL36 is able to bind the major tegument components by way of documented direct (UL37 and UL48) and indirect (UL46, UL47, and UL49) contacts (6, 15, 24, 38).Here we describe the results of studies designed to test the idea that UL36 serves to organize the tegument structure. Beginning with infectious virus, a novel method has been used to isolate capsids that contain UL36 and UL37 but lack the virus membrane and are depleted of all other tegument proteins. These capsids (T36 capsids) were examined by electron microscopy to clarify the structure of UL36 and UL37 molecules and their location on the capsid surface.     

Intracellular Trafficking of the UL11 Tegument Protein of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

Growing evidence indicates that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) acquires its final envelope in the trans-Golgi network (TGN). During the envelopment process, the viral nucleocapsid as well as the envelope and tegument proteins must arrive at this site in order to be incorporated into assembling virions. To gain a better understanding of how these proteins associate with cellular membranes and target to the correct compartment, we have been studying the intracellular trafficking properties of the small tegument protein encoded by the U(L)11 gene of HSV-1. This 96-amino-acid, myristylated protein accumulates on the cytoplasmic face of internal membranes, where it is thought to play a role in nucleocapsid envelopment and egress. When expressed in the absence of other HSV-1 proteins, the UL11 protein localizes to the Golgi apparatus, and previous deletion analyses have revealed that the membrane-trafficking information is contained within the first 49 amino acids. The goal of this study was to map the functional domains required for proper Golgi membrane localization. In addition to N-terminal myristylation, which allows for weak membrane binding, UL11 appears to be palmitylated on one or more of three consecutive N-terminal cysteines. Using membrane-pelleting experiments and confocal microscopy, we show that palmitylation of UL11 is required for both Golgi targeting specificity and strong membrane binding. Furthermore, we found that a conserved acidic cluster within the first half of UL11 is required for the recycling of this tegument protein from the plasma membrane to the Golgi apparatus. Taken together, our results demonstrate that UL11 has highly dynamic membrane-trafficking properties, which suggests that it may play multiple roles on the plasma membrane as well as on the nuclear and TGN membranes.     

人DNAJB6蛋白与人巨细胞病毒皮层蛋白pUL23相互作用的鉴定

pUL23是人巨细胞病毒（HCMV）UL23基因编码的皮层蛋白. HCMV皮层蛋白与病毒颗粒的形成、病毒转移、免疫调控等病毒生活过程相关.利用GAL4 酵母双杂交系统筛选人胚肾cDNA文库,获得与人巨细胞病毒皮层蛋白pUL23相互作用的宿主蛋白分子DNAJB6 ［DnaJ (Hsp40) homolog, subfamily B, member 6］.回复酵母双杂交、体外GST-Pull down和免疫共沉淀试验再次确认两者之间的相互作用.该结果为进一步研究pUL23蛋白在HCMV生活周期中的作用机制提供依据.     

Major Tegument Protein pp65 of Human Cytomegalovirus Is Required for the Incorporation of pUL69 and pUL97 into the Virus Particle and for Viral Growth in Macrophages

