title: Alterations and diversity in the cytoplasmic tail of the fusion protein of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis virus strains isolated in Osaka, Japan.
abstract: We determined the nucleotide sequence of the fusion (F) gene of three strains (Osaka-1, -2, and -3) of nonproductive variants of measles virus (MV). These viral strains were isolated in Osaka, Japan, from brain tissues of patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship among the three strains of SSPE virus. The cytoplasmic tail of the F protein, predicted from sequence analysis of the gene, is altered in all three SSPE strains when compared to the MV field strains. However, the extent and mode of alteration are different in each strain. The F protein of the Osaka-1 strain has six nonconservative amino acid substitutions and a 29-residue elongation of its cytoplasmic tail. The F protein of the Osaka-3 strain has two nonconservative substitutions and a 5-residue truncation of its C-terminus. Although the termination codon is not altered in the F protein of the Osaka-2 strain, five or six amino acids are changed in the cytoplasmic tail of the F protein of the two sibling viruses of this strain. The significance of the altered cytoplasmic domain of the SSPE viruses in the SSPE pathogenesis is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ayata
authors.forename: Masatsugu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komase
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Nobuhisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shingai
authors.forename: Isamu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: Tsunekazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamano
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogura
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D007564:Japan; D008459:Measles virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000821:virology*; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins