Virus Type-Specific Thymidine Kinase in Cells Biochemically Transformed by Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2

Transformation of mouse cells (Ltk(-)) and human cells (HeLa Bu) from a thymidine kinase (TK)-minus to a TK(+) phenotype (herpes simplex virus [HSV]-transformed cells) has been induced by infection with ultraviolet-irradiated HSV type 2 (HSV-2), as well as by HSV type 1 (HSV-1). Medium containing methotrexate, thymidine, adenine, guanosine, and glycine was used to select for cells able to utilize exogenous thymidine. We have determined the kinetics of thermal inactivation of TK from cells lytically infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2 and from HSV-1- and HSV-2-transformed cells. Three hours of incubation at 41 C produces a 20-fold decrease in the TK activity of cell extracts from HSV-2-transformed cells and Ltk(-) cells lytically infected with HSV-2. The same conditions produce only a twofold decrease in the TK activities from HSV-1-transformed cells and cells lytically infected with HSV-1. This finding supports the hypothesis that an HSV structural gene coding for TK has been incorporated in the HSV-transformed cells.     

Presence of herpes simplex virus-related antigens in transformed L cells.

Antiserum prepared against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-infected L cells, i.e., lytic antiserum, was shown by an indirect immunofluorescence test to stain 90 percent of HSV-transformed L or HeLa cells. Immunofluorescence in these cells was always most intense in the perinuclear cytoplasmic region. Similar results were obtained with antiserum prepared against HSV-transformed L cells. These data indicate that HSV-transformed cells (both L and HeLa) express HSV-related antigens. Antiserum prepared against HSV-1-transformed L cells, i.e., transformed-cell antiserum, was found to agglutinate purified HSV type 1 virions but failed to neutralize infectivity. This suggests that HSV-1 structural antigens are expressed in HSV-1-transformed L cells. Immunodiffusion studies showed that at least two HSV-related antigens could be demonstrated with antigens from HSV-1-transformed L cells and transformed-cell antiserum. These two antigens were shown to be present in all clonal lines of HSV-1-transformed cells examined, six L cell lines and one HeLa cell line. Therefore, we conclude that transformation of cells by HSV-1, which is known to be associated with acquisition of viral thymidine kinase, must also be associated with the presence of these two antigens. We performed experiments showing that there are species of HSV-related antibody in HSV-transformed cell antiserum that could not be absorbed out with antigens from HSV-infected L cells. Antibodies present in lytic antiserum were completely removed by antigen preparations from cells lytically infected with HSV-1. Also, lytic antiserum failed to block HSV-related staining of transformed L cells in a direct immunofluorescence test. These results are compatible with one of two notions: either (i) certain genes are expressed during transformation that are not expressed during lytic infection, or (ii) these genes are expressed to a much more reduced extent during lytic infection than in transformed cells.     

Herpes simplex virus gene expression in transformed cells. I. Regulation of the viral thymidine kinase gene in transformed L cells by products of superinfecting virus.

In this paper we show that the expression of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) gene for thymidine kinase (tk) in HSV-transformed cells is subject to regulation by two viral products synthesized during productive infection of these cells with a tk- mutant of HSV-1. The cell line used in this study is a derivative of tk-deficient mouse L cells that, after exposure to UV-inactivated HSV-1, had acquired the HSV-1 gene for tk (which we term a resident viral gene) and consequently expressed the tk+ phenotype (LVtk+ cells). Productive infection of these cells with HSV-1(tk-) at appropriate multiplicities caused significant enhancement of the viral tk activity. The results of several experiments allow us to conclude that this enhancement was due to increased synthesis of tk specified by the HSV-1 gene resident in the LVtk+ cells and that a specific protein made early after infection with HSV-1(tk-) mediated the enhancement, probably by increasing the production of mRNA from the viral tk gene resident in the LVtk+ cells. Our data also indicate that another HSV-1(tk-) product acted to turn off tk synthesis. The finding that tk activity continued to increase for a longer time after infection of the LVtk+ cells at 2 PFU/cell than after infection at higher multiplicities suggested the synthesis of a product which inhibited tk synthesis and whose concentration reached critical levels earlier at higher multiplicities of infection. Inhibition of DNA synthesis after infection, a treatment that depresses the synthesis of late viral proteins, prolonged the synthesis of tk in LVtk+ cells infected at either 2 or 5 PFU/cell. Infection of the LVtk+ cells with HSV-2(tk-) resulted in only small increases in tk activity, indicating some type specificity in recognition of viral products that can modify the expression of the HSV-1 tk gene resident in these cells.     

gamma 2-Thymidine kinase chimeras are identically transcribed but regulated a gamma 2 genes in herpes simplex virus genomes and as beta genes in cell genomes.

True gamma or gamma 2 genes, unlike alpha, beta, and gamma 1 (beta gamma) genes of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), stringently require viral DNA synthesis for their expression. We report that gamma 2 genes resident in cells were induced in trans by infection with HSV-1 but that the induction did not require amplification of either the resident gene or the infecting viral genome. Specifically, to test the hypothesis that expression of these genes is amplification dependent, we constructed two sets of gamma 2-thymidine kinase (TK) chimeric genes. The first (pRB3038) consisted of the promoter-regulatory region and a portion of 5'-transcribed noncoding region of the domain of a gamma 2 gene identified by Hall et al. (J. Virol. 43:594-607) in the HSV-1(F) BamHI fragment D' to the 5'-transcribed noncoding and coding regions of the TK gene. The second (pRB3048) contained, in addition, an origin of HSV-1 DNA replication. Cells transfected with either the first or second construct and selected for the TK+ phenotype were then tested for TK induction after superinfection with HSV-1(F) delta 305, containing a deletion in the coding sequences of the TK gene, and viruses containing, in addition, a ts lesion in the alpha 4 regulatory protein (ts502 delta 305) or in the beta 8 major DNA-binding protein (tsHA1 delta 305). The results were as follows: induction by infection with TK- virus of chimeric TK genes with or without an origin of DNA replication was dependent on functional alpha 4 protein but not on viral DNA synthesis; the resident chimeric gene in cells selected for G418 (neomycin) resistance was regulated in the same fashion; the chimeric gene recombined into the viral DNA was regulated as a gamma 2 gene in that its expression in infected cells was dependent on viral DNA synthesis; the gamma 2-chimeric genes resident in the host and in viral genomes were transcribed from the donor BamHI fragment D' containing the promoter-regulatory domain of the gamma 2 gene. The significance of the differential regulation of gamma 2 genes in the environments of host and viral genomes by viral trans-acting factors is discussed.     

Establishment of mutant murine mammary carcinoma FM3A cell strains transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 2 thymidine kinase gene

To establish cell systems appropriate for investigating the mode of action of antiherpetic nucleoside analogues, mutant cell strains were constructed from murine mammary carcinoma FM3A cells, which were deficient in TK, but were transformed with a recombinant plasmid DNA containing the HSV-2 TK gene. The transformed cells incorporated the viral DNA, expressed viral TK activity and showed unusually high sensitivity to the cytostatic action of the antiherpetic nucleoside analogues ACV and IVDU, both of which were only weakly inhibitory to the growth of the parent cells. Curiously, the FM3A cell strains transformed with HSV-2 TK gene showed a higher sensitivity to ACV and IVDU than the previously established cell line transformed with HSV-1 TK gene. This contrasts with the inhibitory effects of ACV and IVDU on acute HSV infection, since HSV-2 infection is slightly or considerably less susceptible than HSV-1 infection to inhibition by ACV or IVDU, respectively.     

Transfer of Thymidine Kinase to Thymidine Kinaseless L Cells by Infection with Ultraviolet-Irradiated Herpes Simplex Virus

L cells lacking thymidine kinase (TK) activity (Ltk(-) cells) have been stably transformed to a TK-positive phenotype by infection with ultraviolet-irradiated herpes simplex virus (HSV-UV). The highest frequency of the Ltk(-) to Ltk(+) transformation observed in these experiments was approximately 10(-3), whereas no measurable transformation was observed (less than 10(-8)) in the absence of HSV-UV infection. Cell lines of HSV-transformed Ltk(+) cell lines contain 7 to 24 times as much TK activity as do the parental Ltk(-) cells, and they have been maintained in culture for a period exceeding 8 months. The kinetics of thermal inactivation of the TK activity derived from an Ltk(+) HSV-transformed cell line and the TK activity from Ltk(-) cells lytically infected with infectious HSV are similar. Both of these TK activities are much more thermolabile than the TK activity present in wild-type L cells. A mutant strain of HSV which does not induce TK activity during lytic infection does not cause the Ltk(-) to Ltk(+) transformation. These data suggest that either an HSV TK gene has been transferred to Ltk(-) cells or that an HSV gene product has caused the expression of a previously repressed cellular enzyme.     

Characterization of pyrimidine deoxyribonucleoside kinase (thymidine kinase) and thymidylate kinase as a multifunctional enzyme in cells transformed by herpes simplex virus type 1 and in cells infected with mutant strains of herpes simplex virus.

Pyrimidine deoxyribonucleoside kinase (thymidine kinase [TK]) was purified from two herpes simplex virus type 1 (HVS-1)-transformed TK-deficient mouse (LMTK-) cell lines and from LMTK- cells infected with HSV-1 mutant viruses coding for variant TK enzymes. These preparations exhibited normal or variant virus-induced thymidylate kinase activities correlating with their relative TK activities. Neither virus-induced activity was detected in LMTK- cells infected with an HSV-1 TK-deficient mutant. These results suggest that HSV-1 thymidylate kinase activity and TK activity are mediated by the same protein.     

Identification of the herpes simplex virus DNA sequences present in six herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase-transformed mouse cell lines

We have used a novel filter hybridization approach to detect and map the herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA sequences which are present in four HSV thymidine kinase (HSVtk+)-transformed cell lines which were derived by exposure of thymidine kinase negative (tk-) mouse cells to UV light-irradiated HSV type 2 (HSV-2). In addition, we have mapped the HSV-1 DNA sequences which are present in two HSV-1tk+-transformed cell lines produced by transfection of tk- mouse cells with sheared HSV-1 DNA. The results of these studies can be summarized as follows. (i) The only HSV DNA sequences which were common to all HSVtk+-transformed cells were those located between map coordinates 0.28 and 0.32. Thus, this region contains all of the viral DNA sequences which are necessary for the expression of HSV-mediated tk transformation. (ii) Many of the cell lines also contained variable amounts of non-tk gene viral DNA sequences located between map coordinates 0.11 to 0.57 and 0.82 to 1.00, suggesting that incorporation of the viral DNA sequences located between these map coordinates is a relatively random event. (iii) The viral DNA sequences located between map coordinates 0 to 0.11 and 0.57 to 0.82 were uniformly absent from all of the HSVtk+ cell lines tested, suggesting that there is a strong negative selective pressure against incorporation of these viral DNA sequences.     

Replication of mouse cytomegalovirus in thymidine kinase-deficient mouse cells.

In an attempt to determine whether mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) requires thymidine kinase (TK) for replication and whether it induces TK, TK-deficient mouse cells were isolated and used as host cells for MCMV. Mutant cells resistant to 200 μg/ml of 5-Bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) were selected from SV40-transformed mouse cells, mks-A TU-7, by propagating the cells in the presence of varying concentrations of BUdR graded by serial 2-fold increments. The mutant cells, designated as TU-7 BU, showed a very low TK activity (less than 1/20 that of mks-A TU-7). Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) replicated in starved as well as in unstarved TU-7 BU, whereas MCMV could replicate only in growing TU-7 BU and could not form plaques in monolayers of mks-A TU-7 or TU-7 BU. HSV-1 infection enhanced TK activity equally in both mks-A TU-7 and TU-7 BU. In contrast, TK activity of MCMV-infected mks-A TU-7 was lower than that of uninfected cells or cells inoculated with UV-inactivated virus. In addition, TK activity of the MCMV-infected TU-7 BU remained minimal without showing any increase. The replication of HSV-1 was completely inhibited in the presence of BUdR (10 μg/ml), whereas MCMV could replicate even in the presence of 50 μg/ml of BUdR. The results indicate that MCMV neither requires TK nor induces TK activity in the infected cells.     

Hybrid plasmids containing an active thymidine kinase gene of Herpes simplex virus 1.

The gene for the thymidine kinase (TK) of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is located in the KpnI m and BamHI p fragments of the genome (Wigler et al., Cell 11, 223-232 (1977)). These fragments have been inserted into the EcoRI and BamHI sites, respectively, of plasmid pBR322, and propagated in E.coli. The TK gene contained in the recombinant plasmids was shown to be biologically active when introduced into TK- mouse L cells. Detailed restriction site maps of the BamHI p fragment have been constructed and the approximate location of the TK gene has been determined. Mouse cells transformed with cloned HSV-1 tk+ DNA produced HSV-1-specific thymidine kinase; superinfection with HSV-1 tk- virus increased the level of TK activity tenfold, suggesting that the BamHI p sequences present in transformed cells respond to virus-encoded regulatory gene product(s).     

Integration site(s) of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene and regional assignment of the gene for aminoacylase-1 in human chromosomes

To investigate the chromosomal sites of integration of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) thymidine kinase (TK) gene in HSV-1-transformed human HeLa(BU25)/KOS 8-1 cells, the biochemically transformed cells were fused with TK-negative mouse LM(TK-) cells, and human-mouse somatic cell hybrid lines (LH81) were isolated using a HATG-ouabain selection system. The presence of HSV-1 TK activity in the hybrid lines was verified by disc polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and by enzyme neutralization with type-specific rabbit anti-HSV-1 TK immunoglobulin. Karyotype analyses of several somatic cell hybrid clones using G-banding, Hoechst 33258 staining, and combined G-banding and Hoechst staining demonstrated that they retained only a few human chromosomes. A marker chromosome, M7, consisting of a chromosome 17 translocated to the short arm of 3, occurred in 25 of the 28 metaphases examined. Also chromosomes 8 and X were found in a minority of metaphases. Isozyme analyses showed that all 19 hybrid clones analyzed expressed human aminoacylase-1 (ACY1) and esterase D (ESD), markers for 3 and 13, respectively. Back-selection of somatic cell hybrid clones with 5-bromodeoxyuridine resulted in the isolation of several subclones lacking HSV-1 TK activity, human ACY1, human ESD, and the human chromosomes. These experiments suggest that the HSV-1 TK gene is associated with either M7 or a segment of 13, or both, in biochemically transformed HeLa(BU25)/KOS 8-1 cells. These experiments also permit localization of the ACY1 structural gene to the pter leads to p12 region of 3.     

Carrier DNA affects the integration of HSV-1 TK gene in the genome of L929TK- cells.

L929TK- cells were cotransfected with DNA mixtures containing tk gene of HSV-1, plasmids carrying LTR of MoMLV or RSV and carrier DNA of salmon sperm or chromosomal DNA of recipient cells. Selection of TK+ transformants was conducted in DMEM supplemented with HAT. Plasmids carrying LTR sequences of MoMLV or RSV retroviruses showed enhancing effect on the frequency of TK+ transformation. Southern blot analysis of chromosomal DNA of TK+ transformants demonstrated in clones deriving from cotransfections of tk gene and carrier DNA of L929TK- cells multiple copies of tk gene integrated into several genomic sites of host. Single copies of tk gene integrated into different sites of host genome occurred in chromosomal DNA of TK+ clones deriving from cotransfections of tk gene and carrier DNA of salmon sperm. Cells cotransfected with tk gene and plasmids carrying LTR sequences of MoMLV or RSV formed three dimensional colonies in semisolid agar medium. No effect of carrier DNA on the morphology of TK+ transformant clones was noticed.     

Chicken ovalbumin gene fused to a herpes simplex virus alpha promoter and linked to a thymidine kinase gene is regulated like a viral gene.

We are describing a system for the introduction, selection, and expression of eucaryotic genes in higher eucaryotic cells. The carrier consisted of the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) tk gene covalently linked to an HSV-1 alpha promoter directed away from the tk gene. In this study we fused to the alpha promoter the 5' transcribed noncoding sequences and the coding sequences of the chicken oviduct ovalbumin gene. Cells converted to the TK+ phenotype with this chimeric fragment produced an ovalbumin precursor which was processed and secreted into the extracellular fluid. The ovalbumin gene utilized the HSV-1 alpha promoter and was regulated as a viral gene inasmuch as inversion of the genomic DNA relative to the alpha promoter resulted in no ovalbumin synthesis, and production of ovalbumin was enhanced after superinfection with HSV-1. Synthesis of ovalbumin was not detected when cDNA was linked to the HSV-1 alpha promoter. The carrier system described in this study is suitable for introduction, selection, and expression of eucaryotic genes whose natural promoter is either weak or requires the presence of regulatory elements which may be absent from undifferentiated cells in culture.     

Association between the p170 form of human topoisomerase II and progeny viral DNA in cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 1.

Endogenous host topoisomerase II acts upon herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) DNA in infected cells (S.N. Ebert, S.S. Shtrom, and M.T. Muller, J. Virol. 56:4059-4066, 1990), and cleavage is directed exclusively at progeny viral DNA while parental DNA is resistant. To evaluate the possibility that HSV-1 induces topoisomerase II activity which could account for the preferential cleavage of progeny viral DNA, we assessed topoisomerase II cleavage activity on cellular and viral DNA substrates before and after the initiation of viral DNA replication. We show that cleavage of a host gene in mock-infected cells was similar to that observed in HSV-1-infected cells, regardless of whether viral DNA replication had occurred. In addition, quantitative measurements revealed comparable amounts of topoisomerase II activity in infected and mock-infected cells; thus, HSV-1 neither induces nor encodes its own type II topoisomerase and cleavages in vivo are due to a preexisting host topoisomerase. Human cells contain two isozymes of topoisomerase II (p170 and p180), encoded by separate genes. Through the use of isozyme-specific antibodies, we demonstrate that only p170 was found to be cross-linked to HSV-1 DNA even though both forms were present at nearly constant levels in HSV-1-infected cells. Immunofluorescence revealed that by 6 h postinfection, p170 becomes redistributed and localized to sites of active viral DNA synthesis. The data suggest that p170 gains preferential access to replicated viral DNA molecules, which explains why topoisomerase II activity is concentrated on progeny DNA.     

Transfer of the herpes simplex thymidine kinase gene from human cells to mouse cells by means of metaphase chromosomes.

Thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient human cells were infected with ultraviolet light-inactivated Herpes simplex virus type 1, and "transformed" cells that expressed Herpes TK activity were isolated. Purified metaphase chromosomes were isolated from the transformed human line and incubated with TK-deficient mouse cells. TK+ cells were selected, and it was shown that these cells were gene transferents which expressed Herpes TK activity, identical to that found in the transformed human cells. The gene transferents contained no intact human chromosomes. When removed from selective pressure, the gene transferents rapidly lost the TK+ phenotype. However, upon continued growth in nonselective medium, a subpopulation in which the TK+ phenotype had become more stabilized appeared. These results suggest that the Herpes gene for thymidine kinase has integrated into the genome of the HSV-transformed human cells and that it can be transferred to other cells by means of purified metaphase chromosomes.     

Induction of human cell DNA synthesis by herpes simplex virus type 2.

The effect of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection on the synthesis of DNA in human embryonic fibroblast cells was determined at temperatures permissive (37 C) and nonpermissive (42 C) for virus multiplication. During incubation of HSV-2 infected cultures at 42 C for 2 to 4 days or after shift-down from 42 to 37 C, incorporation of (3H)TdR into total DNA was increased 2-to 30-fold as compared with mock-infected cultures. Analysis of the (3H)DNA suggested that host cell DNA synthesis was induced by HSV-2 infection. Induction of host cell DNA synthesis by HSV-2 also occurred in cells arrested in DNA replication by low serum concentration. The three strains of HSV-2 tested were capable of stimulating cellular DNA synthesis. Virus inactivated by UV irradiation, heat, or neutral red dye and light did not induce cellular DNA synthesis, suggesting that an active viral genome is necessary for induction.     

BK virus-plasmid expression vector that persists episomally in human cells and shuttles into Escherichia coli.

We describe a novel expression vector, pBK TK-1, that persists episomally in human cells that can be shuttled into bacteria. This vector includes sequences from BK virus (BKV), the thymidine kinase (TK) gene of herpes simplex virus type 1, and plasmid pML-1. TK+-transformed HeLa and 143 B cells contained predominantly full-length episomes. There were typically 20 to 40 (HeLa) and 75 to 120 143 B vector copies per cell, although some 143 B transformants contained hundreds. Low-molecular-weight DNA from TK+-transformed cells introduced into Escherichia coli were recovered as plasmids that were indistinguishable from the input vector. Removal of selective pressure had no apparent effect upon the episomal status of pBK TK-1 molecules in TK+-transformed cells. BKV T antigen may play a role in episomal replication of pBK TK-1 since this viral protein was expressed in TK+ transformants and since a plasmid that contained only the BKV origin of replication was highly amplified in BKV-transformed human cells that synthesize BKV T antigen.     

Inhibition of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Replication by Thymidine

Replication of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) was impeded in KB cells which were blocked in their capacity to synthesize DNA by 2 mM thymidine (TdR). The degree of inhibition was dependent upon the concentration of TdR. In marked contrast, HSV-1 is able to replicate under these conditions. The failure of HSV-2 to replicate is probably due to the inhibition of viral DNA synthesis; there was a marked reduction in the rate of DNA synthesis as well as the total amount of HSV-2 DNA made in the presence of 2 mM TdR. We postulated that the effect of TdR on viral replication occurs at the level of ribonucleotide reductase in a manner similar to KB cells. However, unlike KB cells, an altered ribonucleotide reductase activity, highly resistant to thymidine triphosphate inhibition, was found in extracts of HSV-2-infected KB cells. This activity was present in HSV-2-infected cells incubated in the presence or absence of TdR. Ribonucleotide reductase activity in extracts of HSV-1-infected KB cells showed a similar resistance to thymidine triphosphate inhibition. These results suggest that the effect of TdR on HSV-2 replication occurs at a stage of DNA synthesis other than reduction of cytidine nucleotides to deoxycytidine nucleotides.