title: The feline calicivirus leader of the capsid protein is associated with cytopathic effect.
abstract: Open reading frame 2 (ORF2) of the feline calicivirus (FCV) genome encodes a capsid precursor that is posttranslationally processed to release the mature capsid protein (VP1) and a small protein of 124 amino acids, designated the leader of the capsid (LC). To investigate the role of the LC protein in the virus life cycle, mutations and deletions were introduced into the LC coding region of an infectious FCV cDNA clone. Three cysteine residues that are conserved among all vesivirus LC sequences were found to be critical for the recovery of FCV with a characteristic cytopathic effect in feline kidney cells. A cell-rounding phenotype associated with the transient expression of wild-type and mutagenized forms of the LC correlated with the cytopathic and growth properties of the corresponding engineered viruses. The host cellular protein annexin A2 was identified as a binding partner of the LC protein, consistent with a role for the LC in mediating host cell interactions that alter the integrity of the cell and enable virus spread.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Eugenio J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Abente
authors.forename: Stanislav V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Sosnovtsev
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sandoval-Jaime
authors.forename: Gabriel I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Parra
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bok
authors.forename: Kim Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017306:Annexin A2 / Q000378:metabolism; D017927:Calicivirus, Feline / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002415:Cats; D002460:Cell Line; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D017354:Point Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017306:Annexin A2; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors