Host cell tropism of equine herpesviruses: glycoprotein D of EHV-1 enables EHV-4 to infect a non-permissive cell line.
Equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) cause equine respiratory disease worldwide. However, only EHV-1 is a cause of abortion and neurological disease, despite the two viruses having all 76 genes in common. In addition EHV-1 has a broader host range in cell culture than EHV-4, as exemplified by the rabbit kidney (RK) cell line that is permissive for EHV-1, but not for EHV-4. Here we describe that when EHV-4 produced in equine cells was inoculated onto RK cells expressing glycoprotein D of EHV-1 (RKgD1), infection developed as clusters of rounded cells, and this infectivity could be passaged in RKgD1 cells. The progeny virus could also infect single RK cells, consistent with EHV-4 acquiring EHV1 gD from the complementing cell line. No such infection was observed for EHV-4 in RK cells expressing EHV-1 glycoprotein C. The results are consistent with gD homologues being major determinants of host cell tropism and raise the possibility that gD may be a factor in the differential pathogenicity of EHV-1 and EHV-4.
Whalley
J M
JM
Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. mwhalley@rna.bio.mq.edu.au
Ruitenberg
K M
KM
Sullivan
K
K
Seshadri
L
L
Hansen
K
K
Birch
D
D
Gilkerson
J R
JR
Wellington
J E
JE
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000235:genetics; D023141:Herpesvirus 4, Equid / Q000502:physiology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D011817:Rabbits; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D053586:Virus Internalization
D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C080410:glycoprotein C, Equid herpesvirus 1; C488988:glycoprotein D, Equid herpesvirus 1