Herpes simplex viruses.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Herpes Simplex↗
Biomedical subjects
B Roizman
Publications and source records attributed to B Roizman.
Herpes simplex virus 1 regulatory protein ICP22 interacts with a new cell cycle-regulated factor and accumulates in a cell cycle-dependent fashion in infected cells.
The herpes simplex virus 1 infected cell protein 22 (ICP22), the product of the alpha22 gene, is a nucleotidylylated and phosphorylated nuclear protein with properties of a transcriptional factor required for the expression of a subset of viral genes. Here, we report the following. (i) ICP22 interacts with a previously unknown cellular factor designated p78 in the yeast two-hybrid system. The p78 cDNA encodes a polypeptide with a distribution of leucines reminiscent of a leucine zipper. (ii) In uninfected and infected cells, antibody to p78 reacts with two major bands with an apparent Mr of 78,000 and two minor bands with apparent Mrs of 62, 000 and 55,000. (ii) p78 also interacts with ICP22 in vitro. (iii) In uninfected cells, p78 was dispersed largely in the nucleoplasm in HeLa cells and in the nucleoplasm and cytoplasm in HEp-2 cells. After infection, p78 formed large dense bodies which did not colocalize with the viral regulatory protein ICP0. (iv) Accumulation of p78 was cell cycle dependent, being highest very early in S phase. (v) The accumulation of ICP22 in synchronized cells was highest in early S phase, in contrast to the accumulation of another protein, ICP27, which was relatively independent of the cell cycle. (vi) In the course of the cell cycle, ICP22 was transiently modified in an aberrant fashion, and this modification coincided with expression of p78. The results suggest that ICP22 interacts with and may be stabilized by cell cycle-dependent proteins.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
The herpes simplex virus US11 protein effectively compensates for the gamma1(34.5) gene if present before activation of protein kinase R by precluding its phosphorylation and that of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2.
In herpes simplex virus-infected cells, viral gamma134.5 protein blocks the shutoff of protein synthesis by activated protein kinase R (PKR) by directing the protein phosphatase 1alpha to dephosphorylate the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF-2alpha). The amino acid sequence of the gamma134.5 protein which interacts with the phosphatase has high homology to a domain of the eukaryotic protein GADD34. A class of compensatory mutants characterized by a deletion which results in the juxtaposition of the alpha47 promoter next to US11, a gamma2 (late) gene in wild-type virus-infected cells, has been described. In cells infected with these mutants, protein synthesis continues even in the absence of the gamma134.5 gene. In these cells, PKR is activated but eIF-2alpha is not phosphorylated, and the phosphatase is not redirected to dephosphorylate eIF-2alpha. We report the following: (i) in cells infected with these mutants, US11 protein was made early in infection; (ii) US11 protein bound PKR and was phosphorylated; (iii) in in vitro assays, US11 blocked the phosphorylation of eIF-2alpha by PKR activated by poly(I-C); and (iv) US11 was more effective if present in the reaction mixture during the activation of PKR than if added after PKR had been activated by poly(I-C). We conclude the following: (i) in cells infected with the compensatory mutants, US11 made early in infection binds to PKR and precludes the phosphorylation of eIF-2alpha, whereas US11 driven by its natural promoter and expressed late in infection is ineffective; and (ii) activation of PKR by double-stranded RNA is a common impediment countered by most viruses by different mechanisms. The gamma134.5 gene is not highly conserved among herpesviruses. A likely scenario is that acquisition by a progenitor of herpes simplex virus of a portion of the cellular GADD34 gene resulted in a more potent and reliable means of curbing the effects of activated PKR. US11 was retained as a gamma2 gene because, like many viral proteins, it has multiple functions.
Animals↗
Eukaryotic elongation factor 1delta is hyperphosphorylated by the protein kinase encoded by the U(L)13 gene of herpes simplex virus 1.
The translation elongation factor 1delta (EF-1delta) consists of two forms, a hypophosphorylated form (apparent Mr, 38,000) and a hyperphosphorylated form (apparent Mr, 40,000). Earlier Y. Kawaguchi, R. Bruni, and B. Roizman (J. Virol. 71:1019-1024, 1997) reported that whereas mock-infected cells accumulate the hypophosphorylated form, the hyperphosphorylated form of EF-1delta accumulates in cells infected with herpes simplex virus 1. We now report that the accumulation of the hyperphosphorylated EF-1delta is due to phosphorylation by U(L)13 protein kinase based on the following observations. (i) The relative amounts of hypo- and hyperphosphorylated EF-1delta in Vero cells infected with mutant virus lacking the U(L)13 gene could not be differentiated from those of mock-infected cells. In contrast, the hyperphosphorylated EF-1delta was the predominant form in Vero cells infected with wild-type viruses, a recombinant virus in which the deleted U(L)13 sequences were restored, or with a virus lacking the U(S)3 gene, which also encodes a protein kinase. (ii) The absence of the hyperphosphorylated EF-1delta in cells infected with the U(L)13 deletion mutant was not due to failure of posttranslational modification of infected-cell protein 22 (ICP22)/U(S)1.5 or of interaction with ICP0, inasmuch as preferential accumulation of hyperphosphorylated EF-1delta was observed in cells infected with viruses from which the genes encoding ICP22/U(S)1.5 or ICP0 had been deleted. (iii) Both forms of EF-1delta were labeled by 32Pi in vivo, but the prevalence of the hyperphosphorylated EF-1delta was dependent on the presence of the U(L)13 protein. (iv) EF-1delta immunoprecipitated from uninfected Vero cells was phosphorylated by U(L)13 precipitated by the anti-U(L)13 antibody from lysates of wild-type virus-infected cells, but not by complexes formed by the interaction of the U(L)13 antibody with lysates of cells infected with a mutant lacking the U(L)13 gene. This is the first evidence that a viral protein kinase targets a cellular protein. Together with evidence that ICP0 also interacts with EF-1delta reported in the paper cited above, these data indicate that herpes simplex virus 1 has evolved a complex strategy for optimization of infected-cell protein synthesis.
Animals↗
UL27.5 is a novel gamma2 gene antisense to the herpes simplex virus 1 gene encoding glycoprotein B.
An antibody made against the herpes simplex virus 1 US5 gene predicted to encode glycoprotein J was found to react strongly with two proteins, one with an apparent Mr of 23,000 and mapping in the S component and one with a herpes simplex virus protein with an apparent Mr of 43,000. The antibody also reacted with herpes simplex virus type 2 proteins forming several bands with apparent Mrs ranging from 43,000 to 50,000. Mapping studies based on intertypic recombinants, analyses of deletion mutants, and ultimately, reaction of the antibody with a chimeric protein expressed by in-frame fusion of the glutathione S-transferase gene to an open reading frame antisense to the gene encoding glycoprotein B led to the definitive identification of the new open reading frame, designated UL27.5. Sequence analyses indicate the conservation of a short amino acid sequence common to US5 and UL27.5. The coding sequence of the herpes simplex virus UL27.5 open reading frame is strongly homologous to the sequence encoding the carboxyl terminus of the herpes simplex virus 2 UL27.5 sequence. However, both open reading frames could encode proteins predicted to be significantly larger than the mature UL27.5 proteins accumulating in the infected cells, indicating that these are either processed posttranslationally or synthesized from alternate, nonmethionine-initiating codons. The UL27.5 gene expression is blocked by phosphonoacetate, indicating that it is a gamma2 gene. The product accumulated predominantly in the cytoplasm. UL27.5 is the third open reading frame found to map totally antisense to another gene and suggests that additional genes mapping antisense to known genes may exist.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
The second-site mutation in the herpes simplex virus recombinants lacking the gamma134.5 genes precludes shutoff of protein synthesis by blocking the phosphorylation of eIF-2alpha.
In cells infected with the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) recombinant R3616 lacking both copies of the gamma134.5 gene, the double-stranded protein kinase R (PKR) is activated, eIF-2alpha is phosphorylated, and protein synthesis is shut off. Although PKR is also activated in cells infected with the wild-type virus, the product of the gamma134.5 gene, infected-cell protein 34.5 (ICP34.5), binds protein phosphatase 1alpha and redirects it to dephosphorylate eIF-2alpha, thus enabling sustained protein synthesis. Serial passage in human cells of a mutant lacking the gamma134.5 gene yields second-site, compensatory mutants lacking various domains of the alpha47 gene situated next to the US11 gene (I. Mohr and Y. Gluzman, EMBO J. 15:4759-4766, 1996). We report the construction of two recombinant viruses: R5103, lacking the gamma134. 5, US8, -9, -10, and -11, and alpha47 (US12) genes; and R5104, derived from R5103 and carrying a chimeric DNA fragment containing the US10 gene and the promoter of the alpha47 gene fused to the coding domain of the US11 gene. R5104 exhibited a protein synthesis profile similar to that of wild-type virus, whereas protein synthesis was shut off in cells infected with R5103 virus. Studies on the wild-type parent and mutant viruses showed the following: (i) PKR was activated in cells infected with parent or mutant virus but not in mock-infected cells, consistent with earlier studies; (ii) lysates of R3616, R5103, and R5104 virus-infected cells lacked the phosphatase activity specific for eIF-2alpha characteristic of wild-type virus-infected cells; and (iii) lysates of R3616 and R5103, which lacked the second-site compensatory mutation, contained an activity which phosphorylated eIF-2alpha in vitro, whereas lysates of mock-infected cells or cells infected with HSV-1(F) or R5104 did not phosphorylate eIF-2alpha. We conclude that in contrast to wild-type virus-infected cells, which preclude the shutoff of protein synthesis by causing rapid dephosphorylation of eIF-2alpha, in cells infected with gamma134.5(-) virus carrying the compensatory mutation, eIF-2alpha is not phosphorylated. The activity made apparent by the second-site mutation may represent a more ancient mechanism evolved to preclude the shutoff of protein synthesis.
Animals↗
Us9, a stable lysine-less herpes simplex virus 1 protein, is ubiquitinated before packaging into virions and associates with proteasomes.
The US9 gene of herpes simplex virus 1 encodes a virion tegument protein with a predicted Mr of 10,000. Earlier studies have shown that the gene is not essential for viral replication in cells in culture. We report that (i) US9 forms in denaturing polyacrylamide gels multiple overlapping bands ranging in Mr from 12,000 to 25,000; (ii) the protein recovered from infected cells or purified virions reacts with anti-ubiquitin antibodies; (iii) autoradiographic images of US9 protein immunoprecipitated from cells infected with [35S]methionine-labeled virus indicate that the protein is stable for at least 4 h after entry into cells (the protein was also stable for at least 4 h after a 1-h labeling interval 12 h after infection); (iv) antibody to subunit 12 of proteasomes pulls down US9 protein from herpes simplex virus-infected cell lysates; and (v) the US9 gene is highly conserved among the members of the alpha subfamily of herpes viruses, and the US9 gene product lacks lysines. We conclude that US9 is a lysine-less, ubiquitinated protein that interacts with the ubiquitin-dependent pathway for degradation of proteins and that this function may be initiated at the time of entry of the virus into the cell.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
The nucleotidylylation of herpes simplex virus 1 regulatory protein alpha22 by human casein kinase II.
The products of the alpha genes of herpes simplex virus 1, the infected cells proteins (ICP) 0, 4, 22, and 27 perform regulatory functions, are nucleotidylylated, and share the signaling or recognition sequence (RR(A/T)(P/S)R) that correctly predicted the nucleotidylylation of viral proteins encoded by UL21, UL31, UL49, and UL47 genes expressed later in infection. Extracts from uninfected HeLa cells or casein kinase II purified from sea star nucleotidylylated the ICP22 moiety of a glutathione S-transferase-ICP22 (GST22P) fusion protein with [alpha-32P]ATP or [2-3H]ATP. We report that: (i) Purified HeLa cell casein kinase II specifically labeled a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein containing the amino-terminal 151 amino acids of ICP22 with [2-3H]ATP. (ii) Nucleotidylylation of GST-ICP22 by purified enzyme exhibited positive cooperativity (Hill coefficient of 2 and a K' of 3.7 microM) and a Km = 37.7 microM for ATP. (iii) Nucleotidylylation was inhibited by heparin, casein, or ATPalphaS but not by ATPgammaS. (iv) Mutation of the signaling sequence from RRAPRR to LKAPEK abolished nucleotidylylation. We conclude that nucleotidylylation of proteins by casein kinase II requires the presence of the signaling or recognition sequence, involves the cleavage of the phosphodiester bond between the alpha and beta phosphate, and need not be preceded by phosphorylation.
Adenosine Triphosphate↗
The product of ORF O located within the domain of herpes simplex virus 1 genome transcribed during latent infection binds to and inhibits in vitro binding of infected cell protein 4 to its cognate DNA site.
The partially overlapping ORF P and ORF O are located within the domains of the herpes simplex virus 1 genome transcribed during latency. Earlier studies have shown that ORF P is repressed by infected cell protein 4 (ICP4), the major viral regulatory protein, binding to its cognate site at the transcription initiation site of ORF P. The ORF P protein binds to p32, a component of the ASF/SF2 alternate splicing factors; in cells infected with a recombinant virus in which ORF P was derepressed there was a significant decrease in the expression of products of key regulatory genes containing introns. We report that (i) the expression of ORF O is repressed during productive infection by the same mechanism as that determining the expression of ORF P; (ii) in cells infected at the nonpermissive temperature for ICP4, ORF O protein is made in significantly lower amounts than the ORF P protein; (iii) the results of insertion of a sequence encoding 20 amino acids between the putative initiator methionine codons of ORF O and ORF P suggest that ORF O initiates at the methionine codon of ORF P and that the synthesis of ORF O results from frameshift or editing of its RNA; and (iv) glutathione S-transferase-ORF O fusion protein bound specifically ICP4 and precluded its binding to its cognate site on DNA in vitro. These and earlier results indicate that ORF P and ORF O together have the capacity to reduce the synthesis or block the expression of regulatory proteins essential for viral replication in productive infection.
Animals↗
The UL13 protein kinase and the infected cell type are determinants of posttranslational modification of ICP0.
The herpes simplex virus infected-cell protein 0 (ICP0) acts as a promiscuous transactivator of genes introduced into eukaryotic cells by transfection or infection. The protein is highly posttranslationally modified by phosphorylation and nucleotidylylation. We have examined the electrophoretic mobility and phosphorylation of ICP0 in Vero and rabbit skin cells infected with wild-type virus or viruses from which the UL13 gene (DeltaUL13) encoding a protein kinase or the alpha22/US1.5 genes (Deltaalpha22/DeltaUS1.5) encoding putative transcriptional factors has been deleted. We report the following: (i) The accumulation of ICP0 and the electrophoretic mobility of ICP0 were dependent on the nature of the infected cell type and the presence of UL13. ICP0 encoded by wild-type virus accumulated to maximum levels earlier in infected Vero cells and its electrophoretic mobility was slower than that made in rabbit skin cells. In both Vero and rabbit skin cells infected with the DeltaUL13 virus, the prevailing ICP0 form migrated faster than that accumulating in the corresponding cells infected with wild-type virus. (ii) The alteration in electrophoretic mobility of ICP0 made in cells infected with DeltaUL13 virus was due to the absence of the UL13 protein and not to failure of posttranslational modification of Deltaalpha22/DeltaUS1.5 proteins inasmuch as the mobility of ICP0 in cells infected with Deltaalpha22/DeltaUS1.5 virus could not be differentiated from that of wild-type infected cells. (iii) ICP0 is extensively phosphorylated in infected cells even in the absence of UL13 protein. ICP0 is, however, a substrate for the UL13 kinase inasmuch as ICP0 was phosphorylated in mixtures of immune complexes of ICP0 and UL13. Complexes containing ICP0 only or infected cell lysate proteins reacting with preimmune serum from the rabbit immunized with UL13 protein failed to phosphorylate ICP0. (iv) In the absence of UL13, ICP22 is overproduced-an imbalance attributed to UL13. Thus, ICP22 regulates both the utilization of splice acceptor sites and the longevity of ICP0 mRNA (K. L. Carter and B. Roizman, 1996, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 12535-12540); UL13 is involved in the posttranslational modification of ICP0 and is required for both posttranslational processing and control of abundance of ICP22.
Animals↗
Infected cell protein 22 of herpes simplex virus 1 regulates the expression of virion host shutoff gene U(L)41.
