scholarly journals The human cytomegalovirus protein pUL13 targets mitochondrial cristae architecture to increase cellular respiration during infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (32) ◽  
pp. e2101675118
Author(s):  
Cora N. Betsinger ◽  
Connor S.R. Jankowski ◽  
William A. Hofstadter ◽  
Joel D. Federspiel ◽  
Clayton J. Otter ◽  
...  

Viruses modulate mitochondrial processes during infection to increase biosynthetic precursors and energy output, fueling virus replication. In a surprising fashion, although it triggers mitochondrial fragmentation, the prevalent pathogen human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) increases mitochondrial metabolism through a yet-unknown mechanism. Here, we integrate molecular virology, metabolic assays, quantitative proteomics, and superresolution confocal microscopy to define this mechanism. We establish that the previously uncharacterized viral protein pUL13 is required for productive HCMV replication, targets the mitochondria, and functions to increase oxidative phosphorylation during infection. We demonstrate that pUL13 forms temporally tuned interactions with the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS) complex, a critical regulator of cristae architecture and electron transport chain (ETC) function. Stimulated emission depletion superresolution microscopy shows that expression of pUL13 alters cristae architecture. Indeed, using live-cell Seahorse assays, we establish that pUL13 alone is sufficient to increase cellular respiration, not requiring the presence of other viral proteins. Our findings address the outstanding question of how HCMV targets mitochondria to increase bioenergetic output and expands the knowledge of the intricate connection between mitochondrial architecture and ETC function.

Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 1402-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet H. Elmaagacli ◽  
Nina K. Steckel ◽  
Michael Koldehoff ◽  
Yael Hegerfeldt ◽  
Rudolf Trenschel ◽  
...  

Abstract The impact of early human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication on leukemic recurrence was evaluated in 266 consecutive adult (median age, 47 years; range, 18-73 years) acute myeloid leukemia patients, who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) from 10 of 10 high-resolution human leukocyte Ag-identical unrelated (n = 148) or sibling (n = 118) donors. A total of 63% of patients (n = 167) were at risk for HCMV reactivation by patient and donor pretransplantation HCMV serostatus. In 77 patients, first HCMV replication as detected by pp65-antigenemia assay developed at a median of 46 days (range, 25-108 days) after alloSCT. Taking all relevant competing risk factors into account, the cumulative incidence of hematologic relapse at 10 years after alloSCT was 42% (95% confidence interval [CI], 35%-51%) in patients without opposed to 9% (95% CI, 4%-19%) in patients with early pp65-antigenemia (P < .0001). A substantial and independent reduction of the relapse risk associated with early HCMV replication was confirmed by multivariate analysis using time-dependent covariate functions for grades II to IV acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease, and pp65-antigenemia (hazard ratio = 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.4, P < .0001). This is the first report that demonstrates an independent and substantial reduction of the leukemic relapse risk after early replicative HCMV infection in a homogeneous population of adult acute myeloid leukemia patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 218 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena K. Schroeder ◽  
Andrew E.S. Barentine ◽  
Holly Merta ◽  
Sarah Schweighofer ◽  
Yongdeng Zhang ◽  
...  

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is composed of interconnected membrane sheets and tubules. Superresolution microscopy recently revealed densely packed, rapidly moving ER tubules mistaken for sheets by conventional light microscopy, highlighting the importance of revisiting classical views of ER structure with high spatiotemporal resolution in living cells. In this study, we use live-cell stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy to survey the architecture of the ER at 50-nm resolution. We determine the nanoscale dimensions of ER tubules and sheets for the first time in living cells. We demonstrate that ER sheets contain highly dynamic, subdiffraction-sized holes, which we call nanoholes, that coexist with uniform sheet regions. Reticulon family members localize to curved edges of holes within sheets and are required for their formation. The luminal tether Climp63 and microtubule cytoskeleton modulate their nanoscale dynamics and organization. Thus, by providing the first quantitative analysis of ER membrane structure and dynamics at the nanoscale, our work reveals that the ER in living cells is not limited to uniform sheets and tubules; instead, we suggest the ER contains a continuum of membrane structures that includes dynamic nanoholes in sheets as well as clustered tubules.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (15) ◽  
pp. 9597-9607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Isomura ◽  
Mark F. Stinski ◽  
Ayumi Kudoh ◽  
Tohru Daikoku ◽  
Noriko Shirata ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We previously demonstrated that the major immediate early (MIE) proximal enhancer containing one GC box and the TATA box containing promoter are minimal elements required for transcription and viral replication in human fibroblast cells (H. Isomura, T. Tsurumi, M. F. Stinski, J. Virol. 78:12788-12799, 2004). After infection, the level of Sp1 increased while Sp3 remained constant. Here we report that either Sp1 or Sp3 transcription factors bind to the GC boxes located at approximately positions −55 and −75 relative to the transcription start site (+1). Both the Sp1 and Sp3 binding sites have a positive and synergistic effect on the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) major immediate-early (MIE) promoter. There was little to no change in MIE transcription or viral replication for recombinant viruses with one or the other Sp1 or Sp3 binding site mutated. In contrast, mutation of both the Sp1 and Sp3 binding sites caused inefficient MIE transcription and viral replication. These data indicate that the Sp1 and Sp3 binding sites have a significant role in HCMV replication in human fibroblast cells.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Yang ◽  
YongXuan Yao ◽  
Hui Wu ◽  
Hong Yang ◽  
Xue-Hui Ma ◽  
...  

AbstractWe previously reported that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) utilizes the cellular protein WDR5 to facilitate capsid nuclear egress. Here, we further show that HCMV infection drives WDR5 to the perinuclear region by a mechanism that requires viral replication and intact microtubules. WDR5 accumulated in the virion assembly compartment (vAC) and co-localized with vAC markers of gamma-tubulin (γ-tubulin), early endosomes, and viral vAC marker proteins pp65, pp28, and glycoprotein B (gB). WDR5 interacted with multiple virion proteins, including MCP, pp150, pp65, pIRS1, and pTRS1, which may explain the increasing WDR5 accumulation in the vAC during infection. WDR5 was then incorporated into HCMV virions and localized to the tegument layer, as demonstrated by fractionation and immune-gold electron microscopy. Thus, WDR5 is driven to the vAC and incorporated into virions, suggesting that WDR5 facilitates HCMV replication at later stage of virion assembly besides the capsid nuclear egress stage. These data highlight that WDR5 is a potential target for antiviral therapy.ImportanceHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has a large (~235-kb) genome that contains over 170 ORFs and exploits numerous cellular factors to facilitate its replication. In the late phase of HCMV infection cytoplasmic membranes are profoundly reconfigured to establish the virion assembly compartment (vAC), which is important for efficient assembly of progeny virions. We previously reported that WDR5 promotes HCMV nuclear egress. Here, we show that WDR5 is further driven to the vAC and incorporated into virions, perhaps to facilitate efficient virion maturation. This work identified potential roles for WDR5 in HCMV replication in the cytoplasmic stages of virion assembly. Taken together, WDR5 plays a critical role in HCMV capsid nuclear egress and is important for virion assembly, and thus is a potential target for antiviral treatment of HCMV-associated diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Sergi ◽  
Natalie Luscombe-Marsh ◽  
Nenad Naumovski ◽  
Mahinda Abeywardena ◽  
Nathan O'Callaghan

The chain length of saturated fatty acids may dictate their impact on inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction, two pivotal players in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. However, these paradigms have only been investigated in animal models and cell lines so far. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of palmitic (PA) (16:0) and lauric (LA) (12:0) acid on human primary myotubes mitochondrial health and metabolic inflammation. Human primary myotubes were challenged with either PA or LA (500 μM). After 24 h, the expression of interleukin 6 (IL-6) was assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), whereas Western blot was used to quantify the abundance of the inhibitor of nuclear factor κB (IκBα), electron transport chain complex proteins and mitofusin-2 (MFN-2). Mitochondrial membrane potential and dynamics were evaluated using tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1) and immunocytochemistry, respectively. PA, contrarily to LA, triggered an inflammatory response marked by the upregulation of IL-6 mRNA (11-fold; P &lt; 0.01) and a decrease in IκBα (32%; P &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, whereas PA and LA did not differently modulate the levels of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex proteins, PA induced mitochondrial fragmentation (37%; P &lt; 0.001), decreased MFN-2 (38%; P &lt; 0.05), and caused a drop in mitochondrial membrane potential (11%; P &lt; 0.01) compared to control, with this effect being absent in LA-treated cells. Thus, LA, as opposed to PA, did not trigger pathogenetic mechanisms proposed to be linked with insulin resistance and therefore represents a healthier saturated fatty acid choice to potentially preserve skeletal muscle metabolic health.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Pautasso ◽  
Ganna Galitska ◽  
Valentina Dell'Oste ◽  
Matteo Biolatti ◽  
Rachele Cagliani ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe apolipoprotein B editing enzyme catalytic subunit 3 (APOBEC3) is a family of DNA cytosine deaminases that mutate and inactivate viral genomes by single-strand DNA editing, thus providing an innate immune response against a wide range of DNA and RNA viruses. In particular, APOBEC3A (A3A), a member of the APOBEC3 family, is induced by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in decidual tissues where it efficiently restricts HCMV replication, thereby acting as an intrinsic innate immune effector at the maternal-fetal interface. However, the widespread incidence of congenital HCMV infection implies that HCMV has evolved to counteract APOBEC3-induced mutagenesis through mechanisms that still remain to be fully established. Here, we have assessed gene expression and deaminase activity of various APOBEC3 gene family members in HCMV-infected primary human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs). Specifically, we show that APOBEC3G (A3G) gene products and, to a lesser degree, those of A3F but not of A3A, are upregulated in HCMV-infected HFFs. We also show that HCMV-mediated induction of A3G expression is mediated by interferon beta (IFN-β), which is produced early during HCMV infection. However, knockout or overexpression of A3G does not affect HCMV replication, indicating that A3G is not a restriction factor for HCMV. Finally, through a bioinformatics approach, we show that HCMV has evolved mutational robustness against IFN-β by limiting the presence of A3G hot spots in essential open reading frames (ORFs) of its genome. Overall, our findings uncover a novel immune evasion strategy by HCMV with profound implications for HCMV infections.IMPORTANCEAPOBEC3 family of proteins plays a pivotal role in intrinsic immunity defense mechanisms against multiple viral infections, including retroviruses, through the deamination activity. However, the currently available data on APOBEC3 editing mechanisms upon HCMV infection remain unclear. In the present study, we show that particularly the APOBEC3G (A3G) member of the deaminase family is strongly induced upon infection with HCMV in fibroblasts and that its upregulation is mediated by IFN-β. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate that neither A3G knockout nor A3G overexpression appears to modulate HCMV replication, indicating that A3G does not inhibit HCMV replication. This may be explained by HCMV escape strategy from A3G activity through depletion of the preferred nucleotide motifs (hot spots) from its genome. The results may shed light on antiviral potential of APOBEC3 activity during HCMV infection, as well as the viral counteracting mechanisms under A3G-mediated selective pressure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle C. Arend ◽  
Erik M. Lenarcic ◽  
Nathaniel J. Moorman

ABSTRACTThe human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate early 1 (IE1) and IE2 proteins are critical regulators of virus replication. Both proteins are needed to efficiently establish lytic infection, and nascent expression of IE1 and IE2 is critical for reactivation from latency. The regulation of IE1 and IE2 protein expression is thus a central event in the outcome of HCMV infection. Transcription of the primary transcript encoding both IE1 and IE2 is well studied, but relatively little is known about the posttranscriptional mechanisms that control IE1 and IE2 protein synthesis. The mRNA 5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR) plays an important role in regulating mRNA translation. Therefore, to better understand the control of IE1 and IE2 mRNA translation, we examined the role of the shared 5′ UTR of the IE1 and IE2 mRNAs (MIE 5′ UTR) in regulating translation. In a cell-free system, the MIE 5′ UTR repressed translation, as predicted based on its length and sequence composition. However, in transfected cells we found that the MIE 5′ UTR increased the expression of a reporter gene and enhanced its association with polysomes, demonstrating that the MIE 5′ UTR has a positive role in translation control. We also found that the MIE 5′ UTR was necessary for efficient IE1 and IE2 translation during infection. Replacing the MIE 5′ UTR with an unstructured sequence of the same length decreased IE1 and IE2 protein expression despite similar levels of IE1 and IE2 mRNA and reduced the association of the IE1 and IE2 mRNAs with polysomes. The wild-type MIE 5′-UTR sequence was also necessary for efficient HCMV replication. Together these data identify the shared 5′ UTR of the IE1 and IE2 mRNAs as an important regulator of HCMV lytic replication.IMPORTANCEThe HCMV IE1 and IE2 proteins are critical regulators of HCMV replication, both during primary infection and during reactivation from viral latency. Thus, defining factors that regulate IE1 and IE2 expression is important for understanding the molecular events controlling the HCMV replicative cycle. Here we identify a positive role for the MIE 5′ UTR in mediating the efficient translation of the IE1 and IE2 mRNAs. This result is an important advance for several reasons. To date, most studies of IE1 and IE2 regulation have focused on defining events that regulate IE1 and IE2 transcription. Our work reveals that in addition to the regulation of transcription, IE1 and IE2 are also regulated at the level of translation. Therefore, this study is important in that it identifies an additional layer of regulation controlling IE1 and IE2 expression and thus HCMV pathogenesis. These translational regulatory events could potentially be targeted by novel antiviral therapeutics that limit IE1 and IE2 mRNA translation and thus inhibit lytic replication or prevent HCMV reactivation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 1720-1732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Maria Borst ◽  
Jennifer Kleine-Albers ◽  
Ildar Gabaev ◽  
Marina Babić ◽  
Karen Wagner ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCleavage of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genomes as well as their packaging into capsids is an enzymatic process mediated by viral proteins and therefore a promising target for antiviral therapy. The HCMV proteins pUL56 and pUL89 form the terminase and play a central role in cleavage-packaging, but several additional viral proteins, including pUL51, had been suggested to contribute to this process, although they remain largely uncharacterized. To study the function of pUL51 in infected cells, we constructed HCMV mutants encoding epitope-tagged versions of pUL51 and used a conditionally replicating virus (HCMV-UL51-ddFKBP), in which pUL51 levels could be regulated by a synthetic ligand. In cells infected with HCMV-UL51-ddFKBP, viral DNA replication was not affected when pUL51 was knocked down. However, no unit-length genomes and no DNA-filled C capsids were found, indicating that cleavage of concatemeric HCMV DNA and genome packaging into capsids did not occur in the absence of pUL51. pUL51 was expressed mainly with late kinetics and was targeted to nuclear replication compartments, where it colocalized with pUL56 and pUL89. Upon pUL51 knockdown, pUL56 and pUL89 were no longer detectable in replication compartments, suggesting that pUL51 is needed for their correct subnuclear localization. Moreover, pUL51 was found in a complex with the terminase subunits pUL56 and pUL89. Our data provide evidence that pUL51 is crucial for HCMV genome cleavage-packaging and may represent a third component of the viral terminase complex. Interference with the interactions between the terminase subunits by antiviral drugs could be a strategy to disrupt the HCMV replication cycle.


2014 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 456-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Romero ◽  
James Choun

This activity provides students an interactive demonstration of the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis during aerobic respiration. Students use simple, everyday objects as hydrogen ions and electrons and play the roles of the various proteins embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane to show how this specific process in cellular respiration produces ATP. The activity works best as a supplement after you have already discussed the electron transport chain in lecture but can be used prior to instruction to help students visualize the processes that occur. This demonstration was designed for general college biology for majors at a community college, but it could be used in any introductory college-level or advanced placement biology course.


1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 1888-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie G. Jacobson ◽  
Thomas E. Renau ◽  
M. Reza Nassiri ◽  
Dominica G. Sweier ◽  
Julie M. Breitenbach ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Based upon a prior study which evaluated a series of nonnucleoside pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as inhibitors of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), we have selected three active analogs for detailed study. In an HCMV plaque-reduction assay, compounds 828, 951, and 1028 had 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) of 0.4 to 1.0 μM. Similar results were obtained when 828 and 951 were examined by HCMV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC50s = 1.9 and 0.4 μM, respectively) and when 828 was tested in a viral DNA-DNA hybridization assay (IC50 = 1.3 μM). In yield-reduction assays with a low multiplicity of infection (MOI), all three compounds caused multiple log10 reductions in virus titer, and the activities of these compounds were comparable to the activity of ganciclovir (GCV; IC90 = 0.2 μM). In contrast to the reduction of viral titers by GCV, the reduction of viral titers by 828, 951, and 1028 decreased with increasing MOI. Cytotoxicity in human foreskin fibroblasts and KB cells ranged from 32 to >100 μM. In addition, 828 (the only compound tested) was less toxic against human bone marrow progenitor cells than GCV. Time-of-addition and time-of-removal studies established that the three pyrrolopyrimidines inhibited HCMV replication before GCV had an effect on viral DNA synthesis but after viral adsorption. Compound 828 was equally effective against GCV-sensitive and GCV-resistant HCMV clinical isolates. Combination studies with 828 and GCV showed that the effects of the two compounds on HCMV were additive but not synergistic. Taken together, the data indicate that these pyrrolopyrimidines target a viral protein that is required in an MOI-dependent manner and that is expressed early in the HCMV replication cycle.


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