Baculovirus Entry and Egress from Insect Cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Blissard ◽  
David A. Theilmann

Baculoviruses are large DNA viruses of insects that are highly pathogenic in many hosts. In the infection cycle, baculoviruses produce two types of virions. These virion phenotypes are physically and functionally distinct, and each serves a critical role in the biology of the virus. One phenotype, the occlusion-derived virus (ODV), is occluded within a crystallized protein that facilitates oral infection of the host. A large complex of at least nine ODV envelope proteins called per os infectivity factors are critically important for ODV infection of insect midgut epithelial cells. Viral egress from midgut cells is by budding to produce a second virus phenotype, the budded virus (BV). BV binds, enters, and replicates in most other tissues of the host insect. Cell recognition and entry by BV are mediated by a single major envelope glycoprotein: GP64 in some baculoviruses and F in others. Entry and egress by the two virion phenotypes occur by dramatically different mechanisms and reflect a life cycle in which ODV is specifically adapted for oral infection while BV mediates dissemination of the infection within the animal.

Author(s):  
James M. Slavicek ◽  
Melissa J. Mercer ◽  
Mary Ellen Kelly

Nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPV, family Baculoviridae) produce two morphological forms, a budded virus form and a viral form that is occluded into a paracrystalline protein matrix. This structure is termed a polyhedron and is composed primarily of the protein polyhedrin. Insects are infected by NPVs after ingestion of the polyhedron and release of the occluded virions through dissolution of the polyhedron in the alkaline environment of the insect midgut. Early after infection the budded virus form is produced. It buds through the plasma membrane and then infects other cells. Later in the infection cycle the occluded form of the virus is generated (reviewed by Blissard and Rohrmann, 1990).The processes of polyhedron formation and virion occlusion are likely to involve a number of viral gene products. However, only two genes, the polyhedrin gene and 25K FP gene, have been identified to date that are necessary for the wild type number of polyhedra to be formed and viral particles occluded.


2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1767) ◽  
pp. 20180324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manli Wang ◽  
Zhihong Hu

Baculoviridae is a family of large DNA viruses that infect insects. They have been extensively used as safe and efficient biological agents for the control of insect pests. As a result of coevolution with their hosts, baculoviruses developed unique life cycles characterized by the production of two distinctive virion phenotypes, occlusion-derived virus and budded virus, which are responsible for mediating primary infection in insect midgut epithelia and spreading systemic infection within infected insects, respectively. In this article, advances associated with virus–host interactions during the baculovirus life cycle are reviewed. We mainly focus on how baculoviruses exploit versatile strategies to overcome diverse host barriers and establish successful infections. For example, in the midgut, baculoviruses encode enzymes to degrade peritrophic membranes and use a series of per os infectivity factors to initiate primary infection. A viral fibroblast growth factor is expressed to attract tracheoblasts that spread the virus for systemic infection. Baculoviruses use different strategies to suppress host defence systems, including apoptosis, melanization and RNA interference. Additionally, baculoviruses can manipulate host physiology and induce ‘tree-top disease’ for optimal virus replication and dispersal. These advances in our understanding of baculoviruses will greatly inform the development of more effective baculoviral pesticides. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Biotic signalling sheds light on smart pest management’.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1233
Author(s):  
Adriana Ricarte-Bermejo ◽  
Oihane Simón ◽  
Ana Beatriz Fernández ◽  
Trevor Williams ◽  
Primitivo Caballero

Enhancins are metalloproteinases that facilitate baculovirus infection in the insect midgut. They are more prevalent in granuloviruses (GVs), constituting up to 5% of the proteins of viral occlusion bodies (OBs). In nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), in contrast, they are present in the envelope of the occlusion-derived virions (ODV). In the present study, we constructed a recombinant Autographa californica NPV (AcMNPV) that expressed the Trichoplusia ni GV (TnGV) enhancin 3 (En3), with the aim of increasing the presence of enhancin in the OBs or ODVs. En3 was successfully produced but did not localize to the OBs or the ODVs and accumulated in the soluble fraction of infected cells. As a result, increased OB pathogenicity was observed when OBs were administered in mixtures with the soluble fraction of infected cells. The mixture of OBs and the soluble fraction of Sf9 cells infected with BacPhEn3 recombinant virus was ~3- and ~4.7-fold more pathogenic than BacPh control OBs in the second and fourth instars of Spodoptera exigua, respectively. In contrast, when purified, recombinant BacPhEn3 OBs were as pathogenic as control BacPh OBs. The expression of En3 in the soluble fraction of insect cells may find applications in the development of virus-based insecticides with increased efficacy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1275-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Bo Wang ◽  
Chikara Masuta ◽  
Neil A. Smith ◽  
Hanako Shimura

RNA silencing plays a critical role in plant resistance against viruses, with multiple silencing factors participating in antiviral defense. Both RNA and DNA viruses are targeted by the small RNA-directed RNA degradation pathway, with DNA viruses being also targeted by RNA-directed DNA methylation. To evade RNA silencing, plant viruses have evolved a variety of counter-defense mechanisms such as expressing RNA-silencing suppressors or adopting silencing-resistant RNA structures. This constant defense–counter defense arms race is likely to have played a major role in defining viral host specificity and in shaping viral and possibly host genomes. Recent studies have provided evidence that RNA silencing also plays a direct role in viral disease induction in plants, with viral RNA-silencing suppressors and viral siRNAs as potentially the dominant players in viral pathogenicity. However, questions remain as to whether RNA silencing is the principal mediator of viral pathogenicity or if other RNA-silencing-independent mechanisms also account for viral disease induction. RNA silencing has been exploited as a powerful tool for engineering virus resistance in plants as well as in animals. Further understanding of the role of RNA silencing in plant–virus interactions and viral symptom induction is likely to result in novel anti-viral strategies in both plants and animals.