The U(L)41 protein of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is packaged into virions, and in newly infected cells the protein mediates indiscriminate degradation of mRNA, which causes a shutoff of protein synthesis. We report that in cells infected with mutant virus in which either alpha22/U(S)1.5 or U(L)13 had been deleted: (i) the shutoff of protein synthesis and the degradation of mRNA did not take place or were greatly reduced, and consistent with these observations (ii) cells infected with mutant viruses accumulated less U(L)41 mRNA and protein than cells infected with the parent virus; and (iii) purified virions from cells infected with deltaU(L)13 or delta alpha22/deltaU(S)1.5 viruses contained less U(L)41 protein than virions produced by the wild-type parent virus. We conclude that the failure of the U(L)13- mutant virus to shut off protein synthesis immediately after infection is due to the failure of posttranslational modification of infected cell protein 22 and/or the related U(S)1.5 protein by the U(L)13 protein kinase. The regulatory effect of U(L)13 on U(L)41 is indirect and not contingent on direct interaction of this protein with the U(L)41 protein.
Animals↗
The herpes simplex virus 1 protein kinase US3 is required for protection from apoptosis induced by the virus.
An earlier report showed that a disabled mutant lacking both copies of the major regulatory gene (alpha4) of herpes simplex virus 1 induced DNA degradation characteristic of apoptosis in infected cells, whereas the wild-type virus protected cells from apoptosis induced by thermal shock. More extensive analyses of the disabled mutant revealed a second mutation which disabled US3, a viral gene encoding a protein kinase known to phosphorylate serine/threonine within a specific arginine-rich consensus sequence. Analyses of cells infected with a viral mutant carrying a wild-type alpha4 gene but from which the US3 gene had been deleted showed that it induced fragmentation of cellular DNA, whereas a recombinant virus in which the deleted sequences of the US3 gene had been restored did not cause the cellular DNA to fragment. These results point to the protein kinase encoded by the US3 gene as the principal viral product required to block apoptosis.
Animals↗
Evaluation of genetically engineered herpes simplex viruses as oncolytic agents for human malignant brain tumors.
Earlier studies have shown that genetically engineered herpes simplex viruses (e.g., HSV-1) are effective in killing malignant tumor cells both in vitro and in various murine tumor models. This report focuses on a panel of five genetically engineered viral mutants of the gamma(1)34.5 gene, which was shown previously to cause reduction in viral replication and associated neurovirulence of HSV. These include R3616, which has both copies of gamma(1)34.5 deleted, R4009, which has a stop codon inserted after codon 28 in both copies of the gamma(1)34.5 gene, R849, which contains a lacZ gene inserted in place of the gamma(1)34.5, R908, which lacks 41 codons in frame after codon 72 of the gamma(1)34.5, and R939, which carries a stop codon precluding the translation of the COOH-terminal domain of the gamma(1)34.5 gene. We report the following: (a) all five mutant HSVs were avirulent in experimental animals but were cytotoxic for human tumor cells in vitro and in vivo; (b) the gamma(1)34.5- HSV replicated in human glioma cells almost as efficiently as wild-type HSV-1(F) based on replication assays, in situ hybridization for viral DNA, and expression of infected cell protein 27; (c) capacity of mutant HSVs to kill human cells derived from glioblastoma multiforme (CH-235MG, D-37MG, D-54MG, D-65MG, U-251MG, U-373MG, and SK-MG-1), anaplastic astrocytoma (Hs-683), anaplastic glioma (U-87MG and U-138MG), gliosarcoma (D-32GS), or normal human astrocytes demonstrated that glioma cells varied in their susceptibility to HSV-mediated cytotoxicity and that cultured astrocytes were two to three orders of magnitude less susceptible to killing than were malignant glia; and (d) scid mice, which received 0.5 or 5 x 10(6) plaque-forming units of R4009, either were coinoculated at the time of intracranial transplantation with 106 U251MG or D-54MG human glioma cells or received the cells intratumorally 5 days after tumor induction and experienced significant increases in median survivals, with no histopathological indication of an infectious encephalitic process. Genetically engineered gamma(1)34.5- HSV mutants appear to be a potentially safe biotherapeutic agent for experimental treatment of uniformly fatal malignant brain tumors.
Acyclovir↗
Differentiation of the shutoff of protein synthesis by virion host shutoff and mutant gamma (1)34.5 genes of herpes simplex virus 1.
vhs protein is the product of the UL41 open reading frame of herpes simplex virus 1. The protein, made late in infection, is packaged into virions and, in newly infected cells, shuts off host protein synthesis by degrading mRNA. gamma (1)34.5 gene encodes a protein which precludes total shutoff of protein synthesis after the onset of viral DNA synthesis in infected cells of human derivation. The experiments reported here were designed to test the hypothesis that in cells infected with gamma (1)34.5- mutant the total shutoff of protein synthesis reflects the failure to alter the function of vhs made late in infection. Hence, double mutants, vhs- and gamma (1)34.5 should not cause total shutoff of protein synthesis. The mutants constructed to test the hypothesis were (i) viruses lacking 1 kbp from the coding domain of gamma (1)34.5 and carrying lacZ inserted into the coding domain of UI41, (ii) viruses with deletions in gamma (1)34.5 genes, (iii) viruses with lacZ inserted into UL41, and (iv) viruses in which the sequences of the deleted or interrupted genes were restored. We report that viruses with wild-type UL41 gene shut off the synthesis of actin, whereas viruses with interrupted genes made amounts of actin comparable to those of mock-infected cells. However, late in infection, protein synthesis in human neuroblastoma cells infected with the gamma (1)34.5- mutants was shut off irrespective of the status of the UL41 gene. Conversely, the phenotype of UI41 viruses with wild-type gamma (1)34.5 gene could not be differentiated from those of wild-type virus in the same assays. These studies indicate that the functions of the UL41 and gamma (1)34.5 genes and their products are independent of each other.
Animals↗
The gamma(1)34.5 protein of herpes simplex virus 1 complexes with protein phosphatase 1alpha to dephosphorylate the alpha subunit of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 and preclude the shutoff of protein synthesis by double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase.
In human cells infected with herpes simplex virus 1 the double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is activated but phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF-2) and total shutoff of protein synthesis is observed only in cells infected with gamma(1)z34.5- mutants. The carboxyl-terminal 64 aa of gamma(1)34.5 protein are homologous to the corresponding domain of MyD116, the murine growth arrest and DNA damage gene 34 (GADD34) protein and the two domains are functionally interchangeable in infected cells. This report shows that (i) the carboxyl terminus of MyD116 interacts with protein phosphatase 1alpha in yeast, and both MyD116 and gamma(1)34.5 interact with protein phosphatase 1alpha in vitro; (ii) protein synthesis in infected cells is strongly inhibited by okadaic acid, a phosphatase 1 inhibitor; and (iii) the alpha subunit in purified eIF-2 phosphorylated in vitro is specifically dephosphorylated by S10 fractions of wild-type infected cells at a rate 3000 times that of mock-infected cells, whereas the eIF-2alpha-P phosphatase activity of gamma(1)34.5- virus infected cells is lower than that of mock-infected cells. The eIF-2alpha-P phosphatase activities are sensitive to inhibitor 2. In contrast to eIF-2alpha-P phosphatase activity, extracts of mock-infected cells exhibit a 2-fold higher phosphatase activity on [32P]phosphorylase than extracts of infected cells. These results indicate that in infected cells, gamma(1)34.5 interacts with and redirects phosphatase to dephosphorylate eIF-2alpha to enable continued protein synthesis despite the presence of activated PKR. The GADD34 protein may have a similar function in eukaryotic cells. The proposed mechanism for maintenance of protein synthesis in the face of double-stranded RNA accumulation is different from that described for viruses examined to date.
Animals↗
Herpes simplex virus 1 alpha regulatory protein ICP0 interacts with and stabilizes the cell cycle regulator cyclin D3.
The herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infected-cell protein 0 (ICP0) has the characteristics of a promiscuous transactivator of genes introduced into cells by infection or transfection. To identify cellular proteins interacting with ICP0, we used a domain of exon II of ICP0 that is known to be crucial for regulatory function of the protein as bait in the yeast two-hybrid screen. Our results were as follows. (i) A cDNA in a positive yeast colony was found to encode cyclin D3, a cell cycle regulator of G1 phase. (ii) A purified chimeric protein consisting of glutathione S-transferase (GST) fused to cyclin D3 specifically formed complexes with ICP0 contained in HSV-1-infected cell lysate. (iii) To enhance the expression of cyclin D3, the gene was inserted into the viral genome and overexpressed in infected cells. The overexpressed cyclin D3 colocalized with ICP0 in nuclear structures characteristic of ND10 and which earlier have been reported to contain ICP0. (iv) The accumulation of cyclin D3 protein in Vero cells infected with an alpha0 deletion mutant was reduced relative to that of cells infected with wild-type virus or a recombinant virus in which the deleted alpha0 sequences were restored. (v) Lysates of Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells doubly infected with baculoviruses genetically engineered to express cyclin D3 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) phosphorylated GST fused to retinoblastoma protein (GST-pRb) but did not phosphorylate the GST-alpha0(20-241) or GST-alpha0(543-768) fusion protein or immunoprecipitated ICP0 proteins. Moreover, the chimeric GST-ICP0(exon II) protein shown to bind cyclin D3 had no effect on the activity of the kinase on GST-pRb when added to mixtures of lysates of Sf9 cells which coexpressed cyclin D3 and CDK4. These results indicate that ICP0 interacts with, colocalizes with, and stabilizes the cyclin D3 cell cycle regulator and does not affect its interaction with the cyclin-dependent kinase.
Animals↗
Transcription of the derepressed open reading frame P of herpes simplex virus 1 precludes the expression of the antisense gamma(1)34.5 gene and may account for the attenuation of the mutant virus.
Open reading frame P (ORF P), located at the 3' terminus of the 8.5-kb DNA sequence transcribed during latency and almost completely antisense to the gamma(1)34.5 gene, is naturally repressed by infected cell protein 4 (ICP4), the major herpes simplex virus 1 regulatory protein. Earlier studies on cells infected with a mutant in which the expression of ORF P is derepressed have shown that (i) the accumulation of the alpha infected cell proteins 0 (ICP0) and 22 (ICP22), the products of spliced mRNAs, is reduced congruent with the binding of ORF P protein to p32, a component of the ASF/SF2 splicing factors, (ii) ORF P protein colocalizes with spliceosomes, (iii) both gamma(1)34.5 mRNA and protein are virtually undetectable, and (iv) the virus is attenuated on intracerebral inoculation in mice. We report the construction and characterization of two recombinant viruses: R7546, in which ORF P transcription was derepressed and the initiator methionine codon was replaced; and R7547, in which both mutations were repaired to the wild-type genotype. The mutations in R7546 do not alter the amino acid sequence of the gamma(1)34.5 gene. We report that (i) the reduction in the accumulation of gamma(1)34.5 mRNA and protein in cells infected with mutant viruses expressing derepressed ORF P genes reflects the effects of antisense transcription of ORF P rather than a function of ORF P protein, (ii) the attenuated phenotype of the viruses carrying derepressed ORF P genes is due largely to the absence of the gamma(1)34.5 protein, and (iii) the reduction in accumulation of ICP0 and ICP22 requires the expression of ORF P protein.
Alternative Splicing↗
The null mutant of the U(L)31 gene of herpes simplex virus 1: construction and phenotype in infected cells.
Earlier studies have shown that the U(L)31 protein is homogeneously distributed throughout the nucleus and cofractionates with nuclear matrix. We report the construction from an appropriate cosmid library a deletion mutant which replicates in rabbit skin cells carrying the U(L)31 gene under a late (gamma1) viral promoter. The mutant virus exhibits cytopathic effects and yields 0.01 to 0.1% of the yield of wild-type parent virus in noncomplementing cells but amounts of virus 10- to 1,000-fold higher than those recovered from the same cells 3 h after infection. Electron microscopic studies indicate the presence of small numbers of full capsids but a lack of enveloped virions. Viral DNA extracted from the cytoplasm of infected cells exhibits free termini indicating cleavage/packaging of viral DNA from concatemers for packaging into virions, but analyses of viral DNAs by pulsed-field electrophoresis indicate that at 16 h after infection, both the yields of viral DNA and cleavage of viral DNA for packaging are decreased. The repaired virus cannot be differentiated from the wild-type parent. These results suggest the possibility that U(L)31 protein forms a network to enable the anchorage of viral products for the synthesis and/or packaging of viral DNA into virions.
Animals↗