scholarly journals Mutational Analysis of Conserved Amino Acids in the Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (9) ◽  
pp. 4153-4162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zejun Li ◽  
Tokiko Watanabe ◽  
Masato Hatta ◽  
Shinji Watanabe ◽  
Asuka Nanbo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The nucleoprotein (NP), which has multiple functions during the virus life cycle, possesses regions that are highly conserved among influenza A, B, and C viruses. To better understand the roles of highly conserved NP amino acids in viral replication, we conducted a comprehensive mutational analysis. Using reverse genetics, we attempted to generate 74 viruses possessing mutations at conserved amino acids of NP. Of these, 48 mutant viruses were successfully rescued; 26 mutants were not viable, suggesting a critical role of the respective NP amino acids in viral replication. To identify the step(s) in the viral life cycle that is impaired by these NP mutations, we examined viral-genome replication/transcription, NP localization, and incorporation of viral-RNA segments into progeny virions. We identified 15 amino acid substitutions in NP that inhibited viral-genome replication and/or transcription, resulting in significant growth defects of viruses possessing these substitutions. We also found several NP mutations that affected the efficient incorporation of multiple viral-RNA (vRNA) segments into progeny virions even though a single vRNA segment was incorporated efficiently. The respective conserved amino acids in NP may thus be critical for the assembly and/or incorporation of sets of eight vRNA segments.

mBio ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sho Miyamoto ◽  
Masahiro Nakano ◽  
Takeshi Morikawa ◽  
Ai Hirabayashi ◽  
Ryoma Tamura ◽  
...  

Influenza A virus ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP) is responsible for viral genome replication, thus playing essential roles in the virus life cycle. RNP formation occurs in the nuclei of infected cells; however, little is known about the nuclear domains involved in this process.


2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (20) ◽  
pp. 10260-10272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Higginbotham ◽  
Clodagh C. O'Shea

ABSTRACTAdenovirus E4-ORF3 and E1B-55K converge in subverting critical overlapping cellular pathways to facilitate virus replication. Here, we show that E1B-55K and E4-ORF3 induce sumoylation and the assembly of SUMO2/3 viral genome replication domains. Using a conjugation-deficient SUMO2 construct, we demonstrate that SUMO2/3 is recruited to E2A viral genome replication domains through noncovalent interactions. E1B-55K and E4-ORF3 have critical functions in inactivating MRN and ATM to facilitate viral genome replication. We show that ATM kinase inhibitors rescue ΔE1B-55K/ΔE4-ORF3 viral genome replication and that the assembly of E2A domains recruits SUMO2/3 independently of E1B-55K and E4-ORF3. However, the morphology and organization of SUMO2/3-associated E2A domains is strikingly different from that in wild-type Ad5-infected cells. These data reveal that E1B-55K and E4-ORF3 specify the nuclear compartmentalization and structure of SUMO2/3-associated E2A domains, which could have important functions in viral replication. We show that E4-ORF3 specifically targets and sequesters the cellular E3 SUMO ligase PIAS3 but not PIAS1, PIAS2, or PIAS4. The assembly of E4-ORF3 into a multivalent nuclear matrix is required to target PIAS3. In contrast to MRN, PIAS3 is targeted by E4-ORF3 proteins from disparate adenovirus subgroups. Our studies reveal that PIAS3 is a novel and evolutionarily conserved target of E4-ORF3 in human adenovirus infections. Furthermore, we reveal that viral proteins not only disrupt but also usurp SUMO2/3 to transform the nucleus and assemble novel genomic domains that could facilitate pathological viral replication.IMPORTANCESUMO is a key posttranslational modification that modulates the function, localization, and assembly of protein complexes. In the ever-escalating host-pathogen arms race, viruses have evolved strategies to subvert sumoylation. Adenovirus is a small DNA tumor virus that is a global human pathogen and key biomedical agent in basic research and therapy. We show that adenovirus infection induces global changes in SUMO localization and conjugation. Using virus and SUMO mutants, we demonstrate that E1B-55K and E4-ORF3 disrupt and usurp SUMO2/3 interactions to transform the nucleus and assemble highly structured and compartmentalized viral genome domains. We reveal that the cellular E3 SUMO ligase PIAS3 is a novel and conserved target of E4-ORF3 proteins from disparate adenovirus subgroups. The induction of sumoylation and SUMO2/3 viral replication domains by early viral proteins could play an important role in determining the outcome of viral infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174480692110521
Author(s):  
Seii Ohka ◽  
Souichi Yamada ◽  
Daisuke Nishizawa ◽  
Yoshiko Fukui ◽  
Hideko Arita ◽  
...  

