Intercellular trafficking of herpes simplex virus type 2 UL14 deletion mutant proteins.
The UL14 gene product of herpes simplex virus is a 32kDa protein expressed late in infection and is a minor component of the virion tegument. We recently showed that the wild-type UL14 protein has heat shock protein (HSP)-like and/or molecular chaperone-like functions. In this study, the intracellular localization of UL14 wild-type and deletion mutant proteins was examined in transfected cells by immunofluorescence. We found that N-terminus deleted but not wild-type/C-terminus deleted mutant proteins showed a significant number of cytoplasmic, multi-cellular stains in transfected Vero cells. The effect was greatly intensified by subjecting cells to heat shock at 43 degrees C, whereas it was obstructed by treatment with the microfilament-disrupting drug cytochalasin D. The staining patterns of UL14 antigen-positive cells after heat shock suggested a cell-to-cell spread of the protein. Although the mechanism is unclear, the phenomenon seems to be an unprecedented type of intercellular trafficking.
Yamauchi
Yohei
Y
Laboratory of Virology, Institute for Disease Mechanism and Control, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Tsurumai-cho 65, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
Goshima
Fumi
F
Yoshikawa
Tetsushi
T
Nozawa
Naoki
N
Koshizuka
Tetsuo
T
Nishiyama
Yukihiro
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D015638:Cytochalasin D / Q000494:pharmacology; D017931:DNA Primers; D018869:Heat-Shock Response; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D021381:Protein Transport; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014709:Vero Cells; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D017931:DNA Primers; C402639:UL14 protein, Human herpesvirus 1; D014764:Viral Proteins; D015638:Cytochalasin D