title: Influenza B virus M2 protein can functionally replace its influenza A virus counterpart in promoting virus replication.
abstract: The M2 protein (AM2 and BM2) of influenza A and B viruses function as a proton channel essential for viral replication. They also carry a cytoplasmic tail whose functions are not fully delineated. It is currently unknown whether these proteins could be replaced functionally in a viral context. Here, we generated single-cycle influenza A viruses (scIAV-ΔHA) carrying various M2-2A-mCherry constructs in the segment 4 (HA) and evaluated their growth in complementing cells. Intriguingly, the scIAV-ΔHA carrying AM2 and that bearing BM2 grew comparably well in MDCK-HA cells. Furthermore, while the virus carrying chimeric B-AM2 in which the BM2 transmembrane fused with the AM2 cytoplasmic tail produced robust infection, the one bearing the AM2 transmembrane fused with the BM2 cytoplasmic tail (A-BM2) exhibited severely impaired growth. Altogether, we demonstrate that AM2 and BM2 are functionally interchangeable and underscore the role of compatibility between transmembrane and cytoplasmic tail of the M2 protein.
authors: Virology and Cell Technology Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 12120 Pathumthani, Thailand.
authors: Asawin
authors: A
authors: Wanitchang
authors: Virology and Cell Technology Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 12120 Pathumthani, Thailand.
authors: Phonphimon
authors: P
authors: Wongthida
authors: Virology and Cell Technology Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 12120 Pathumthani, Thailand. Electronic address: anan.jon@biotec.or.th.
authors: Anan
authors: A
authors: Jongkaewwattana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000502:physiology*; D009981:Influenza B virus / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins
keywords: AM2; BM2; Chimeric protein; Cytoplasmic tail; Proton channel; ScIAV-ΔHA