Reovirus: evidence for a second step in the intracellular uncoating and transcriptase activation process

Further investigation on the mode of entry of human rotavirus into cells

Entry of the KUN strain of human rotavirus into MA 104 cells was studied by electron microscopy. Double-shelled rotavirus particles attached to the cell membrane, and in the presence of trypsin their nucleic acids were expelled from the virus core into the cytoplasm through radial spaces between the capsomeres and the cell membrane pores formed after their attachment. This mechanism was considered to be analogous to those of phages.

Switch-on of transcriptase function in reovirus: analysis of polypeptide changes using 2-D gels

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (IEF and SDS-PAGE) was used to examine virion polypeptide changes associated with switch-on of transcriptase function in reovirus. Results reveal that switch-on is correlated with altered electrophoretic behavior of a specific minor polypeptide (delta 1) which is present in intermediate subviral particles. A second finding is that each of the molecular weight classes of viral polypeptides exists as a series of subspecies with different isoelectric points. This suggests that extensive posttranslational modification of progeny viral polypeptides occurs during particle morphogenesis. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.

Two modes of human rotavirus entry into MA 104 cells

Entry of the KUN strain of human rotavirus into MA 104 cells was studied by electron microscopy. Virus particles attached to the cell membrane appeared to be almost exclusively double-shelled virions. These attached virions followed two distinct pathways into the cytoplasm depending on pretreatment with trypsin. Using infectious rotavirus which had been pretreated with trypsin, the viral nucleoids passed directly into the cytoplasm within 5 minutes after inoculation, through dissolution of the viral capsid and cell membrane. Using non-infectious rotavirus that had not been pretreated with trypsin, phagocytosis or pinocytosis occurred in which virions were sequestered into lysosomes 20 minutes after virus attachment to the cell membrane. After being sequestered, uncoating of the rotavirus virions within lysosomes was seen, but it did not result in release of the genome. On the basis of these observations it was concluded that when virions were pretreated with trypsin, virus replication occurred following the direct passage of viral nucleoids into the cell cytoplasm. However, mere phagocytosis of virus particles into cell lysosomes, which occurred when trypsin-untreated virus was used, does not appear to be related to rotavirus replication.

Activation and characterization of the reovirus transcriptase: genetic analysis

We studied the ability of chymotrypsin to activate the transcriptases of the three serotypes of reovirus. When we used conditions that reproducibly caused the activation of type 3 transcriptase by chymotrypsin alone, type 2 transcriptase was sometimes activated, and type 1 transcriptase was never activated. Using intertypic recombinants containing various combinations of genome segments from reovirus types 3 and 1, we showed that the M2 segment determined this difference. Biochemical experiments indicated that the digestion of reovirus type 1 by chromotrypsin was blocked at an intermediate stage in uncoating. We found conditions which reproducibly activated the transcriptases of all three serotypes. This allowed us to compare the biochemical properties of the three transcriptases. Although the monovalent cation preferences, divalent cation preferences and optima, and temperature optima of type 1, 2, and 3 transcriptases were indistinguishable, the pH activity curves were reproducibly different. The largest difference was between type 2 and 3 transcriptases; the pH optimum of type 2 transcriptase was lower than the pH optimum of type 3 transcriptase. Using intertypic recombinants containing various combinations of genome segments from reovirus types 2 and 3, we demonstrated that the L1 segment specified this difference.