Group C rotavirus NSP4 induces diarrhea in neonatal mice.
Nonstructural glycoprotein NSP4 of group A rotavirus induces diarrhea in neonatal mice by functioning as an enterotoxin. Previously, our laboratory reported that the structural features of group A and group C rotavirus NSP4 proteins are well conserved despite a lack of sequence homology between group A and group C rotavirus NSP4 proteins [Horie Y, et al., Arch Virol (1997) 142: 1865-1872]. To test whether group C rotavirus NSP4 has an enterotoxigenic activity, we expressed in Escherichia coli the carboxy two-thirds (corresponding to amino acid residues 55-150) of the NSP4 protein derived from group C rotavirus strain Ehime 9301. This truncated NSP4 protein was able to induce diarrhea in 5-day-old CD-1 mice when administered intraperitoneally. Thus, group C rotavirus NSP4 acts as an enterotoxin like group A rotavirus NSP4.
Sasaki
S
S
Department of Microbiology, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
Horie
Y
Y
Nakagomi
T
T
Oseto
M
M
Nakagomi
O
O
D000828:Animal Population Groups; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000821:virology*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D014162:Transfection; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D004768:Enterotoxins; D006023:Glycoproteins; C081369:NS28 protein, rotavirus; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins