title: Synthesis and processing of the equine herpesvirus 1 glycoprotein M.
abstract: In a previous report, the function of the equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) glycoprotein M (gM) homolog was investigated. It was shown that EHV-1 gM is involved in both virus entry and direct cell-to-cell spread of infection (N. Osterrieder et al., J. Virol. 70, 4110-4115, 1996). In this study, experiments were conducted to analyze the synthesis, posttranslational processing, and the putative ion channel function of EHV-1 gM. It was demonstrated that EHV-1 gM is synthesized as an Mr 44,000 polypeptide, which is cotranslationally N-glycosylated to an Mr 46,000-48,000 glycoprotein. The Mr 46,000-48,000 gM moiety is processed to an Mr 50,000-55,000 glycoprotein, which is resistant to treatment with endoglycosidase H, indicating that processing occurs in the Golgi network. EHV-1 gM forms a dimer in infected cells and the virion, as was demonstrated by the presence of an Mr 105,000-110,000 gM-containing band in electrophoretically separated lysates of infected cells and purified extracellular virions. The Mr 105,000-110,000 protein band containing gM was also observed in lysates of cells that had been transfected with EHV-1 gM DNA. The translation of EHV-1 gM is initiated at the first in-frame methionine of the gM open reading frame as shown by transient transfection experiments of full-length gM and a truncated gM lacking the aminoterminal 83 amino acids. Functional expression of EHV-1 gM in Xenopus laevis oocytes together with voltage-clamp analyses demonstrated that gM per se does not exhibit ion channel activity as had been speculated from the predicted structure of the polypeptide.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Microbiology, Infectious and Epidemic Diseases, Ludwig-Maximilians-University München, Munich, Germany. klaus.osterrieder@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Osterrieder
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fakler
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brandmüller
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Seyboldt
authors.forename: O R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Kaaden
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Baines
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D006031:Glycosylation; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000378:metabolism*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008715:Methionine / Q000378:metabolism; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D014764:Viral Proteins; D008715:Methionine