Interference with simian virus 40 DNA replication by adenovirus type 2 during mixed infection of monkey cells.

Infection of monkey cells with human adenovirus (Ad) is abortive, but the infection can be enhanced by coinfecting with simian virus 40 (SV40). However, in the coinfected monkey cells, Ad interferes strongly with SV40 DNA biosynthesis. This interference was found to be a reproducible, delicately controlled phenomenon that was proportional to the multiplicity of infection of Ad and dependent on the active expression of the Ad genome. Newly synthesized SV40 DNA was not broken down in cells after delayed superinfection with Ad, and several early events of SV40 infection such as adsorption, penetration, uncoating, induction of cellular DNA synthesis, and enhancement of Ad infection were not markedly influenced by Ad-mediated interference. It is unlikely that interference is simply due to competition between SV40 and Ad for metabolites, enzymes, or replication sites. The interference effect could be partially neutralized by an increase in the multiplicity of coinfecting SV40 or by an increase in the time interval between SV40 infection and Ad coinfection. Interference was shown to be due to the activity of an Ad early gene product. However, the detailed mechanism of this Ad interference is still unclear.     

Isolation of a simian virus 40 T-antigen-positive, transformation-resistant cell line by indirect selection.

In an attempt to identify cellular genes that might be involved in simian virus 40 (SV40) transformation, we have set out to isolate cells which express T antigen but are not transformed. SV40 DNA and the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene were cotransfected into tk- 3T3 fibroblasts. Of 72 colonies screened that were resistant to hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine, 57 were T antigen positive as judged by immunofluorescence. One of these lines, A27, had a normal growth phenotype in monolayer overgrowth and soft agar assays. It contained intact SV40 sequences that could be rescued by fusion to permissive cells. This rescued virus was fully capable of transforming nonpermissive cells to the same extent as did wild-type virus. The A27 cells, however, were not transformable by infection with SV40 or by transfection of SV40 DNA. It is likely that these cells were altered in a cellular function required for the establishment of the transformed state.     

Insufficiency of transformation by simian virus 40, polyomavirus, EJ-ras, or v-myc oncogenes for conversion of ethanolamine-responsive mammary cells to ethanolamine-nonresponsive cells.

Normal mammary epithelial cells (ethanolamine responsive) require ethanolamine to enable them to grow in defined culture medium because they cannot synthesize de novo a sufficient amount of phosphatidylethanolamine. Mammary tumor cells which retain properties of the normal tissue are also likely to be ethanolamine responsive, whereas dedifferentiated, highly tumorigenic mammary tumor cells are ethanolamine nonresponsive. The nonresponsive tumor cells are able to synthesize the necessary amount of phosphatidylethanolamine to sustain growth. Therefore, the progression of malignancy seems to convert ethanolamine-responsive mammary cells to ethanolamine-nonresponsive ones. In an attempt to prove the above assumption and to understand the mechanism responsible for the conversion during the progression of malignant transformation, mammary tumor cell line 64-24, which is typically ethanolamine responsive, was transfected with simian virus 40, polyomavirus, EJ-ras, or v-myc oncogenes, and the resulting transfectants were examined for their growth response to ethanolamine. Many of the transfectants exhibited typical transformed phenotypes; however, none of the transfectants converted to ethanolamine-nonresponsive cells. Some of the SV40 and polyomavirus transformants were able to grow in the absence of ethanolamine, although they grew better in the presence of ethanolamine, unlike typical ethanolamine-nonresponsive cells. These cells could grow in the absence of ethanolamine, even though their membrane phospholipid was phosphatidylethanolamine deficient. The present study indicates that the expression of any one of the four oncogenes tested, which allows the cells to exhibit transformed phenotypes in 64-24 cells, is not sufficient for the conversion of ethanolamine-responsive cells to -nonresponsive cells.     

Vitronectin receptor antibodies inhibit infection of HeLa and A549 cells by adenovirus type 12 but not by adenovirus type 2.

The penton base gene from adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) was sequenced and encodes a 497-residue polypeptide, 74 residues shorter than the penton base from Ad2. The Ad2 and Ad12 proteins are highly conserved at the amino- and carboxy-terminal ends but diverge radically in the central region, where 63 residues are missing from the Ad12 sequence. Conserved within this variable region is the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), which, in the Ad2 penton base, binds to integrins in the target cell membrane, enhancing the rate or the efficiency of infection. The Ad12 penton base was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the purified refolded protein assembled in vitro with Ad2 fibers. In contrast to the Ad2 penton base, the Ad12 protein failed to cause the rounding of adherent cells or to promote attachment of HeLa S3 suspension cells; however, A549 cells did attach to surfaces coated with either protein and pretreatment of the cells with an integrin alpha v beta 5 monoclonal antibody reduced attachment to background levels. Treatment of HeLa and A549 cells with integrin alpha v beta 3 or alpha v beta 5 monoclonal antibodies or with an RGD-containing fragment of the Ad2 penton base protein inhibited infection by Ad12 but had no effect on and in some cases enhanced infection by Ad2. Purified Ad2 fiber protein reduced the binding of radiolabeled Ad2 and Ad12 virions to HeLa and A549 cells nearly to background levels, but the concentrations of fiber that strongly inhibited infection by Ad2 only weakly inhibited Ad12 infection. These data suggest that alpha v-containing integrins alone may be sufficient to support infection by Ad12 and that this pathway is not efficiently used by Ad2.     

Retransformation of a simian virus 40 revertant cell line, which is resistant to viral and DNA infections, by microinjection of viral DNA.

We have isolated morphological transformants of cultured cells as dense foci on a monolayer of normal cells appproximately 4 weeks after microinjection of purified simian virus 40 DNA (200 to 400 molecules per cell) directly into the nucleus. Both Rat 1 (an established contact-inhibited rat embryo fibroblast line) and F1' 1--4 (a 5-fluorodeoxyuridine-selected flat revertant from the simian virus 40-transformed 14B cell line) were transformed with an efficiency of 5 to 10% of the cells injected. F1' 1--4 is not susceptible to retransformation by either viral or DNA infection (by calcium phosphate-facilitated cellular uptake), and as a result it had previously been thought to possess a host mutation preventing expression of the simian virus 40 genome.     

Nonlytic simian virus 40-specific 100K phosphoprotein is associated with anchorage-independent growth in simian virus 40-transformed and revertant mouse cell lines.

Normal fibroblasts display two distinct growth controls which can be assayed as requirements for serum or for anchorage. Interaction of mouse 3T3 fibroblasts with simian virus 40 (SV40) thus generates four classes of transformed cells. We have examined viral gene expression in these four classes of cell lines. Immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled cell extracts with an antiserum obtained from tumor-bearing hamsters detected the SV40 large T and small t proteins (94,000 molecular weight [94K], 17K) and the nonviral host 54K protein in all cell lines tested. A tumor antigen with an apparent molecular weight of 100,000 was also found in some, but not all, lines. Similar "super T" molecules have been found by others in many rodent transformed lines. We carried out an analysis of the relation of phenotype to relative amounts of these proteins in cell lines of the four classes, using the Spearman rank correlation test. The amount of the 100K T antigen relative to the 94K T antigen or to total viral protein was well correlated with the ability to form colonies in semisolid medium. No significant correlation was found between quantities of labeled 94K T antigen, 54K host antigen, or 17K t antigen and either serum or anchorage independence. Mouse cells transformed with the small t SV40 deletion mutant 884 synthesized a 100K T antigen, suggesting that small t is not required for the production of this protein. The 100K T antigen migrated more slowly than lytic T. Since mixtures of extracts from cells expressing and lacking the 100K T antigen yielded the expected amount of this protein, it is unlikely that the 100K T derives from the 94K protein by a posttranslational modification.     

