Inhibition of cell proliferation by SARS-CoV infection in Vero E6 cells.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Infection of Vero E6 cells with SARS-CoV inhibits cell proliferation. Our previous study indicated that Akt, which is poorly phosphorylated in confluent cultures of Vero E6 cells, is phosphorylated and then dephosphorylated upon infection by SARS-CoV. In the present study, we showed that a serine residue of Akt was phosphorylated in Vero E6 cells in subconfluent culture and that Akt was dephosphorylated rapidly after SARS-CoV infection without up-regulation of its phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, which is one of the downstream targets of Akt, was prevented in SARS-CoV-infected cells. However, treatment with glycogen synthase kinase-3beta small interfering RNA indicated that the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta signaling pathway was not related to inhibition of cell proliferation. Treatment of Vero E6 cells with the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase/Akt inhibitor, LY294002, which induces dephosphorylation of Akt, inhibited cell proliferation. As shown in our previous studies, apoptosis occurred in virus-infected cells within 18 h postinfection. Cellular mRNA transcription, which was reported to be up-regulated in SARS-CoV-infected Caco-2 cells, was not up-regulated in virus-infected Vero E6 cells, partially as a result of apoptosis. These results suggested that inhibition of cell proliferation is regulated by both the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase/Akt signaling pathway and by apoptosis in SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells. This is the first study to analyze SARS-CoV-induced cell growth inhibition.
Mizutani
Tetsuya
T
Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology 1, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. tmizutan@nih.go.jp
Fukushi
Shuetsu
S
Iizuka
Daisuke
D
Inanami
Osamu
O
Kuwabara
Mikinori
M
Takashima
Hideaki
H
Yanagawa
Hiroshi
H
Saijo
Masayuki
M
Kurane
Ichiro
I
Morikawa
Shigeru
S
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014709:Vero Cells
D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt