title: Characterization of the rhesus cytomegalovirus US28 locus.
abstract: Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) US28 (and the related open reading frame [ORF] US27) are G-protein-coupled receptor homologs believed to play a role in viral pathogenesis. In vitro, US28 has been shown to bind and internalize ligands, as well as activate intracellular signaling in response to certain chemokines, and to initiate the migration of smooth muscle cells to chemokine gradients. To assess the role of US28 in vivo, we examined the rhesus model and sequenced and characterized the rhesus CMV US28 locus. We found that rhesus CMV carries five tandem homologs of US28, all widely divergent from US28 and from each other. By reverse transcription-PCR and Northern analysis, we demonstrated expression of these ORFs in infected cells. With stable cell lines expressing these ORFs, we analyzed the homolog's binding and signaling characteristics across a wide range of chemokines and found one (RhUS28.5) to have a ligand binding profile similar to that of US28. In addition, we localized US28 and the rhesus CMV homolog RhUS28.5 to the envelope of infectious virions, suggesting a role in viral entry or cell tropism.
authors.affiliation: ChemoCentryx, San Carlos, California 94070, USA. mpenfold@chemocentryx.com
authors.forename: M E T
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Penfold
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dairaghi
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Schall
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D006023:Glycoproteins; D006801:Humans; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000821:virology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine; C411191:US28 receptor, Cytomegalovirus; C095111:US3 protein, cytomegalovirus; D014764:Viral Proteins; D002118:Calcium