Expression of human cytomegalovirus immediate early antigens is responsible for a novel chromatin structure of infected human embryonic lung cells.
Whereas human embryonic lung (HEL) cells displayed chromatin fibers composed of a repeat of conventional nucleosomes of 15 nm in diameter, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection induced transient appearance of a novel chromatin structure composed of a repeat of large ellipsoids of 45-65 nm X 15-30 nm with linkers of 50-60 nm long and 6-7 nm thick. Essentially the same change in chromatin structure could be induced when uninfected HEL cell nuclei were incubated in vitro with a 0.4 M NaCl nuclear extract from HCMV-infected HEL cells expressing immediate early antigens (IEA's) or with a similar nuclear extract from NIH/3T3 cells constitutively expressing HCMV IEA's. The latter cell line was established by transformation of the mouse cells with a plasmid carrying the HCMV major immediate early and immediate early 2 genes. These results together with those of control experiments suggest that the expression of IEA's is directly or indirectly responsible for the appearance of the novel chromatin structure in HCMV-infected HEL cells.
Maeda-Takekoshi
F
F
Department of Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Tokai University, Kanagawa.
Takekoshi
M
M
Ihara
S
S
Watanabe
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D002843:Chromatin / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D008854:Microscopy, Electron
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D002843:Chromatin; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; C044582:immediate-early proteins, cytomegalovirus