Host range and cellular tropism of the human exogenous gammaretrovirus XMRV.
Recently, the first human infection with an exogenous gammaretrovirus (XMRV) was reported. In its initial description, XMRV was confined to prostate stromal fibroblasts, although subsequent reports demonstrated XMRV protein expression in prostate epithelial cells. Most recently, XMRV has been detected in blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. The aim of this study was to elucidate the transmission routes and tissue tropism of XMRV by comparing its host range, receptor usage and LTR functionality with other MLV isolates. We demonstrate using pseudotype experiments that XMRV Env mediates efficient infection of cells from different species. We show that replication competent XMRV infects various human cell types, including hematopoietic cell lines and prostate stromal fibroblasts. XMRV-LTR activity is significantly higher in the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP and in prostate stromal fibroblasts, compared to other cell types tested and could be one factor contributing to efficient viral spread in prostate tissue.
Stieler
Kristin
K
Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
Schulz
Claudia
C
Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
Lavanya
Madakasira
M
Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
Aepfelbacher
Martin
M
Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
Stocking
Carol
C
Heinrich-Pette-Institute, 20251 Hamburg, Germany.
Fischer
Nicole
N
Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: nfischer@uke.de.
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D017988:Gammaretrovirus / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010802:Phylogeny; D011467:Prostate / Q000821:virology; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000378:metabolism; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences / Q000502:physiology; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000502:physiology; D000089842:Xenotropic and Polytropic Retrovirus Receptor
D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D011991:Receptors, Virus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D000089842:Xenotropic and Polytropic Retrovirus Receptor