2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Wang ◽  
Yu Shang ◽  
Cheng Chen ◽  
Shurui Liu ◽  
Meng Chang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Baculovirus entry into insect midgut cells is dependent on a multiprotein complex of per os infectivity factors (PIFs) on the envelopes of occlusion-derived virions (ODVs). The structure and assembly of the PIF complex are largely unknown. To reveal the complete members of the complex, a combination of blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and Western blotting was conducted on three different baculoviruses. The results showed that the PIF complex has a molecular mass of ∼500 kDa and consists of nine PIFs, including a newly discovered member (PIF9). To decipher the assembly process, each pif gene was knocked out from the Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) genome individually by use of synthetic baculovirus technology, and the impact on PIF complex formation was investigated. Deletion of pif8 resulted in the formation of an ∼400-kDa subcomplex. Deletion of pif0, -4, -6, -7, or -9 resulted in a subcomplex of ∼230 kDa, but deletion of pif1, -2, or -3 abolished formation of any complex. Taken together, our data identified a core complex of ∼230 kDa, consisting of PIF1, -2, and -3. This revised the previous knowledge that the core complex was about 170 kDa and contained PIF1 to -4. Analysis of the PIF complex in cellular fractions suggested that it is assembled in the cytoplasm before being transported to the nucleus and subsequently incorporated into the envelopes of ODVs. Only the full complex, not the subcomplex, is resistant to proteolytic attack, indicating the essentiality of correct complex assembly for oral infection. IMPORTANCE Entry of baculovirus into host insects is mediated by a per os infectivity factor (PIF) complex on the envelopes of occlusion-derived viruses (ODVs). Knowledge of the composition and structure of the PIF complex is fundamental to understanding its mode of action. By using multiple approaches, we determined the complete list of proteins (nine) in the PIF complex. In contrast to previous knowledge in the field, the core complex is revised to ∼230 kDa and consists of PIF1 to -3 but not PIF4. Interestingly, our results suggest that the PIF complex is formed in the cytoplasm prior to its transport to the nucleus and subsequent incorporation into ODVs. Only the full complex is resistant to proteolytic degradation in the insect midgut, implying the critical role of the entire complex. These findings provide the baseline for future studies on the ODV entry mechanism mediated by the multiprotein complex.


mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geneviève Pépin ◽  
Dominic De Nardo ◽  
Christina L. Rootes ◽  
Tomalika R. Ullah ◽  
Sumaiah S. Al-Asmari ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Activation of cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) plays a critical role in antiviral responses to many DNA viruses. Sensing of cytosolic DNA by cGAS results in synthesis of the endogenous second messenger cGAMP that activates stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in infected cells. Critically, cGAMP can also propagate antiviral responses to uninfected cells through intercellular transfer, although the modalities of this transfer between epithelial and immune cells remain poorly defined. We demonstrate here that cGAMP-producing epithelial cells can transactivate STING in cocultured macrophages through direct cGAMP transfer. cGAMP transfer was reliant upon connexin expression by epithelial cells and pharmacological inhibition of connexins blunted STING-dependent transactivation of the macrophage compartment. Macrophage transactivation by cGAMP contributed to a positive-feedback loop amplifying antiviral responses, significantly protecting uninfected epithelial cells against viral infection. Collectively, our findings constitute the first direct evidence of a connexin-dependent cGAMP transfer to macrophages by epithelial cells, to amplify antiviral responses. IMPORTANCE Recent studies suggest that extracellular cGAMP can be taken up by macrophages to engage STING through several mechanisms. Our work demonstrates that connexin-dependent communication between epithelial cells and macrophages plays a significant role in the amplification of antiviral responses mediated by cGAMP and suggests that pharmacological strategies aimed at modulating connexins may have therapeutic applications to control antiviral responses in humans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 6570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mazin A. Al-Salihi ◽  
Philipp A. Lang

The rhomboid family are evolutionary conserved intramembrane proteases. Their inactive members, iRhom in Drosophila melanogaster and iRhom1 and iRhom2 in mammals, lack the catalytic center and are hence labelled “inactive” rhomboid family members. In mammals, both iRhoms are involved in maturation and trafficking of the ubiquitous transmembrane protease a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 17, which through cleaving many biologically active molecules has a critical role in tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Notch signaling. Accordingly, with iRhom2 having a profound influence on ADAM17 activation and substrate specificity it regulates these signaling pathways. Moreover, iRhom2 has a role in the innate immune response to both RNA and DNA viruses and in regulation of keratin subtype expression in wound healing and cancer. Here we review the role of iRhom2 in immunity and disease, both dependent and independent of its regulation of ADAM17.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abida Siddiqa ◽  
Justyna Broniarczyk ◽  
Lawrence Banks

Endocytic trafficking plays a major role in transport of incoming human papillomavirus (HPVs) from plasma membrane to the trans Golgi network (TGN) and ultimately into the nucleus. During this infectious entry, several cellular sorting factors are recruited by the viral capsid protein L2, which plays a critical role in ensuring successful transport of the L2/viral DNA complex to the nucleus. Later in the infection cycle, two viral oncoproteins, E5 and E6, have also been shown to modulate different aspects of endocytic transport pathways. In this review, we highlight how HPV makes use of and perturbs normal endocytic transport pathways, firstly to achieve infectious virus entry, secondly to produce productive infection and the completion of the viral life cycle and, finally, on rare occasions, to bring about the development of malignancy.


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