Acute pain that is associated with herpes zoster (HZ) can become long-lasting neuropathic pain, known as chronic post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), especially in the elderly. HZ is caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV), whereas PHN is not attributed to ongoing viral replication. Although VZV infection reportedly induces neuronal cell fusion in humans, the pathogenesis of PHN is not fully understood. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed significant associations between PHN and the rs12596324 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the heparan sulfate 3- O-sulfotransferase 4 ( HS3ST4) gene in a previous study. To further examine whether this SNP is associated with both PHN and VZV reactivation, associations between rs12596324 and a history of HZ were statistically analyzed using GWAS data. HZ was significantly associated with the rs12596324 SNP of HS3ST4, indicating that HS3ST4 is related to viral replication. We investigated the influence of HS3ST4 expression on VZV infection in cultured cells. Fusogenic activity after VZV infection was enhanced in cells with HS3ST4 expression by microscopy. To quantitatively evaluate the fusogenic activity, we applied cytotoxicity assay and revealed that HS3ST4 expression enhanced cytotoxicity after VZV infection. Expression of the VZV glycoproteins gB, gH, and gL significantly increased cytotoxicity in cells with HS3ST4 expression by cytotoxicity assay, consistent with the fusogenic activity as visualized by fluorescence microscopy. HS3ST4 had little influence on viral genome replication, revealed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. These results suggest that HS3ST4 enhances cytotoxicity including fusogenic activity in the presence of VZV glycoproteins without enhancing viral genome replication.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 3743-3751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Watanabe ◽  
Takeshi Noda ◽  
Yoshihiro Kawaoka

ABSTRACT At 739 amino acids, the nucleoprotein (NP) of Ebola virus is the largest nucleoprotein of the nonsegmented negative-stranded RNA viruses, and like the NPs of other viruses, it plays a central role in virus replication. Huang et al. (Y. Huang, L. Xu, Y. Sun, and G. J. Nabel, Mol. Cell 10:307-316, 2002) previously demonstrated that NP, together with the minor matrix protein VP24 and polymerase cofactor VP35, is necessary and sufficient for the formation of nucleocapsid-like structures that are morphologically indistinguishable from those seen in Ebola virus-infected cells. They further showed that NP is O glycosylated and sialylated and that these modifications are important for interaction between NP and VP35. However, little is known about the structure-function relationship of Ebola virus NP. Here, we examined the glycosylation of Ebola virus NP and further investigated its properties by generating deletion mutants to define the region(s) involved in NP-NP interaction (self-assembly), in the formation of nucleocapsid-like structures, and in the replication of the viral genome. We were unable to identify the types of glycosylation and sialylation, although we did confirm that Ebola virus NP was glycosylated. We also determined that the region from amino acids 1 to 450 is important for NP-NP interaction (self-assembly). We further demonstrated that these amino-terminal 450 residues and the following 150 residues are required for the formation of nucleocapsid-like structures and for viral genome replication. These data advance our understanding of the functional region(s) of Ebola virus NP, which in turn should improve our knowledge of the Ebola virus life cycle and its extreme pathogenicity.


Nature ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 573 (7773) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haitian Fan ◽  
Alexander P. Walker ◽  
Loïc Carrique ◽  
Jeremy R. Keown ◽  
Itziar Serna Martin ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alla Piirsoo ◽  
Martin Kala ◽  
Eve Sankovski ◽  
Mart Ustav ◽  
Marko Piirsoo

ABSTRACT The life cycle of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) comprises three distinct phases of DNA replication: initial amplification, maintenance of the genome copy number at a constant level, and vegetative amplification. The viral helicase E1 is one of the factors required for the initiation of HPV genome replication. However, the functions of the E1 protein during other phases of the viral life cycle are largely uncharacterized. Here, we studied the role of the HPV18 E1 helicase in three phases of viral genome replication by downregulating E1 expression using RNA interference or inducing degradation of the E1 protein via inhibition of casein kinase 2α expression or catalytic activity. We generated a novel modified HPV18 genome expressing Nanoluc and tagged E1 and E2 proteins and created several stable HPV18-positive cell lines. We showed that, in contrast to initial amplification of the HPV18 genome, other phases of viral genome replication involve also an E1-independent mechanism. We characterize two distinct populations of HPV18 replicons existing during the maintenance and vegetative amplification phases. We show that a subset of these replicons, including viral genome monomers, replicate in an E1-dependent manner, while some oligomeric forms of the HPV18 genome replicate independently of E1 function. IMPORTANCE Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections pose serious medical problem. To date, there are no HPV-specific antivirals available due to poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms of virus infection cycle. The infection cycle of HPV involves initial amplification of the viral genomes and maintenance of the viral genomes with a constant copy number, followed by another round of viral genome amplification and new viral particle formation. The viral protein E1 is critical for the initial amplification of the viral genome. However, E1 involvement in other phases of the viral life cycle has remained controversial. In the present study, we show that at least two different replication modes of the HPV18 genome are undertaken simultaneously during the maintenance and vegetative amplification phases, i.e., replication of the majority of the HPV18 genome proceeds under the control of the host cell replication machinery without E1 function, whereas a minority of the genome replicates in an E1-dependent manner.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisett Liblekas ◽  
Alla Piirsoo ◽  
Annika Laanemets ◽  
Eva-Maria Tombak ◽  
Airiin Laaneväli ◽  
...  

The life-cycle of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) includes three distinct phases of the viral genome replication. First, the viral genome is amplified in the infected cells, and this amplification is often accompanied by the oligomerization of the viral genomes. Second stage includes the replication of viral genomes in concert with the host cell genome. The viral genome is further amplified during the third stage of the viral-life cycle, which takes place only in the differentiated keratinocytes. We have previously shown that the HPV18 genomes utilize at least two distinct replication mechanisms during the initial amplification. One of these mechanisms is a well-described bidirectional replication via theta type of replication intermediates. The nature of another replication mechanism utilized by HPV18 involves most likely recombination-dependent replication. In this paper, we show that the usage of different replication mechanisms is a property shared also by other HPV types, namely HPV11 and HPV5. We further show that the emergence of the recombination dependent replication coincides with the oligomerization of the viral genomes and is dependent on the replicative DNA polymerases. We also show that the oligomeric genomes of HPV18 replicate almost exclusively using recombination dependent mechanism, whereas monomeric HPV31 genomes replicate bi-directionally during the maintenance phase of the viral life-cycle.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (17) ◽  
pp. 8127-8136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Perez ◽  
Ruben O. Donis

ABSTRACT Influenza A virus expresses three viral polymerase (P) subunits—PB1, PB2, and PA—all of which are essential for RNA and viral replication. The functions of P proteins in transcription and replication have been partially elucidated, yet some of these functions seem to be dependent on the formation of a heterotrimer for optimal viral RNA transcription and replication. Although it is conceivable that heterotrimer subunit interactions may allow a more efficient catalysis, direct evidence of their essentiality for viral replication is lacking. Biochemical studies addressing the molecular anatomy of the P complexes have revealed direct interactions between PB1 and PB2 as well as between PB1 and PA. Previous studies have shown that the N-terminal 48 amino acids of PB1, termed domain α, contain the residues required for binding PA. We report here the refined mapping of the amino acid sequences within this small region of PB1 that are indispensable for binding PA by deletion mutagenesis of PB1 in a two-hybrid assay. Subsequently, we used site-directed mutagenesis to identify the critical amino acid residues of PB1 for interaction with PA in vivo. The first 12 amino acids of PB1 were found to constitute the core of the interaction interface, thus narrowing the previous boundaries of domain α. The role of the minimal PB1 domain α in influenza virus gene expression and genome replication was subsequently analyzed by evaluating the activity of a set of PB1 mutants in a model reporter minigenome system. A strong correlation was observed between a functional PA binding site on PB1 and P activity. Influenza viruses bearing mutant PB1 genes were recovered using a plasmid-based influenza virus reverse genetics system. Interestingly, mutations that rendered PB1 unable to bind PA were either nonviable or severely growth impaired. These data are consistent with an essential role for the N terminus of PB1 in binding PA, P activity, and virus growth.


2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiichiro Kawai ◽  
Seiichi Omura ◽  
Fumitaka Sato ◽  
Nicholas E Martinez ◽  
Viromi Fernando ◽  
...  

Viral myocarditis has been proposed to be initiated by viral replication in the heart (acute phase), followed by immune-mediated damage (subacute phase), where each phase requires anti-viral and immunomodulatory treatments, respectively. There are no specific biomarkers to distinguish acute from subacute phases of myocarditis while serum troponin, echocardiography, and myocardial biopsy data have been used for diagnosis clinically. To determine the phase-specific biomarkers, we used a mouse model for myocarditis induced by Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), which belongs to the genus Cardiovirus, the family Picornaviridae. We conducted multivariate analyses of viral genome, serum cardiac troponin I, echocardiography, histology, and transcriptome using microarray data of the heart tissue harvested on 4 (acute) and 7 (subacute) days post infection (dpi). The level of viral RNA semi-quantified by RT-PCR was 10-fold higher on 4 dpi (ΔCt = 2.5×10-2 ± 4.9×10-3) than 7 dpi (ΔCt = 2.6×10-3 ± 3.0×10-4) (P < 0.05). Serum troponin was undetectable in 4 of 10 mice on 4 dpi and only in 1 of 10 mice on 7 dpi; the serum troponin levels (ng/ml) on 4 dpi (42.9 ± 15.6) were significantly lower than 7 dpi (249.9 ± 62.8) (P < 0.05). The levels of viral RNA and troponin were strongly correlated on 4 dpi (r = 0.79, P < 0.05), but not 7 dpi (P = 0.12), suggesting that viral replication could be a major cause of myocardial damage only on 4 dpi. We found multiple high intensity cardiac lesions using echocardiography with histological myocarditis on 7 dpi, but not 4 dpi. Transcriptome analyses of microarray data showed upregulation of genes associated with innate immune responses in samples from 4 and 7 dpi, compared with controls. Samples from 7 dpi showed upregulation of genes associated with T, B, and antigen presenting cells and downregulation of cardiac myosin-related genes (Myl4, Myl7, and Mybphl), compared with 4 dpi, suggesting that acquired immune responses contribute to cardiomyocyte damage on 7 dpi. In summary, the chronological order of emergence of biomarker candidates was 1) viral genome and innate immunity, 2) troponin, and 3) acquired immunity and echo and histological changes.


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