Development of a novel surrogate virus for human T-cell leukemia virus type 1: inhibition of infection by osteoprotegerin

To develop a high-titer surrogate virus for human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), we generated recombinant vesicular stomatitis viruses (VSVs) in which the gene encoding the single transmembrane glycoprotein (G) was deleted. Genes encoding HTLV-1 envelope glycoproteins (HTEnv) or HTEnvG hybrid proteins were then inserted into either of two different sites in the VSV genome. The viruses also encoded a green fluorescent protein. With this surrogate virus, we found that a soluble protein, osteoprotegerin (OPG), or an OPG/Fc chimeric protein inhibited the infection of various cell lines. Our experiments indicate that this inhibition resulted from binding of heparan sulfate by OPG.