Uptake and degradation of virus-associated fluorescent sulfatide by skin fibroblasts

A fluorescent derivative of cerebroside sulfate, pyrene-dodecanoyl sphingosylgalactosylsulfate (P12-CS) was incorporated into the envelope of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). When the P12-CS-containing virus was incubated for 24 h with skin fibroblasts, up to 40% of the sulfatide was located in the cells--a value at least 10 fold greater than that observed using sulfatide suspensions without virus. In a similar experiment, in which the 24 h 'pulse' was followed by a 48 h 'chase', about 15-20% of the virus-associated fluorescence was recovered in the skin fibroblasts. Of the latter, about one-third was present as desulfated degradation products of P12-CS. The high uptake and degradation of the virus-associated sulfatide by intact skin fibroblasts suggested that enveloped viruses could be used for introducing other lipids into cells. This could be utilized for studying lipid catabolism and diagnosing lipid storage disorders in intact living cells.