title: JC virus nucleotides 376-396 are critical for VP1 capsid protein expression.
abstract: JC virus (JCV) infection of the brain can cause progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, JCV granule cell neuronopathy, and JCV encephalopathy (JCVE). JCVCPN, isolated from the brain of a patient with JCVE, is a naturally occurring strain of JCV with a 143-base pair deletion in the agnogene. Cell culture studies of JCVCPN have shown that the loss of these nucleotides in the agnogene results in impaired expression of VP1 and infectious virion production. To better understand the role of this DNA sequence in JCV replication, we generated a series of deletions in the agnogene on the backbone of a virus which has a mutated agnoprotein start codon preventing agnoprotein expression. We found that deletion of nucleotides 376-396 results in decreased levels of viral DNA replication and a lack of VP1 expression. These results indicate that these nucleotides play a crucial role in JCV replication.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurovirology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, E/CLS-1005, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurovirology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, E/CLS-1005, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. ikoralni@bidmc.harvard.edu.|Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ikoralni@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Igor J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Koralnik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019556:COS Cells; D002213:Capsid / Q000378:metabolism; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D007577:JC Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D004279:DNA, Viral
keywords: Agnogene; Agnoprotein; JC virus; VP1 expression