title: Amino acids of conserved kinase motifs of cytomegalovirus protein UL97 are essential for autophosphorylation.
abstract: Thirteen point mutations targeting predicted domains conserved in homologous protein kinases were introduced into the UL97 coding region of the human cytomegalovirus. All mutagenized proteins were expressed in cells infected with recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVV). Several mutations drastically reduced ganciclovir (GCV) phosphorylation. Mutations at amino acids G340, A442, L446, and F523 resulted in a complete loss of pUL97 phosphorylation, which was strictly associated with a loss of GCV phosphorylation. Our results confirm that in rVV-infected cells pUL97 phosphorylation is due to autophosphorylation and show that several amino acids conserved within domains of protein kinases are essential for this pUL97 phosphorylation. GCV phosphorylation is dependent on pUL97 phosphorylation.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Virologie, Institut für Mikrobiologie und Immunologie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Höhn
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schaarschmidt
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wunderlich
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mertens
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000235:genetics; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); C075365:ganciclovir kinase