Autographa Californica Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus Enters Host Cells via Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis and Direct Fusion with the Plasma Membrane

The cell entry mechanism of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is not fully understood. Previous studies showed that AcMNPV entered host cells primarily through clathrin-mediated endocytosis, and could efficiently infect cells via fusion with the plasma membrane after a low-pH trigger. However, whether AcMNPV enters cells via these two pathways simultaneously, and the exact manner in which AcMNPV particles are internalized into cells remains unclear. In this study, using single-virus tracking, we observed that AcMNPV particles were first captured by pre-existing clathrin-coated pits (CCP), and were then delivered to early endosomes. Population-based analysis of single-virus tracking and quantitative electron microscopy demonstrated that the majority of particles were captured by CCPs and internalized via invagination. In contrast, a minority of virus particles were not delivered to CCPs, and were internalized through direct fusion with the plasma membrane without invagination. Quantitative electron microscopy also showed that, while inhibition of CCP assembly significantly impaired viral internalization, inhibition of endosomal acidification blocked virus particles out of vesicles. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that approximately 90% of AcMNPV particles entered cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis and 10% entered via direct fusion with the plasma membrane. This study will lead toward a better understanding of AcMNPV infection.

Delineating the Physiological Roles of the PE and Catalytic Domains of LipY in Lipid Consumption in Mycobacterium-Infected Foamy Macrophages

ABSTRACT Within tuberculous granulomas, a subpopulation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resides inside foamy macrophages (FM) that contain abundant cytoplasmic lipid bodies (LB) filled with triacylglycerol (TAG). Upon fusion of LB with M. tuberculosis-containing phagosomes, TAG is hydrolyzed and reprocessed by the bacteria into their own lipids, which accumulate as intracytosolic lipid inclusions (ILI). This phenomenon is driven by many mycobacterial lipases, among which LipY participates in the hydrolysis of host and bacterial TAG. However, the functional contribution of LipY's PE domain to TAG hydrolysis remains unclear. Here, enzymatic studies were performed to compare the lipolytic activities of recombinant LipY and its truncated variant lacking the N-terminal PE domain, LipY(ΔPE). Complementarily, an FM model was used where bone marrow-derived mouse macrophages were infected with M. bovis BCG strains either overexpressing LipY or LipY(ΔPE) or carrying a lipY deletion mutation prior to being exposed to TAG-rich very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Results indicate that truncation of the PE domain correlates with increased TAG hydrolase activity. Quantitative electron microscopy analyses showed that (i) in the presence of lipase inhibitors, large ILI (ILI+3) were not formed because of an absence of LB due to inhibition of VLDL-TAG hydrolysis or inhibition of LB-neutral lipid hydrolysis by mycobacterial lipases, (ii) ILI+3 profiles in the strain overexpressing LipY(ΔPE) were reduced, and (iii) the number of ILI+3 profiles in the ΔlipY mutant was reduced by 50%. Overall, these results delineate the role of LipY and its PE domain in host and mycobacterial lipid consumption and show that additional mycobacterial lipases take part in these processes.

Compartmentalization of membrane trafficking, glucose transport, glycolysis, actin, tubulin and the proteasome in the cytoplasmic droplet/Hermes body of epididymal sperm

Discovered in 1909 by Retzius and described mainly by morphology, the cytoplasmic droplet of sperm (renamed here the Hermes body) is conserved among all mammalian species but largely undefined at the molecular level. Tandem mass spectrometry of the isolated Hermes body from rat epididymal sperm characterized 1511 proteins, 43 of which were localized to the structure in situ by light microscopy and two by quantitative electron microscopy localization. Glucose transporter 3 (GLUT-3) glycolytic enzymes, selected membrane traffic and cytoskeletal proteins were highly abundant and concentrated in the Hermes body. By electron microscope gold antibody labelling, the Golgi trafficking protein TMED7/p27 localized to unstacked flattened cisternae of the Hermes body, as did GLUT-3, the most abundant protein. Its biogenesis was deduced through the mapping of protein expression for all 43 proteins during male germ cell differentiation in the testis. It is at the terminal step 19 of spermiogenesis that the 43 characteristic proteins accumulated in the nascent Hermes body.