scholarly journals A Proline-Rich Region in the Coxsackievirus 3A Protein Is Required for the Protein To Inhibit Endoplasmic Reticulum-to-Golgi Transport

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (8) ◽  
pp. 5163-5173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Els Wessels ◽  
Daniël Duijsings ◽  
Richard A. Notebaart ◽  
Willem J. G. Melchers ◽  
Frank J. M. van Kuppeveld

ABSTRACT The ability of the 3A protein of coxsackievirus B (CVB) to inhibit protein secretion was investigated for this study. Here we show that the ectopic expression of CVB 3A blocked the transport of both the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus, a membrane-bound secretory marker, and the alpha-1 protease inhibitor, a luminal secretory protein, at a step between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi complex. CVB 3A contains a conserved proline-rich region in its N terminus. The importance of this proline-rich region was investigated by introducing Pro-to-Ala substitutions. The mutation of Pro19 completely abolished the ability of 3A to inhibit ER-to-Golgi transport. The mutation of Pro14, Pro17, or Pro20 also impaired this ability, but to a lesser extent. The mutation of Pro18 had no effect. We also investigated the possible importance of this proline-rich region for the function of 3A in viral RNA replication. To this end, we introduced the Pro-to-Ala mutations into an infectious cDNA clone of CVB3. The transfection of cells with in vitro-transcribed RNAs of these clones gave rise to mutant viruses that replicated with wild-type characteristics. We concluded that the proline-rich region in CVB 3A is required for its ability to inhibit ER-to-Golgi transport, but not for its function in viral RNA replication. The functional relevance of the proline-rich region is discussed in light of the proposed structural model of 3A.

1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (10) ◽  
pp. 1341-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Imoto ◽  
I. Tachibana ◽  
R. Urrutia

Dynamin proteins containing a GTPase domain, a pleckstrin homology motif and a proline-rich tail participate in receptor-mediated endocytosis in organisms ranging from insects to vertebrates. In addition, dynamin-related GTPases, such as the yeast Golgi protein Vps1p, which lack both the pleckstrin homology motif and the proline-rich region, participate in vesicular transport within the secretory pathway in lower eukaryotes. However, no data is available on the existence of Vps1p-like proteins in mammalian cells. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a novel gene encoding a human dynamin-related protein, DRP1, displaying high similarity to the Golgi dynamin-like protein Vps1p from yeast and to a Caenorhabditis elegans protein deposited in the databank. These proteins are highly conserved in their N-terminal tripartite GTPase domain but lack the pleckstrin homology motif and proline-rich region. Northern blot analysis reveals that the DRP1 mRNA is detected at high levels in human muscle, heart, kidney and brain. Immunolocalization studies in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using an epitope-tagged form of DRP1 and confocal microscopy show that this protein is concentrated in a perinuclear region that labels with the endoplasmic reticulum marker DiOC6(3) and the Golgi marker C5-DMB-Cer. In addition, the localization of DRP1 is highly similar to the localization of the endoplasmic reticulum and cis-Golgi GTPase Rab1A, but not to the staining for the trans-Golgi GTPase Rab6. Furthermore, overexpression of a cDNA encoding a GTP binding site mutant of DRP1 (DRP1(K38E)) in CHO cells decreases the amount of a secreted luciferase reporter protein, whereas the overexpression of wild-type DRP1 increases the secretion of this marker. Together, these results constitute the first structural and functional characterization of a mammalian protein similar to the yeast dynamin-related GTPase Vps1p and indicate that the participation of these proteins in secretion has been conserved throughout evolution.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 4648-4659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon E. Kremer ◽  
Timothy Haystead ◽  
Ian G. Macara

Mammalian septins constitute a family of at least 12 GTP-binding proteins that can form hetero-oligomers and that are sometimes found in association with actin or microtubule filaments. However, their functions are not understood. Using RNA interference, we found that suppression of septin expression in HeLa cells caused a pronounced increase in microtubule stability. Mass spectroscopic analysis of proteins coprecipitating with Sept6 identified the microtubule-associated protein MAP4 as a septin binding partner. A small, proline-rich region in the C-terminal half of MAP4 bound directly to a Sept 2:6:7 heterotrimer, and to the Sept2 monomer. The trimer blocked the ability of this MAP4 fragment to bind and bundle microtubules in vitro. In intact cells, MAP4 was required for the stabilization of microtubules induced by septin depletion. Moreover, septin depletion increased the number of cells with abnormal nuclei, and this effect was blocked by gene silencing of MAP4. These data identify a novel molecular function for septins in mammalian cells: the modulation of microtubule dynamics through interaction with MAP4.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (11) ◽  
pp. 6631-6643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego E. Alvarez ◽  
María F. Lodeiro ◽  
Silvio J. Ludueña ◽  
Lía I. Pietrasanta ◽  
Andrea V. Gamarnik

ABSTRACT Secondary and tertiary RNA structures present in viral RNA genomes play essential regulatory roles during translation, RNA replication, and assembly of new viral particles. In the case of flaviviruses, RNA-RNA interactions between the 5′ and 3′ ends of the genome have been proposed to be required for RNA replication. We found that two RNA elements present at the ends of the dengue virus genome interact in vitro with high affinity. Visualization of individual molecules by atomic force microscopy reveled that physical interaction between these RNA elements results in cyclization of the viral RNA. Using RNA binding assays, we found that the putative cyclization sequences, known as 5′ and 3′ CS, present in all mosquito-borne flaviviruses, were necessary but not sufficient for RNA-RNA interaction. Additional sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions of the viral RNA were also required for RNA-RNA complex formation. We named these sequences 5′ and 3′ UAR (upstream AUG region). In order to investigate the functional role of 5′-3′ UAR complementarity, these sequences were mutated either separately, to destroy base pairing, or simultaneously, to restore complementarity in the context of full-length dengue virus RNA. Nonviable viruses were recovered after transfection of dengue virus RNA carrying mutations either at the 5′ or 3′ UAR, while the RNA containing the compensatory mutations was able to replicate. Since sequence complementarity between the ends of the genome is required for dengue virus viability, we propose that cyclization of the RNA is a required conformation for viral replication.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (15) ◽  
pp. 6314-6329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Tcherkezian ◽  
Eric I. Danek ◽  
Sarah Jenna ◽  
Ibtissem Triki ◽  
Nathalie Lamarche-Vane

ABSTRACT Rho GTPases regulate multiple cellular processes affecting both cell proliferation and cytoskeletal dynamics. Their cycling between inactive GDP- and active GTP-bound states is tightly regulated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). We have previously identified CdGAP (for Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein) as a specific GAP for Rac1 and Cdc42. CdGAP consists of an N-terminal RhoGAP domain and a C-terminal proline-rich region. In addition, CdGAP is a member of the impressively large number of mammalian RhoGAP proteins that is well conserved among both vertebrates and invertebrates. In mice, we find two predominant isoforms of CdGAP differentially expressed in specific tissues. We report here that CdGAP is highly phosphorylated in vivo on serine and threonine residues. We find that CdGAP is phosphorylated downstream of the MEK-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway in response to serum or platelet-derived growth factor stimulation. Furthermore, CdGAP interacts with and is phosphorylated by ERK-1 and RSK-1 in vitro. A putative DEF (docking for ERK FXFP) domain located in the proline-rich region of CdGAP is required for efficient binding and phosphorylation by ERK1/2. We identify Thr776 as an in vivo target site of ERK1/2 and as an important regulatory site of CdGAP activity. Together, these data suggest that CdGAP is a novel substrate of ERK1/2 and mediates cross talk between the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and regulation of Rac1 activity.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2819-2837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Jones ◽  
Celeste J. Richardson ◽  
Robert J. Litt ◽  
Nava Segev

Small GTPases of the Ypt/Rab family are involved in the regulation of vesicular transport. Cycling between the GDP- and GTP-bound forms and the accessory proteins that regulate this cycling are thought to be crucial for Ypt/Rab function. Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) stimulate both GDP loss and GTP uptake, and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) stimulate GTP hydrolysis. Little is known about GEFs and GAPs for Ypt/Rab proteins. In this article we report the identification and initial characterization of two factors that regulate nucleotide cycling by Ypt1p, which is essential for the first two steps of the yeast secretory pathway. The Ypt1p-GEF stimulates GDP release and GTP uptake at least 10-fold and is specific for Ypt1p. Partially purified Ypt1p-GEF can rescue the inhibition caused by the dominant-negative Ypt1p-D124N mutant of in vitro endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi transport. This mutant probably blocks transport by inhibiting the GEF, suggesting that we have identified the physiological GEF for Ypt1p. The Ypt1p-GAP stimulates GTP hydrolysis by Ypt1p up to 54-fold, has a higher affinity for the GTP-bound form of Ypt1p than for the GDP-bound form, and is specific to a subgroup of exocytic Ypt proteins. The Ypt1p-GAP activity is not affected by deletion of two genes that encode known Ypt GAPs, GYP7and GYP1, nor is it influenced by mutations inSEC18, SEC17, or SEC22, genes whose products are involved in vesicle fusion. The GEF and GAP activities for Ypt1p localize to particulate cellular fractions. However, contrary to the predictions of current models, the GEF activity localizes to the fraction that functions as the acceptor in an endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi transport assay, whereas the GAP activity cofractionates with markers for the donor. On the basis of our current and previous results, we propose a new model for the role of Ypt/Rab nucleotide cycling and the factors that regulate this process.


Virology ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 297 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.Wayne Cheney ◽  
Suhaila Naim ◽  
Vicky C.H. Lai ◽  
Shannon Dempsey ◽  
Daniel Bellows ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 5098-5108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Gastaminza ◽  
Beatriz Perales ◽  
Ana M. Falcón ◽  
Juan Ortín

ABSTRACT PB2 mutants of influenza virus were prepared by altering conserved positions in the N-terminal region of the protein that aligned with the amino acids of the eIF4E protein, involved in cap recognition. These mutant genes were used to reconstitute in vivo viral ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) whose biological activity was determined by (i) assay of viral RNA, cRNA, and mRNA accumulation in vivo, (ii) cap-dependent transcription in vitro, and (iii) cap snatching with purified recombinant RNPs. The results indicated that the W49A, F130A, and R142A mutations of PB2 reduced or abolished the capacity of mutant RNPs to synthesize RNA in vivo but did not substantially alter their ability to transcribe or carry out cap snatching in vitro. Some of the mutations (F130Y, R142A, and R142K) were rescued into infectious virus. While the F130Y mutant virus replicated faster than the wild type, mutant viruses R142A and R142K showed a delayed accumulation of cRNA and viral RNA during the infection cycle but normal kinetics of primary transcription, as determined by the accumulation of viral mRNA in cells infected in the presence of cycloheximide. These results indicate that the N-terminal region of PB2 plays a role in viral RNA replication.


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