The tegument protein pp65 of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) represents the major component of mature virus particles. Nevertheless, deletion of pp65 has been shown to have no effects on virus replication and morphogenesis in fibroblasts in vitro. We have studied the HCMV virion composition in the absence of pp65 and viral growth of a pp65 stop mutant in different cell types, including monocyte-derived macrophages. Two stop codons at amino acids 11 and 12 of pp65 were introduced by bacterial artificial chromosome mutagenesis into the endotheliotropic strain TB40/E. Clear changes of the tegument composition could be observed in purified mutant virus particles, where the amount of tegument protein pUL25 was drastically reduced. In addition, pUL69 and the virally encoded protein kinase UL97 were undetectable in the pp65 stop mutant. Expression of pUL69 in infected cells was unaltered while pUL25 accumulated in the absence of pp65, thus demonstrating that only incorporation into virus particles is dependent on pp65. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments using lysates of infected cells revealed an interaction between pUL69 and pp65. This interaction was verified in pull-down experiments using transfected cells, which showed that pp65 and pUL69 do not require the presence of other viral proteins for their interaction. We conclude that pp65 is required for the incorporation of other viral proteins into the virus particle and thus is involved in the protein-protein interaction network leading to normal tegument formation. When studying growth kinetics of the pp65 stop mutant in different cell types, we found a severe impairment of viral growth in monocyte-derived macrophages, showing for the first time a strong cell-specific role of pp65 in viral growth.Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a member of the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily, is a threatening pathogen for immunocompromised patients, such as transplant recipients, AIDS patients, and conatally infected infants (15). HCMV infection of individuals with a compromised immune system causes considerable morbidity and mortality after primary infection or reactivation from latency.Mature HCMV virions comprise four distinct structures: core, capsid, tegument, and envelope. The nucleocapsid consists of the core containing the approximately 240-kb linear double-stranded DNA genome, which is embedded in an icosahedral capsid. Between the envelope, a cellularly derived lipid membrane containing viral glycoproteins, and the nucleocapsid, a protein layer called tegument (26), is located. The tegument of HCMV is composed of at least 25 viral proteins. Tegument proteins have been proposed to act in several processes, such as immune evasion (reviewed in reference 30), release of viral DNA into the nucleus (6), and initiation and regulation of the viral replication cycle (3, 7, 16, 31, 41). However, for many of the tegument proteins, the morphogenetic or regulatory functions are unknown. An increasing number of host cell proteins, e.g., cytoskeletal proteins such as α- and β-actin, have also been detected in HCMV particles (4, 39). In addition to infectious virions, HCMV-infected cells generate two types of aberrant particles: noninfectious enveloped particles (NIEPs) and dense bodies (DBs) (18). The protein composition and morphology of NIEPs are nearly identical to those of mature virions; however, their lack of an electron-dense DNA-containing core allows discrimination of NIEPs from infectious virions by electron microscopy (18). DBs are fusion-competent enveloped particles lacking a nucleocapsid. They are composed primarily of the tegument protein pp65 (ppUL83) (4, 18, 39).For a long time, the herpesvirus tegument has been considered to be unstructured. Data mainly from alphaherpesviruses indicate that morphogenesis depends on an intricate network of tegument protein-protein interactions (reviewed in reference 23). Interestingly, for most tegument proteins of alphaherpesviruses relevant for primary tegumentation and envelopment, homologues have been found in HCMV, whereas there is much less homology between the proteins involved in secondary tegumentation and envelopment. Cryoelectron microscopic analyses of herpesvirus particles, including HCMV, provide evidence for an icosahedral symmetry and protein-protein complexes forming substructures, at least for the innermost part of the tegument (11).Remarkably, the most abundant tegument protein and major constituent of extracellular virions, pp65, is not essential for virus replication in fibroblasts in vitro. Deletion of pp65 in HCMV strain AD169 causes a complete loss of DB formation, while production of infectious virus in fibroblasts appears to be unaffected (34). Wild-type virus particle-associated pp65 is rapidly translocated to the nuclei of infected cells after penetration of the incoming virus (4, 33). Newly synthesized pp65 accumulates in both nucleus and cytoplasm at later stages of infection. In all, the precise function of pp65 during infection is not clear.During HCMV infection, pp65 is a major antigen for cellular immune responses. Besides its function as a structural component of the virus, pp65 seems to be involved in manipulation of the host''s immune system. Recent reports provide evidence that pp65 is involved in subverting the host immune response by mediating a decreased expression of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules (27). Microarray studies demonstrating an increase in the cellular antiviral cytokine response during infection with a pp65 deletion mutant suggested that pp65 is involved in downmodulation of beta interferon and of a number of chemokines (1, 8). However, most recent work demonstrates that not pp65 but the immediate-early 2 (IE2) gene product IE86 is responsible for the block of beta interferon induction during HCMV infection and that IE86 expression is delayed in the pp65 deletion mutant due to a decreased expression of pp71 (36). It has also been shown that pp65 can directly interact with NKp30, the natural killer (NK) cell-activating receptor, and that this interaction leads to a general inhibition of the killing ability of NK cells (2). Because of the requirement of cell-free pp65, the relevance of this interaction during HCMV infection in vivo is not entirely clear and needs to be investigated in more detail.Another feature of pp65 is the ability to interact with cellular as well as viral proteins. The interaction of pp65 with the cellular Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) results in an incorporation of Plk1 into virus particles. Plk1 is able to phosphorylate pp65 in vitro (14). Recently, it has been shown that pp65 interacts directly with the viral protein kinase pUL97 (20). pUL97 seems to be required for normal intranuclear distribution of pp65. Inhibition of the pUL97 kinase activity with maribavir or mutation of an essential amino acid in the kinase domain results in accumulation of pp65 in characteristic inclusions in the nuclei of infected as well as transfected cells (28).To extend our knowledge about pp65 and its function, we investigated the composition of endotheliotropic HCMV particles in the absence of the most abundant tegument protein, pp65. We hypothesized that other viral or cellular proteins might compensate for the lack of pp65 in virus particles, as described for tegument mutants of pseudorabies virus (25). The results presented here, using a pp65 stop codon mutant of the endotheliotropic HCMV strain TB40/E, demonstrate that in contrast to our hypothesis, incorporation of at least three other HCMV tegument proteins, pUL25, pUL69, and pUL97, is severely impaired when pp65 is lacking. For pUL69, a direct interaction with pp65 could be shown in infected as well as transfected cells. These results show that pp65 interacts with other viral tegument proteins during infection, which in turn is important for the incorporation of these proteins into mature virus particles. Finally, for the first time, we could show a cell-specific biological relevance of pp65 for growth of HCMV in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM).     

利用酵母双杂交系统筛选与人巨细胞病毒皮层蛋白pUL23相互作用的病毒编码蛋白

人巨细胞病毒(HCMV) UL23基因编码病毒皮层蛋白,该基因缺失时,病毒在人包皮成纤维细胞(HFF)中的繁殖速度加快.为进一步阐述HCMV UL23基因编码产物 pUL23的功能及调控机制,采用鸟枪法构建了融合于GAL4活性区域的HCMV Towne株 基因组随机表达文库.利用酵母双杂交技术,以pGBKT7 -UL23为诱饵质粒,从构建 的HCMV基因组表达文库中筛选到与pUL23相互作用的病毒编码蛋白pUL24. GST-pull down实验和免疫共沉淀实验进一步确认两种病毒蛋白之间的相互作用.结果 表明,构建的HCMV基因组表达文库能够用于GAL4酵母双杂交系统筛选与诱饵蛋白相互作用的病毒自身编码蛋白.病毒蛋白pUL23和pUL24之间具有相互作用,这为进一 步阐述pUL23在HCMV感染过程中的功能提供依据.该研究为揭示HCMV病毒感染机制奠定了基础.     

The Novel Structural Protein of Human Cytomegalovirus, pUL25, Is Localized in the Viral Tegument

Human cytomegalovirus UL25 codes for a structural phosphoprotein of 85 kDa (C. J. Baldick and T. Shenk, J. Virol. 70:6097-6105, 1996; M. C. Battista et al., J. Virol. 73:3800-3809, 1999). In this study we analyzed the intracellular and intraviral localization of pUL25 by confocal and immunoelectron microscopy and found that pUL25 is a component of the viral tegument and the dense body matrix, acquired during the late cytoplasmic phase of virus maturation.     

A Network of Protein Interactions around the Herpes Simplex Virus Tegument Protein VP22

Assembly of the herpesvirus tegument is poorly understood but is believed to involve interactions between outer tegument proteins and the cytoplasmic domains of envelope glycoproteins. Here, we present the detailed characterization of a multicomponent glycoprotein-tegument complex found in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1)-infected cells. We demonstrate that the tegument protein VP22 bridges a complex between glycoprotein E (gE) and glycoprotein M (gM). Glycoprotein I (gI), the known binding partner of gE, is also recruited into this gE-VP22-gM complex but is not required for its formation. Exclusion of the glycoproteins gB and gD and VP22''s major binding partner VP16 demonstrates that recruitment of virion components into this complex is highly selective. The immediate-early protein ICP0, which requires VP22 for packaging into the virion, is also assembled into this gE-VP22-gM-gI complex in a VP22-dependent fashion. Although subcomplexes containing VP22 and ICP0 can be formed when either gE or gM are absent, optimal complex formation requires both glycoproteins. Furthermore, and in line with complex formation, neither of these glycoproteins is individually required for VP22 or ICP0 packaging into the virion, but deletion of gE and gM greatly reduces assembly of both VP22 and ICP0. Double deletion of gE and gM also results in small plaque size, reduced virus yield, and defective secondary envelopment, similar to the phenotype previously shown for pseudorabies virus. Hence, we suggest that optimal gE-VP22-gM-gI-ICP0 complex formation correlates with efficient virus morphogenesis and spread. These data give novel insights into the poorly understood process of tegument acquisition.     

Caspase-1 Promotes Epstein-Barr Virus Replication by Targeting the Large Tegument Protein Deneddylase to the Nucleus of Productively Infected Cells

The large tegument proteins of herpesviruses contain N-terminal cysteine proteases with potent ubiquitin and NEDD8-specific deconjugase activities, but the function of the enzymes during virus replication remains largely unknown. Using as model BPLF1, the homologue encoded by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), we found that induction of the productive virus cycle does not affect the total level of ubiquitin-conjugation but is accompanied by a BPLF1-dependent decrease of NEDD8-adducts and accumulation of free NEDD8. Expression of BPLF1 promotes cullin degradation and the stabilization of cullin-RING ligases (CRLs) substrates in the nucleus, while cytoplasmic CRLs and their substrates are not affected. The inactivation of nuclear CRLs is reversed by the N-terminus of CAND1, which inhibits the binding of BPLF1 to cullins and prevents efficient viral DNA replication. Targeting of the deneddylase activity to the nucleus is dependent on processing of the catalytic N-terminus by caspase-1. Inhibition of caspase-1 severely impairs viral DNA synthesis and the release of infectious virus, pointing a previously unrecognized role of the cellular response to danger signals triggered by EBV reactivation in promoting virus replication.     

Epstein-Barr Virus Large Tegument Protein BPLF1 Contributes to Innate Immune Evasion through Interference with Toll-Like Receptor Signaling

Viral infection triggers an early host response through activation of pattern recognition receptors, including Toll-like receptors (TLR). TLR signaling cascades induce production of type I interferons and proinflammatory cytokines involved in establishing an anti-viral state as well as in orchestrating ensuing adaptive immunity. To allow infection, replication, and persistence, (herpes)viruses employ ingenious strategies to evade host immunity. The human gamma-herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a large, enveloped DNA virus persistently carried by more than 90% of adults worldwide. It is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis and is associated with several malignant tumors. EBV activates TLRs, including TLR2, TLR3, and TLR9. Interestingly, both the expression of and signaling by TLRs is attenuated during productive EBV infection. Ubiquitination plays an important role in regulating TLR signaling and is controlled by ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases (DUBs). The EBV genome encodes three proteins reported to exert in vitro deubiquitinase activity. Using active site-directed probes, we show that one of these putative DUBs, the conserved herpesvirus large tegument protein BPLF1, acts as a functional DUB in EBV-producing B cells. The BPLF1 enzyme is expressed during the late phase of lytic EBV infection and is incorporated into viral particles. The N-terminal part of the large BPLF1 protein contains the catalytic site for DUB activity and suppresses TLR-mediated activation of NF-κB at, or downstream of, the TRAF6 signaling intermediate. A catalytically inactive mutant of this EBV protein did not reduce NF-κB activation, indicating that DUB activity is essential for attenuating TLR signal transduction. Our combined results show that EBV employs deubiquitination of signaling intermediates in the TLR cascade as a mechanism to counteract innate anti-viral immunity of infected hosts.     

Identification of Phosphorylation Sites within the Herpes Simplex Virus Tegument Protein VP22

The herpes simplex virus protein VP22 is a major phosphoprotein of infected cells. In this study, we identify two serine phosphorylation sites within VP22 and show that the N-terminal site is a substrate for casein kinase II, while the extreme C-terminal site is a substrate for another, as yet unidentified, cellular kinase. Furthermore, we show that a mutant of VP22 which has both sites altered is unable to incorporate phosphate in vivo, confirming that there are no other phosphorylation sites within VP22.     

Vaccinia Virus Protein F12 Associates with Intracellular Enveloped Virions through an Interaction with A36

Vaccinia virus is the prototypical member of the family Poxviridae. Three morphologically distinct forms are produced during infection: intracellular mature virions (IMV), intracellular enveloped virions (IEV), and extracellular enveloped virions (EEV). Two viral proteins, F12 and A36, are found exclusively on IEV but not on IMV and EEV. Analysis of membranes from infected cells showed that F12 was only associated with membranes and is not an integral membrane protein. A yeast two-hybrid assay revealed an interaction between amino acids 351 to 458 of F12 and amino acids 91 to 111 of A36. We generated a recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses an F12, which lacks residues 351 to 458. Characterization of this recombinant revealed a small-plaque phenotype and a subsequent defect in virus release similar to a recombinant virus that had F12L deleted. In addition, F12 lacking residues 351 to 458 was unable to associate with membranes in infected cells. These results suggest that F12 associates with IEV through an interaction with A36 and that this interaction is critical for the function of F12 during viral egress.