scholarly journals Development of Sindbis Viruses Encoding nsP2/GFP Chimeric Proteins and Their Application for Studying nsP2 Functioning

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (10) ◽  
pp. 5046-5057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Atasheva ◽  
Rodion Gorchakov ◽  
Robert English ◽  
Ilya Frolov ◽  
Elena Frolova
Keyword(s):  
Virus Replication ◽  
Sindbis Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Chimeric Protein ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Heterologous Proteins ◽  
Peptide Tags ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT Sindbis virus (SINV) is one of almost 30 currently known alphaviruses. In infected cells, it produces only a few proteins that function in virus replication and interfere with the development of the antiviral response. One of the viral nonstructural proteins, nsP2, not only exhibits protease and RNA helicase activities that are directly involved in viral RNA replication but also plays critical roles in the development of transcriptional and translational shutoffs in the SINV-infected cells. These multiple activities of nsP2 complicate investigations of this protein's functions and further understanding of its structure. Using a transposon-based approach, we generated a cDNA library of SINV genomes with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene randomly inserted into nsP2 and identified a number of sites that can be used for GFP cloning without a strong effect on virus replication. Recombinant SIN viruses encoding nsP2/GFP chimeric protein were capable of growth in tissue culture and interfering with cellular functions. SINV, expressing GFP in the nsP2, was used to isolate nsP2-specific protein complexes formed in the cytoplasm of the infected cells. These complexes contained viral nsPs, all of the cellular proteins that we previously coisolated with SINV nsP3, and some additional protein factors that were not found before in detectable concentrations. The random insertion library-based approach, followed by the selection of the viable variants expressing heterologous proteins, can be applied for mapping the domain structure of the viral nonstructural and structural proteins, cloning of peptide tags for isolation of the protein-specific complexes, and studying their formation by using live-cell imaging. This approach may also be applicable to presentation of additional antigens and retargeting of viruses to new receptors.

Confocal Analysis of the Distribution and Persistence of Sindbis Virus (TaV-GFP) Infection in Midguts of Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-274
Author(s):  
Jason J. Saredy ◽  
Florence Y. Chim ◽  
Zoë L. Lyski ◽  
Yani P. Ahearn ◽  
Doria F. Bowers
Keyword(s):  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Sindbis Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Target Tissue ◽  
Secondary Target ◽  
Posterior Midgut ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Global Threat

AbstractBiological transmission of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) to vertebrate hosts by hematophagous insects poses a global threat because such arboviruses can result in a range of serious public health infectious diseases. Sindbis virus (SINV), the prototype Alphavirus, was used to track infections in the posterior midgut (PMG) of Aedes aegypti adult mosquitoes. Females were fed viremic blood containing a virus reporter, SINV [Thosea asigna virus-green fluorescent protein (TaV-GFP)], that leaves a fluorescent signal in infected cells. We assessed whole-mount PMGs to identify primary foci, secondary target tissues, distribution, and virus persistence. Following a viremic blood meal, PMGs were dissected and analyzed at various days of post blood-feeding. We report that virus foci indicated by GFP in midgut epithelial cells resulted in a 9.8% PMG infection and a 10.8% dissemination from these infected guts. The number of virus foci ranged from 1 to 3 per individual PMG and was more prevalent in the PMG-middle > PMG-frontal > PMG-caudal regions. SINV TaV-GFP was first observed in the PMG (primary target tissue) at 3 days post blood-feeding, was sequestered in circumscribed foci, replicated in PMG peristaltic muscles (secondary target tissue) following dissemination, and GFP was observed to persist in PMGs for 30 days postinfection.

scholarly journals Rotavirus NSP4 Induces a Novel Vesicular Compartment Regulated by Calcium and Associated with Viroplasms

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 6061-6071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Berkova ◽  
S. E. Crawford ◽  
G. Trugnan ◽  
T. Yoshimori ◽  
A. P. Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Replication ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Nonstructural Protein ◽  
Brefeldin A ◽  
Viral Gastroenteritis ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Hek 293 ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT Rotavirus is a major cause of infantile viral gastroenteritis. Rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) has pleiotropic properties and functions in viral morphogenesis as well as pathogenesis. Recent reports show that the inhibition of NSP4 expression by small interfering RNAs leads to alteration of the production and distribution of other viral proteins and mRNA synthesis, suggesting that NSP4 also affects virus replication by unknown mechanisms. This report describes studies aimed at correlating the localization of intracellular NSP4 in cells with its functions. To be able to follow the localization of NSP4, we fused the C terminus of full-length NSP4 with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and expressed this fusion protein inducibly in a HEK 293-based cell line to avoid possible cytotoxicity. NSP4-EGFP was initially localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as documented by Endo H-sensitive glycosylation and colocalization with ER marker proteins. Only a small fraction of NSP4-EGFP colocalized with the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) marker ERGIC-53. NSP4-EGFP did not enter the Golgi apparatus, in agreement with the Endo H sensitivity and a previous report that secretion of an NSP4 cleavage product generated in rotavirus-infected cells is not inhibited by brefeldin A. A significant population of expressed NSP4-EGFP was distributed in novel vesicular structures throughout the cytoplasm, not colocalizing with ER, ERGIC, Golgi, endosomal, or lysosomal markers, thus diverging from known biosynthetic pathways. The appearance of vesicular NSP4-EGFP was dependent on intracellular calcium levels, and vesicular NSP4-EGFP colocalized with the autophagosomal marker LC3. In rotavirus-infected cells, NSP4 colocalized with LC3 in cap-like structures associated with viroplasms, the site of nascent viral RNA replication, suggesting a possible new mechanism for the involvement of NSP4 in virus replication.

scholarly journals Formation of nsP3-Specific Protein Complexes during Sindbis Virus Replication

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 4122-4134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Frolova ◽  
Rodion Gorchakov ◽  
Natalia Garmashova ◽  
Svetlana Atasheva ◽  
Leoncio A. Vergara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ribosomal Proteins ◽  
Sindbis Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Cellular Proteins ◽  
Nonstructural Proteins ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Animal Pathogens

ABSTRACT Alphaviruses are arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) that include a number of important human and animal pathogens. Their replication proceeds in the cytoplasm of infected cells and does not directly depend on nuclei. Alphaviruses encode only four nonstructural proteins that are required for the replication of viral genome and transcription of the subgenomic RNA. However, the replicative enzyme complexes (RCs) appear to include cellular proteins and assemble on cellular organelles. We have developed a set of recombinant Sindbis (SIN) viruses with green fluorescent protein (GFP) insertions in one of the nonstructural proteins, nsP3, to further understand the RCs' genesis and structure. We studied the assembly of nsP3/GFP-containing protein complexes at different stages of infection and isolated a combination of cellular proteins that are associated with SIN nsP3. We demonstrated the following. (i) SIN nsP3 can tolerate the insertion of GFP into different fragments of the coding sequence; the designed recombinant viruses are viable, and their replication leads to the assembly of nsP3/GFP chimeric proteins into gradually developing, higher-order structures differently organized at early and late times postinfection. (ii) At late times postinfection, nsP3 is assembled into complexes of similar sizes, which appear to be bound to cytoskeleton filaments and can aggregate into larger structures. (iii) Protein complexes that are associated with nsP3/GFP contain a high concentration of cytoskeleton proteins, chaperones, elongation factor 1A, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, 14-3-3 proteins, and some of the ribosomal proteins. These proteins are proposed to be essential for SIN RC formation and/or functioning.

scholarly journals Vaccinia Virus F13L Protein with a Conserved Phospholipase Catalytic Motif Induces Colocalization of the B5R Envelope Glycoprotein in Post-Golgi Vesicles

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (16) ◽  
pp. 7528-7542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matloob Husain ◽  
Bernard Moss
Keyword(s):  
Vaccinia Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Plasmid Vector ◽  
Recombinant Vaccinia Virus ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Type I ◽  
Golgi Vesicles ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Catalytic Motif ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The wrapping of intracellular mature vaccinia virions by modifiedtrans-Golgi or endosomal cisternae to form intracellular enveloped virions is dependent on at least two viral proteins encoded by the B5R and F13L open reading frames. B5R is a type I integral membrane glycoprotein, whereas F13L is an unglycosylated, palmitylated protein with a motif that is conserved in a superfamily of phospholipid-metabolizing enzymes. Microscopic visualization of the F13L protein was achieved by fusing it to the enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP). F13L-GFP was functional when expressed by a recombinant vaccinia virus in which it replaced the wild-type F13L gene or by transfection of uninfected cells with a plasmid vector followed by infection with an F13L deletion mutant. In uninfected or infected cells, F13L-GFP was associated with Golgi cisternae and post-Golgi vesicles containing the LAMP 2 late endosomal-lysosomal marker. Association of F13L-GFP with vesicles was dependent on an intact phospholipase catalytic motif and sites of palmitylation. The B5R protein was also associated with LAMP2-containing vesicles when F13L-GFP was coexpressed, but was largely restricted to Golgi cisternae in the absence of F13L-GFP or when the F13L moiety was mutated. We suggest that the F13L protein, like its human phospholipase D homolog, regulates vesicle formation and that this process is involved in intracellular enveloped virion membrane formation.

scholarly journals Effects of inducing or inhibiting apoptosis on Sindbis virus replication in mosquito cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 2651-2661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Wang ◽  
Carol D. Blair ◽  
Ken E. Olson ◽  
Rollie J. Clem
Keyword(s):  
Virus Replication ◽  
Persistent Infection ◽  
Sindbis Virus ◽  
Actinomycin D ◽  
Virus Production ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Lytic Infection ◽  
Mosquito Cells ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Apoptotic Genes

Sindbis virus (SINV) is a mosquito-borne virus in the genus Alphavirus, family Togaviridae. Like most alphaviruses, SINVs exhibit lytic infection (apoptosis) in many mammalian cell types, but are generally thought to cause persistent infection with only moderate cytopathic effects in mosquito cells. However, there have been several reports of apoptotic-like cell death in mosquitoes infected with alphaviruses or flaviviruses. Given that apoptosis has been shown to be an antiviral response in other systems, we have constructed recombinant SINVs that express either pro-apoptotic or anti-apoptotic genes in order to test the effects of inducing or inhibiting apoptosis on SINV replication in mosquito cells. Recombinant SINVs expressing the pro-apoptotic genes reaper (rpr) from Drosophila or michelob_x (mx) from Aedes aegypti caused extensive apoptosis in cells from the mosquito cell line C6/36, thus changing the normal persistent infection observed with SINV to a lytic infection. Although the infected cells underwent apoptosis, high levels of virus replication were still observed during the initial infection. However, virus production subsequently decreased compared with persistently infected cells, which continued to produce high levels of virus over the next several days. Infection of C6/36 cells with SINV expressing the baculovirus caspase inhibitor P35 inhibited actinomycin D-induced caspase activity and protected infected cells from actinomycin D-induced apoptosis, but had no observable effect on virus replication. This study is the first to test directly whether inducing or inhibiting apoptosis affects arbovirus replication in mosquito cells.

scholarly journals Nature and consequences of interactions between Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin and host cells in cattle

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prerna Vohra ◽  
Christina Vrettou ◽  
Jayne C. Hope ◽  
John Hopkins ◽  
Mark P. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Large Animal ◽  
Ileal Mucosa ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Salmonella Enterica Serovar Dublin

AbstractSalmonella enterica is a veterinary and zoonotic pathogen of global importance. While murine and cell-based models of infection have provided considerable knowledge about the molecular basis of virulence of Salmonella, relatively little is known about salmonellosis in naturally-affected large animal hosts such as cattle, which are a reservoir of human salmonellosis. As in humans, Salmonella causes bovine disease ranging from self-limiting enteritis to systemic typhoid-like disease and exerts significant economic and welfare costs. Understanding the nature and consequences of Salmonella interactions with bovine cells will inform the design of effective vaccines and interventions to control animal and zoonotic infections. In calves challenged orally with S. Dublin expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) we observed that the bacteria were predominantly extracellular in the distal ileal mucosa and within gut-associated lymph nodes 48 h post-infection. Intracellular bacteria, identified by flow cytometry using the GFP signal, were predominantly within MHCII+ macrophage-like cells. In contrast to observations from murine models, these S. Dublin-infected cells had elevated levels of MHCII and CD40 compared to both uninfected cells from the same tissue and cells from the cognate tissue of uninfected animals. Moreover, no gross changes of the architecture of infected lymph nodes were observed as was described previously in a mouse model. In order to further investigate Salmonella-macrophage interactions, net replication of S. enterica serovars that differ in virulence in cattle was measured in bovine blood-derived macrophages by enumeration of gentamicin-protected bacteria and fluorescence dilution, but did not correlate with host-specificity.

scholarly journals High Physiological Levels of LMP1 Result in Phosphorylation of eIF2α in Epstein-Barr Virus-Infected Cells

2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 1657-1664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngan Lam ◽  
Mark L. Sandberg ◽  
Bill Sugden
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Epstein Barr Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Barr Virus ◽  
Signaling Domain ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Epstein Barr ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Carboxy Terminal

ABSTRACT LMP1 is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded membrane protein essential for the proliferation of EBV-infected lymphoblasts (E. Kilger, A. Kieser, M. Baumann, and W. Hammerschmidt, EMBO J. 17:1700-1709, 1998). LMP1 also inhibits gene expression and induces cytostasis in transfected cells when it is expressed at levels as little as twofold higher than the average for EBV-positive lymphoblasts (M. Sandberg, A. Kaykas, and B. Sugden, J. Virol. 74:9755-9761, 2000; A. Kaykas and B. Sugden, Oncogene 19:1400-1410, 2000). We have found that in three different clones of EBV-infected lymphoblasts the levels of expression of LMP1 in individual cells in each clone ranged over 100-fold. This difference is due to a difference in levels of the LMP1 transcript. In these clones, cells expressing high levels of LMP1 incorporated less BrdU. We also found that induction of expression of LMP1 or of a derivative of LMP1 with its transmembrane domain fused to green fluorescent protein instead of its carboxy-terminal signaling domain resulted in phosphorylation of eIF2α in EBV-negative Burkitt's lymphoma cells. This induction of phosphorylation of eIF2α was also detected in EBV-infected lymphoblasts, in which high levels of LMP1 correlated with high levels of phosphorylation of eIF2α. Our results indicate that inhibition of gene expression and of cell proliferation by LMP1 occurs normally in EBV-infected cells.

scholarly journals In Vivo Transduction of Central Neurons Using Recombinant Sindbis Virus

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 1497-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Furuta ◽  
Ryohei Tomioka ◽  
Kousuke Taki ◽  
Kouichi Nakamura ◽  
Nobuaki Tamamaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Sindbis Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Immunocytochemical Staining ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Golgi Stain ◽  
Thalamocortical Axons ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Green Fluorescent

A new recombinant virus which labeled the infected neurons in a Golgi stainlike fashion was developed. The virus was based on a replication-defective Sindbis virus and was designed to express green fluorescent protein with a palmitoylation signal (pal-GFP). When the virus was injected into the ventrobasal thalamic nuclei, many neurons were visualized with the fluorescence of palGFP in the injection site. The labeling was enhanced by immunocytochemical staining with an antibody to green fluorescent protein to show the entire configuration of the dendrites. Thalamocortical axons of the infected neurons were also intensely immunostained in the somatosensory cortex. In contrast to palGFP, when DsRed with the same palmitoylation signal (palDsRed) was introduced into neurons with the Sindbis virus, palDsRed neither visualized the infected neurons in a Golgi stain-like manner nor stained projecting axons in the cerebral cortex. The palDsRed appeared to be aggregated or accumulated in some organelles in the infected neurons. Anterograde labeling with palGFP Sindbis virus was very intense, not only in thalamocortical neurons but also in callosal, striatonigral, and nigrostriatal neurons. Occasionally there were retrogradely labeled neurons that showed Golgi stain-like images. These results indicate that palGFP Sindbis virus can be used as an excellent anterograde tracer in the central nervous system.

scholarly journals Novel Real-Time Monitoring System for Human Cytomegalovirus- Infected Cells In Vitro That Uses a Green Fluorescent Protein-PML-Expressing Cell Line

2006 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 2806-2813 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ueno ◽  
Y. Eizuru ◽  
H. Katano ◽  
T. Kurata ◽  
T. Sata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Hcmv Infection ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Pml Bodies ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies are discrete nuclear foci that are intimately associated with many DNA viruses. In human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, the IE1 (for “immediate-early 1”) protein has a marked effect on PML bodies via de-SUMOylation of PML protein. Here, we report a novel real-time monitoring system for HCMV-infected cells using a newly established cell line (SE/15) that stably expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP)-PML protein. In SE/15 cells, HCMV infection causes specific and efficient dispersion of GFP-PML bodies in an IE1-dependent manner, allowing the infected cells to be monitored by fluorescence microscopy without immunostaining. Since a specific change in the detergent solubility of GFP-PML occurs upon infection, the infected cells can be quantified by GFP fluorescence measurement after extraction. With this assay, the inhibitory effects of heparin and neutralizing antibodies were determined in small-scale cultures, indicating its usefulness for screening inhibitory reagents for laboratory virus strains. Furthermore, we established a sensitive imaging assay by counting the number of nuclei containing dispersed GFP-PML, which is applicable for titration of slow-growing clinical isolates. In all strains tested, the virus titers estimated by the GFP-PML imaging assay were well correlated with the plaque-forming cell numbers determined in human embryonic lung cells. Coculture of SE/15 cells and HCMV-infected fibroblasts permitted a rapid and reliable method for estimating the 50% inhibitory concentration values of drugs for clinical isolates in susceptibility testing. Taken together, these results demonstrate the development of a rapid, sensitive, quantitative, and specific detection system for HCMV-infected cells involving a simple procedure that can be used for titration of low-titer clinical isolates.

ROMK1 (Kir1.1) Causes Apoptosis and Chronic Silencing of Hippocampal Neurons

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 1062-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Nadeau ◽  
S. McKinney ◽  
D. J. Anderson ◽  
H. A. Lester
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Input Resistance ◽  
Firing Frequency ◽  
Compensatory Mechanisms ◽  
Spike Shape ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Potential Threshold

Lentiviral vectors were constructed to express the weakly rectifying kidney K+ channel ROMK1 (Kir1.1), either fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or as a bicistronic message (ROMK1-CITE-EGFP). The channel was stably expressed in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. Infected cells were maintained for 2–4 wk without decrease in expression level or evidence of viral toxicity, although 15.4 mM external KCl was required to prevent apoptosis of neurons expressing functional ROMK1. No other trophic agents tested could prevent cell death, which was probably caused by K+loss. This cell death did not occur in glia, which were able to support ROMK1 expression indefinitely. Functional ROMK1, quantified as the nonnative inward current at −144 mV in 5.4 mM external K+blockable by 500 μM Ba2+, ranged from 1 to 40 pA/pF. Infected neurons exhibited a Ba2+-induced depolarization of 7 ± 2 mV relative to matched EGFP-infected controls, as well as a 30% decrease in input resistance and a shift in action potential threshold of 2.6 ± 0.5 mV. This led to a shift in the relation between injected current and firing frequency, without changes in spike shape, size, or timing. This shift, which quantifies silencing as a function of ROMK1 expression, was predicted from Hodgkin-Huxley models. No cellular compensatory mechanisms in response to expression of ROMK1 were identified, making ROMK1 potentially useful for transgenic studies of silencing and neurodegeneration, although its lethality in normal K+ has implications for the use of K+ channels in gene therapy.

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