scholarly journals Biochemical and Genetic Studies of the Initiation of Human Rhinovirus 2 RNA Replication: Purification and Enzymatic Analysis of the RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase 3Dpol

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (22) ◽  
pp. 10969-10978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinga Gerber ◽  
Eckard Wimmer ◽  
Aniko V. Paul

ABSTRACT The replication of human rhinovirus 2 (HRV2), a positive-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Picornaviridae, requires a virus-encoded RNA polymerase. We have expressed in Escherichia coli and purified both a glutathioneS-transferase fusion polypeptide and an untagged form of the HRV2 RNA polymerase 3Dpol. Using in vitro assay systems previously described for poliovirus RNA polymerase 3Dpol(J. B. Flanegan and D. Baltimore, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74:3677–3680, 1977; A. V. Paul, J. H. van Boom, D. Filippov, and E. Wimmer, Nature 393:280–284, 1998), we have analyzed the biochemical properties of the two different enzyme preparations. HRV2 3Dpol is both template and primer dependent, and it catalyzes two types of synthetic reactions in the presence of UTP, Mn2+, and a poly(A) template. The first consists of an elongation reaction of an oligo(dT)15 primer into poly(U). The second is a protein-priming reaction in which the enzyme covalently links UMP to the hydroxyl group of tyrosine in the terminal protein VPg, yielding VPgpU. This precursor is elongated first into VPgpUpU and then into VPg-linked poly(U), which is identical to the 5′ end of picornavirus minus strands. The two forms of the enzyme are about equally active both in the oligonucleotide elongation and in the VPg-primed reaction. Various synthetic mutant VPgs were tested as substrates in the VPg uridylylation reaction.

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 10518-10524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse D. Pyle ◽  
Sean P. J. Whelan

Segmented negative-sense (SNS) RNA viruses initiate infection by delivering into cells a suite of genomic RNA segments, each sheathed by the viral nucleocapsid protein and bound by the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRP). For the orthomyxovirus influenza and the bunyavirus La Crosse, the 5′ end of the genomic RNA binds as a hook-like structure proximal to the active site of the RdRP. Using an in vitro assay for the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRP) of the arenavirus Machupo (MACV), we demonstrate that the 5′ genomic and antigenomic RNAs of both small and large genome segments stimulate activity in a promoter-specific manner. Functional probing of the activating RNAs identifies intramolecular base-pairing between positions +1 and +7 and a pseudotemplated 5′ terminal guanine residue as key for activation. Binding of structured 5′ RNAs is a conserved feature of all SNS RNA virus polymerases, implying that promoter-specific RdRP activation extends beyond the arenaviruses. The 5′ RNAs and the RNA binding pocket itself represent targets for therapeutic intervention.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1738
Author(s):  
Alesia A. Levanova ◽  
Eeva J. Vainio ◽  
Jarkko Hantula ◽  
Minna M. Poranen

Heterobasidion RNA virus 6 (HetRV6) is a double-stranded (ds)RNA mycovirus and a member of the recently established genus Orthocurvulavirus within the family Orthocurvulaviridae. The purpose of the study was to determine the biochemical requirements for RNA synthesis catalyzed by HetRV6 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). HetRV6 RdRp was expressed in Escherichia coli and isolated to near homogeneity using liquid chromatography. The enzyme activities were studied in vitro using radiolabeled UTP. The HetRV6 RdRp was able to initiate RNA synthesis in a primer-independent manner using both virus-related and heterologous single-stranded (ss)RNA templates, with a polymerization rate of about 46 nt/min under optimal NTP concentration and temperature. NTPs with 2′-fluoro modifications were also accepted as substrates in the HetRV6 RdRp-catalyzed RNA polymerization reaction. HetRV6 RdRp transcribed viral RNA genome via semi-conservative mechanism. Furthermore, the enzyme demonstrated terminal nucleotidyl transferase (TNTase) activity. Presence of Mn2+ was required for the HetRV6 RdRp catalyzed enzymatic activities. In summary, our study shows that HetRV6 RdRp is an active replicase in vitro that can be potentially used in biotechnological applications, molecular biology, and biomedicine.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustina P. Bertolin ◽  
Florian Weissmann ◽  
Jingkun Zeng ◽  
Viktor Posse ◽  
Jennifer C. Milligan ◽  
...  

SummaryThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has turned into the largest public health and economic crisis in recent history impacting virtually all sectors of society. There is a need for effective therapeutics to battle the ongoing pandemic. Repurposing existing drugs with known pharmacological safety profiles is a fast and cost-effective approach to identify novel treatments. The COVID-19 etiologic agent is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus. Coronaviruses rely on the enzymatic activity of the replication-transcription complex (RTC) to multiply inside host cells. The RTC core catalytic component is the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) holoenzyme. The RdRp is one of the key druggable targets for CoVs due to its essential role in viral replication, high degree of sequence and structural conservation and the lack of homologs in human cells. Here, we have expressed, purified and biochemically characterised active SARS-CoV-2 RdRp complexes. We developed a novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based strand displacement assay for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RdRp activity suitable for a high-throughput format. As part of a larger research project to identify inhibitors for all the enzymatic activities encoded by SARS-CoV-2, we used this assay to screen a custom chemical library of over 5000 approved and investigational compounds for novel SARS-CoV-2 RdRp inhibitors. We identified 3 novel compounds (GSK-650394, C646 and BH3I-1) and confirmed suramin and suramin-like compounds as in vitro SARS-CoV-2 RdRp activity inhibitors. We also characterised the antiviral efficacy of these drugs in cell-based assays that we developed to monitor SARS-CoV-2 growth.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 210-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Colombatto ◽  
D.P. Morgavi ◽  
A.F. Furtado ◽  
K.A. Beauchemin

Results in the literature concerning the efficacy of feed enzymes for ruminant diets have been mixed. Commercial preparations currently used are fermentation extracts containing several enzymic activities. It has been suggested that ruminal fermentation of grass and maize silages is enzyme-limited (Wallace et al., 2001). In order to design better enzyme additives, the enzyme activities likely to affect the animal responses should be identified. This study examined 23 commercial enzyme preparations for their biochemical properties and their ability to influence the in vitro degradation of alfalfa and maize silage.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (22) ◽  
pp. 10979-10990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinga Gerber ◽  
Eckard Wimmer ◽  
Aniko V. Paul

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that the RNA polymerase 3Dpolof human rhinovirus 2 (HRV2) catalyzes the covalent linkage of UMP to the terminal protein (VPg) using poly(A) as a template (K. Gerber, E. Wimmer, and A. V. Paul, J. Virol. 75:10969–10978, 2001). The products of this in vitro reaction are VPgpU, VPgpUpU, and VPg-poly(U), the 5′ end of minus-strand RNA. In the present study we used an assay system developed for poliovirus 3Dpol (A. V. Paul, E. Rieder, D. W. Kim, J. H. van Boom, and E. Wimmer, J. Virol. 74: 10359–10370, 2000) to search for a viral sequence or structure in HRV2 RNA that would provide specificity to this reaction. We now show that a small hairpin in HRV2 RNA [cre(2A)], located in the coding sequence of 2Apro, serves as the primary template for HRV2 3Dpol in the uridylylation of HRV2 VPg, yielding VPgpU and VPgpUpU. The in vitro reaction is strongly stimulated by the addition of purified HRV2 3CDpro. Our analyses suggest that HRV2 3Dpol uses a “slide-back” mechanism during synthesis of the VPg-linked precursors. The corresponding cis- replicating RNA elements in the 2CATPase coding region of poliovirus type 1 Mahoney (I. Goodfellow, Y. Chaudhry, A. Richardson, J. Meredith, J. W. Almond, W. Barclay, and D. J. Evans, J. Virol. 74:4590–4600, 2000) and VP1 of HRV14 (K. L. McKnight and S. M. Lemon, RNA 4:1569–1584, 1998) can be functionally exchanged in the assay with cre(2A) of HRV2. Mutations of either the first or the second A in the conserved A1A2A3CA sequence in the loop of HRV2 cre(2A) abolished both viral growth and the RNA's ability to serve as a template in the in vitro VPg uridylylation reaction.


1999 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 2225-2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Govoni ◽  
François Canonne-Hergaux ◽  
Cheryl G. Pfeifer ◽  
Sandra L. Marcus ◽  
Scott D. Mills ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Mutations at the Nramp1 locus in vivo cause susceptibility to infection by unrelated intracellular microbes.Nramp1 encodes an integral membrane protein abundantly expressed in the endosomal-lysosomal compartment of macrophages and is recruited to the phagosomal membrane following phagocytosis. The mechanism by which Nramp1 affects the biochemical properties of the phagosome to control microbial replication is unknown. To devise an in vitro assay for Nramp1 function, we introduced a wild-typeNramp1G169 cDNA into RAW 264.7 macrophages (which bear a homozygous mutant Nramp1D169 allele and thus are permissive to replication of specific intracellular parasites). Recombinant Nramp1 was expressed in a membranous compartment in RAW264.7 cells and was recruited to the membrane ofSalmonella typhimurium and Yersinia enterocolitica containing phagosomes. Evaluation of the antibacterial activity of RAW264.7 transfectants showed that expression of the recombinant Nramp1 protein abrogated intracellular replication of S. typhimurium. Studies with a replication-defectiveS. typhimurium mutant suggest that this occurs through an enhanced bacteriostatic activity. The effect of Nramp1 expression was specific, since (i) it was not seen in RAW264.7 transfectants overexpressing the closely related Nramp2 protein, and (ii) control RAW264.7 cells, Nramp1, and Nramp2 transfectants could all efficiently kill a temperature-sensitive, replication-defective mutant of S. typhimurium. Finally, increased antibacterial activity of the Nramp1 RAW264.7 transfectants was linked to increased phagosomal acidification, a distinguishing feature of primary macrophages expressing a wild-type Nramp1 allele. Together, these results indicate that transfection of Nramp1 cDNAs in the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line can be used as a direct assay to study both Nramp1 function and mechanism of action as well as to identify structure-function relationships in this protein.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John I. Robinson ◽  
Stephen M. Beverley

AbstractLeishmaniais a widespread trypanosomatid protozoan parasite causing significant morbidity and mortality in humans. The endobiont dsRNA virusLeishmaniaRNA virus 1 (LRV1) chronically infects some strains, where it increases parasite numbers and virulence in murine leishmaniasis models, and correlates with increased treatment failure in human disease. Previously, we reported that 2’-C-methyladenosine (2CMA) potently inhibited LRV1 inLeishmania guyanensis(Lgy) andL. braziliensis, leading to viral eradication at concentrations above 10 µM. Here we probed the cellular mechanisms of 2CMA inhibition, involving metabolism, accumulation and inhibition of the viral RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RDRP). Activation to 2CMA triphosphate (2CMATP) was required, as 2CMA showed no inhibition of RDRP activity from virions purified on cesium chloride gradients. In contrast, 2CMA-TP showed IC50s ranging from 150 to 910 µM, depending on the CsCl density of the virion (empty, ssRNA- and dsRNA-containing).Lgyparasites incubatedin vitrowith 10 µM 2CMA accumulated 2CMA-TP to 410 µM, greater than the most sensitive RDRP IC50 measured. Quantitative modeling showed good agreement between the degree of LRV1 RDRP inhibition and LRV1 levels. These results establish that 2CMA activity is due to its conversion to 2CMA-TP, which accumulates to levels that inhibit RDRP and cause LRV1 loss. This attests to the impact of the Leishmania purine uptake and metabolism pathways, which allow even a weak RDRP inhibitor to effectively eradicate LRV1 at micromolar concentrations. Future RDRP inhibitors with increased potency may have potential therapeutic applications for ameliorating the increased Leishmania pathogenicity conferred by LRV1.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. e01508-20
Author(s):  
Gaofei Lu ◽  
Xi Zhang ◽  
Weinan Zheng ◽  
Jialei Sun ◽  
Lan Hua ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNucleotide analogs targeting viral RNA polymerase have been proved to be an effective strategy for antiviral treatment and are promising antiviral drugs to combat the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. In this study, we developed a robust in vitro nonradioactive primer extension assay to quantitatively evaluate the efficiency of incorporation of nucleotide analogs by SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Our results show that many nucleotide analogs can be incorporated into RNA by SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and that the incorporation of some of them leads to chain termination. The discrimination values of nucleotide analogs over those of natural nucleotides were measured to evaluate the incorporation efficiency of nucleotide analog by SARS-CoV-2 RdRp. In agreement with the data published in the literature, we found that the incorporation efficiency of remdesivir-TP is higher than that of ATP and incorporation of remdesivir-TP caused delayed chain termination, which can be overcome by higher concentrations of the next nucleotide to be incorporated. Our data also showed that the delayed chain termination pattern caused by remdesivir-TP incorporation is different for different template sequences. Multiple incorporations of remdesivir-TP caused chain termination under our assay conditions. Incorporation of sofosbuvir-TP is very low, suggesting that sofosbuvir may not be very effective in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. As a comparison, 2′-C-methyl-GTP can be incorporated into RNA efficiently, and the derivative of 2′-C-methyl-GTP may have therapeutic application in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. This report provides a simple screening method that should be useful for evaluating nucleotide-based drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and for studying the mechanism of action of selected nucleotide analogs.


1973 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 202-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Τ. Schwarz ◽  
Christoph Scholtissek

The enzyme-template complex of influenza RNA polymerase (fowl plague virus) was purified 200-fold. The sole virus component found in this preparation was RNP-antigen. All attempts to remove the internal template led to an irreversible loss of enzyme activity. The complex was essentially free of nucleases. It synthesized exclusively viral minus strand RNA and was unable to initiate more than one cycle of RNA synthesis. The lag phase at the beginning of RNA synthesis in vitro, present in crude enzyme preparations, was abolished with the purified complex. The enzyme was sensitive to sulfhydryl reagents and it was able to accept α-S-ATP in place of ATP.


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