Cellular and cell-free synthesis of simian virus 40 T-antigens in permissive and transformed cells.

mRNA extracted from a variety of simian virus 40 (SV40)-infected monkey cell lines directs the cell-free synthesis of viral T-antigen polypeptides with molecular weights estimated as 90,000 and 17,000. However, the size, abundance, and distribution of these T-antigens synthesized in vivo vary greatly over a range of permissive and transformed cell lines. To establish whether differences in the size of T-antigen polypeptides can be correlated with the transformed or lytic state, recently developed lines of SV40-transformed monkey cells that are permissive to lytic superinfection were analyzed for T-antigen. In these cells, regardless of the state of viral infection, the size and pattern of T-antigen are the same. However, species differences in the largest size of T-antigen are the same. However, species differences in the largest size of T-antigen do exist. In addition to the 90,000 T-antigen, mouse SV3T3 cells contain a 94,000 T-antigen polypeptide as well. Unlike the size variations in monkey cells, which are due to modification of T-antigen polypeptides, the 94,000 SV3T3 T-antigen results from an altered mRNA, since the cell-free products of SV3T3 mRNA also contains the 94,000 T-antigen polypeptide.     

Characterization of simian cells tranformed by temperature-sensitive mutants of simian virus 40.

Seven lines derived from primary African green monkey kidney cells, which had survived lytic infection by wild-type simian virus 40 (SV40) or temperature-sensitive mutants belonging to the A and B complementation groups, were established. These cultures synthesize SV40 tumor (T) antigen constitutively and have been passaged more than 60 times in vitro. The cells released small amounts of virus even at high passage levels but eventually became negative for the spontaneous release of virus. Virus rescued from such "nonproducer" cells by the transfection technique exhibited the growth properties of the original inoculum virus. Four of the cell lines were tested for the presence of altered growth patterns commonly associated with SV40-induced transformation. Although each of the cell lines was greater than 99% positive for T antigen, none of the cultures could be distinguished from primary or stable lines of normal simian cells on the basis of morphology, saturation density in high or low serum concentrations, colony formation on plastic or in soft agar, hexose transport, or concanavalin A agglutinability. However, the cells could be distinguished from the parental green monkey kidney cells by a prolonged life span, the presence of T antigen, a resistance to the replication of superinfecting SV40 virus or SV40 viral DNA, and, with three of the four lines, an ability to complement the growth of human adenovirus type 7. These properties were expressed independent of the temperature of incubation. These results indicate that the presence of an immunologically reactive SV40 T antigen is not sufficient to ensure induction of phenotypic transformation and suggest that a specific interaction between viral and cellular genes and/or gene products may be a necessary requirement.     

Large T antigens of simian virus 40 and polyomavirus efficiently establish primary fibroblasts.

Recombinant retroviruses that transduce the simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen or the polyomavirus large T antigen as well as encoding resistance to antibiotic G418 were used to investigate whether these genes alone were sufficient for immortalization of primary cells. The results provided definitive evidence that either viral gene can efficiently establish primary fibroblasts. The capability of the SV40 large T antigen to establish primary fibroblasts was undiminished by a mutation that alters its binding to sequences within the origin of replication. Surprisingly, most of the primary cells established by the expression of the SV40 large T antigen did not have a transformed phenotype. This suggests that transformation by SV40 is not simply due to a high level of expression of the SV40 large T antigen and stabilization of cellular p53.     

Expression of adenovirus type 12 E1A gene in monkey cells, using a simian virus 40 vector.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) recombinants carrying the adenovirus type 12 E1A gene were constructed. The SV40 expression vector was constructed by removing most of the VP1 gene and an internal part of the intervening sequence for late 16S RNA and by joining the 5' and 3' splice sites into a small segment. The adenovirus type 12 E1A gene with or without its own promoter was inserted downstream from the SV40 late promoter and the splicing junctions. The recombinant DNA was propagated and packaged in monkey cells by cotransfection with an early temperature-sensitive mutant (tsA58) DNA as helper. Immunofluorescent staining of the monkey cells infected with the resulting virus stocks showed that up to 20% of the cells overproduced the E1A gene products in the nuclei. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of the products indicated that the products were very similar or identical to the authentic polypeptides synthesized in adenovirus type 12-infected human embryo kidney cells. The E1A mRNA was initiated at the SV40 late promoter irrespective of the presence of the E1A promoter and terminated at either the E1A or the SV40 polyadenylation signal. These hybrid mRNAs were correctly spliced in the E1A coding region.     

Monoclonal antibodies against simian virus 40 tumor antigens: analysis of antigenic binding sites, using adenovirus type 2-simian virus 40 hybrid viruses.

The antigenic binding sites of two monoclonal antibodies are located in the COOH-terminal region (clone 412) and probably in an internal region (clone 7) of simian virus 40 large T antigen. A third monoclonal antibody (clone 122), which has been shown to bind nonviral T antigen, does not react with HeLa cells infected with nondefective adenovirus type 2 (Ad2)-simian virus 40 hybrid viruses Ad2+ND1, Ad2+ND2, or Ad2+ND4.     

Cell surface location of simian virus 40-specific proteins on HeLa cells infected with adenovirus type 2-simian virus 40 hybrid viruses Ad2+ND1 and Ad2+ND2.

HeLa cells infected with the nondefective adenovirus type 2-simian virus 40 hybrid viruses Ad2+ND1 or Ad2+ND2 were analyzed for cell surface location of the SV40-specific hybrid virus proteins by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Two different batches of sera from SV40 tumor-bearing hamsters, serum from SV40 tumor-bearing mice, or two different antisera prepared against purified sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured SV40 T-antigen, respectively, were used. All sera were shown to exhibit comparable T- and U-antibody titers and to specifically immunoprecipitate the SV40-specific proteins from cell extracts of Ad2+ND2-infected cells. Whereas analysis of living, hybrid virus-infected HeLa cells did not yield conclusive results, analysis of Formalin-fixed cells resulted in positive cell surface fluorescence with both Ad2+ND1- and Ad2+ND2-infected HeLa cells when antisera prepared against sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured SV40 T-antigen were used as first antibody. In contrast, sera from SV40 tumor-bearing animals were not or only very weakly able to stain the surfaces of these cells. The fact that the tumor sera had comparable or even higher T- and U-antibody titers than the antisera against sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured T-antigen but were not able to recognize SV40-specific proteins on the cell surface suggests that SV40 tumor-specific transplantation antigen may be an antigenic entity different from T- or U-antigen.     

Stabilization of the 53,000-dalton nonviral tumor antigen is not required for transformation by simian virus 40.

We have isolated a simian virus 40 deletion mutant, F8dl, that lacks the sequences from 0.168 to 0.424 map units. The deleted sequences represent about one-half of the coding region for large T antigen. We present evidence here that F8dl is able to transform mouse cells in a focus assay and that cell lines derived from these foci exhibit fully transformed phenotypes, have integrated mutant genomes, and express mutant-encoded proteins. This result implies that the region of the simian virus 40 genome between 0.168 and 0.424 map units is not essential for the maintenance of transformation. In addition, we have found that cells fully transformed by F8dl produce a 53,000-dalton nonviral tumor antigen (p53) that is as unstable as the p53 of untransformed cells. From this result we infer that transformation by simian virus 40 does not require the stabilization of p53.     

Roles of the simian virus 40 tumor antigens in transformation of Chinese hamster lung cells: studies with simian virus 40 double mutants.

Simian virus 40 mutants containing both a tsA mutation (rendering the 90,000 molecular weight [90K] T-antigen thermolabile) and a deletion between 0.54 and 0.59 map units (reducing the size and the amount of the 20K t-antigen) were used to transform Chinese hamster lung cells. The frequencies of transformation by the double mutants were comparable to that of the tsA mutant alone by both the focus and agar assays except when the cells were serum depleted before infection. Growth-arrested cells were transformed (using the agar assay) by the deletion mutants at less than 2% the frequency found when the 20K t-antigen was normal. Growth arrest had very little effect on the temperature sensitivity of the resultant transformed cell lines whether or not the deletion was present.