Study of the transcription and the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus by using temperature-sensitive mutants

Intracellular events following the infection of different cell types with vesicular stomatitis subviral particles

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) subviral particles (nucleocapsids and G-depleted particles) were used to infect various cells (chicken embryo, HeLa, and BHK21 cells). These particles bind to and penetrate into host cells; the association of G-depleted particles to cells was even better than that of normal virions. The parental genomes of subviral particles and virions were degraded at the same rate in the infected cells. Nevertheless, these subviral particles had a very low infectivity, synthesized very little viral macromolecules, and had very little, if any, effect on the various host cells used. Furthermore , subviral particles could be rescued in chicken embryo cells by uv-irradiated VSV virions, demonstrating that subviral particles actually penetrated into cells, and that their arrested cycle could be unblocked up to a certain point. On the other hand, subviral particles were not rescued in HeLa cells, suggesting a dependence on the host cell system.

Is cytoskeleton involved in vesicular stomatitis virus reproduction?

CER cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus showed a morphology similar to that observed after cytochalasin B treatment. Temperature-sensitive mutants affected in envelope protein maturation did not induce those morphological changes at a nonpermissive temperature. In addition, the cytoskeleton was not implicated in vesicular stomatitis virus reproduction.

Envelope proteins and replication of vesicular stomatitis virus: in vivo effects of RNA+ temperature-sensitive mutations on viral RNA synthesis

Temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus belonging to complementation groups III and V were investigated for their in vivo RNA synthesis. The sucrose gradient patterns of the RNA species which they produced at nonpermissive temperature (39.2 degrees C) were systematically compared under different experimental conditions: variation of input multiplicity and of time of infection, superinfection with T particles, and temperature shifts. Finally, a more precise analysis of the various RNA species synthesized was carried out. It appeared that the characteristics of RNA synthesis specified at 39.2 degrees C by tsIII or tsV mutants differed from the normal RNA synthesis of vesicular stomatitis virus wild type. Their common depression at 39.2 degrees C in virion-like RNA (38S) production--i.e., so-called genome replication--was tentatively paralleled with the concomitant ts events which have been previously shown to affect the two viral envelope proteins. An overproduction of the RNA transcripts was described for mutants in group III and posed the question of a regulation process to determine the amount of RNA to be transcribed.

Temperature-sensitive defect of vesicular stomatitis virus in complementation group II

The prototype member of the complementation group II temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus, ts II 052, has been investigated. In ts II 052-infected HeLa cells at the restrictive temperature (39.5 degrees C), reduced viral RNA synthesis was observed by comparison with infections conducted at the permissive temperature (30 degrees C). It was found that for an infection conducted at 39.5 degrees C, no 38S RNA or intracytoplasmic nucleocapsids were present. For nucleocapsids isolated from ts II 052 purified virions or from ts II 052-infected cells at 30 degrees C, the RNA was sensitive to pancreatic RNase after an exposure at 39.5 degrees C in contrast to the resistance observed for wild-type virus. The nucleocapsid stability of wild-type virus when heated to 63 degrees C or submitted to varying pH was not found in nucleocapsids extracted from ts II 052 purified virions. The data suggest that for ts II 052 there is an altered relationship between the viral 38S RNA and the nucleocapsid protein(s) by comparison with wild-type virus. Such results argue for the complementation group II gene product being N protein, so that the ts defect in ts II 052 represents an altered N protein.

Analysis of the defects of temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus: intracellular degradation of specific viral proteins

The metabolism of viral RNA and proteins has been studied in cells infected with temperature-sensitive mutant strains of vesicular stomatitis virus. Certain viral proteins encoded by the mutant strains, usually the putative mutant protein for the assigned complementation group, were shown to be degraded more rapidly at the nonpermissive temperature than were the wild-type proteins. Group III mutants (tsG33, tsM301) encode M proteins which are degraded three- to fourfold faster than the wild-type protein. This defect cannot be fully rescued by coinfection with wild-type virus, and thus the defect appears to be in the M protein itself. Mutants tsM601 (VI) and tsG41(IV) encode N proteins which are degraded much faster than the wild-type protein and also share the property of being defective in replication of viral RNA, suggesting a correlation between these phenotypic properties. Furthermore, the L proteins of tsG11(I) and tsG13(I) are more labile than the wild-type protein at the nonpermissive temperature. The G protein of tsM501(V) did not undergo the change in electrophoretic mobility previously shown to be the result of sialylation, suggesting that it is defective in maturation or glycosylation at the nonpermissive temperature. Three of the mutants previously isolated in this laboratory, tsM502(V), tsM601(VI), and tsM602(VI), were shown to be defective in viral RNA synthesis at the nonpermissive temperature. Mutant tsM601(VI) was defective mainly in viral RNA replication, whereas tsM502(V) appeared to be totally defective for viral RNA transcription and replication at the nonpermissive temperature.

RNA- temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus: L-protein thermosensitivity accounts for transcriptase restriction of group I mutants

In vitro transcriptase activity of three group I temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus restricted at 39 C was restored by L-protein fractions derived from wild-type (wt) vesicular stomatitis virion nucleo-capsids. Soluble NS protein from wt nucleocapsids did not reconstitute restricted transcriptions of the group I RNA-ts mutants. NS protein activity, but not L protein activity, was purified from the group I ts mutants; this NS fraction always displayed the wt phenotype in reconstitution assays. Neither the L nor the NS protein was capable of restoring the defective transcriptive activity of the group IV vesicular stomatitis virus mutant ts W16B.

Temperature-sensitive mutants of influenza WSN virus defective in virus-specific RNA synthesis

Influenza WSN virus temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants were examined for defects in viral complementary RNA (cRNA) synthesis. The synthesis of viral cRNA was determined by hybridizing RNA from infected cells to radiolabeled virion RNA of known specific activity. Mutants in complementation groups I and III synthesized little, or no, cRNA at the nonpermissive temperature (39.5 C). When cells infected by these mutants were incubated for 5 h at the permissive temperature (33 C) and were then shifted to 39.5 C, net synthesis of cRNA ceased. This strongly suggests that mutants in these two complementation groups possess a ts defect in the transciptase complex. Mutants in group II and group V synthesize reduced amounts of cRNA at 39.5 C. In contrast to the group I and group III mutants, cRNA synthesis in cells infected by a group II or a group V mutant continues after a shift-up. This indicated that these mutants do not possess a ts transcriptase complex and that these mutants are most probably defective in some step in the amplification of cRNA synthesis. As will be discussed, the most likely defect in these mutants is in the synthesis of virion-type RNA. These results suggest that there are two influenza viral gene functions required for transcription and most likely two additional gene functions required for RNA replication.

Analysis of uridine incorporation in chicken embryo cells infected by vesicular stomatitis virus and its temperature-sensitive mutants: uridine transport

The shut-off of RNA synthesis in chicken embryo cells, after infection with vesicular stomatitis virus, is partially due to a reduced capacity of the infected cells to transport uridine. Permeability to uridine decreases exponentially after infection. This loss of ability to transport uridine may be caused either by structural components of the input virions or may result from the expression of the viral gene products. In the latter case, only minor levels of viral transcription is sufficient to modify cellular permeability, since, even at low multiplicities, RNA minus temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus bring about a significant diminution of uridine incorporation in cells infected under nonpermissive conditions. Experiments with mutants of group III suggest that the M protein of the viral envelope may play a role in the sequence of events that modifies uridine transport. In addition to this cause of the diminution of incorporation of uridine by infected cells, another mechanism is noted which requires protein synthesis.

Temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus: comparison of the in vitro RNA polymerase defects of group I and group IV mutants

When tested in vitro, certain temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) belonging to complementation groups I and IV appear to have defects in the virion-bound polymerase. To obtain further information concerning the nature of these defects, representative mutants were dissociated by the method of S. Emerson and R. Wagner (1972), and their supernatant (S) and pellet (P) fractions were tested for transcriptase activity when combined with the P and S fractions, respectively, of VSV-HR virions. It was found that the S fractions from group I mutants tsW4, 11, 14, 15, and 28 were defective in transcriptase activity, whereas their P fractions were as active as those of VSV-HR. On the other hand, the P fraction derived from virions of the group IV mutant tsW16B showed reduced activity at 25 C and very little activity at 38 C. These results suggest that our group I mutants, like those examined by D. Hunt and R. Wagner (1974), have a defect in the soluble transcriptase enzyme, whereas mutant tsW16B (group IV) has a defect in a sedimentable component required for transcriptase activity, possibly in the ribonucleoprotein template.

Transcription and replication of vesicular stomatitis virus: effects of temperature-sensitive mutations in complementation group IV

Temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus belonging to the RNA(-) complementation group IV were investigated under various conditions to study both their RNA and protein syntheses. In infected cells maintained at 39.2 C, viral RNA species were recovered only in the 13 to 15S region of the gradient in an amount depending on the ts mutant used. In the presence of cycloheximide at 39.2 C, the primary transcription was deficient, especially for 28S mRNA production. When mutant-infected cells were shifted to nonpermissive temperature, a shutoff of 28S mRNA synthesis occurred as a general feature. On the contrary under this condition, the two mutants chosen, ts IV100 and ts IV111, behaved very differently in their 13 to 15S and 38S RNA production. However, treatment with cycloheximide at the time of the transfer to 39.2 C resulted in a similar recovery of 13 to 15S RNA in both mutants, whereas the 28S remained very depressed. The viral proteins synthesized by cells infected with the same two mutants also showed a distinct pattern, especially regarding the N protein; a correlation between 38S RNA and protein N syntheses was tentatively drawn. The whole set of data suggested that the lesion in group IV mutants concerned a viral structural protein required for the process of in vivo transcription and which probably intervened in the replication mechanism.

Location of the transcription defect in group I temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus

The ribonucleoprotein-dependent RNA transcriptase in vesicular stomatitis B virions of four temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants belonging to complementation group I was analyzed in vitro at permissive (31 C) and restrictive (39 C) temperatures. The RNA-synthesizing activity of all four ts mutants was more labile at 39 C than was the transcriptive activity of wild-type (wt) virions. In order to locate the temperature-sensitive transcription defect in the mutants, wt and ts mutant virions were fractionated by Triton X-100-high salt solubilizer into a sedimentable ribonucleoprotein template and a nonsedimentable enzyme fraction, each of which alone had little or no transcriptive activity. The template- and enzyme-containing fractions of wt virions were then tested for their capacity to restore transcriptive activity at 39 C to corresponding template and enzyme preparations of ts mutant virions. Recombination of wt template and ts enzymes resulted in no significant restoration of capacity to synthesize RNA at restrictive temperature. In contrast, transcriptive function at 39 C was reconstituted by recombining the wt enzyme with the template component of ts mutants. It appears, therefore, that the enzyme, rather than the template, is the temperature-sensitive component of the transcription complex of group I vesicular stomatitis virus mutants.

Primary in vivo transcription of vesicular stomatitis virus and temperature-sensitive mutants of five vesicular stomatitis virus complementation groups

The process of adsorption and RNA transcription by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in cells has been followed by using highly labeled preparations of VSV virions. The initial transcription process (primary parental transcription) is rapid and takes about 4 min to develop complete transcripts of the input genome. The optimal cell temperature for in vivo transcription is between 36 and 39.5 C, although transcription can be detected at 18 C. No negative effect on primary parental transcription was obtained by the presence of actinomycin D, puromycin, or cycloheximide. Demonstrable primary transcription by selected temperature-sensitive mutants of all five complementation groups of VSV was obtained at either 31 and 34 C (permissive temperatures for virus production) or 39.5 C (nonpermissive temperature for virus development). VSV grown in hamster (BHK 21) or chicken embryo cells were more efficiently adsorbed and transcribed in BHK cells.

L protein requirement for in vitro RNA synthesis by vesicular stomatitis virus

The endogenous transcriptase present in purified vesicular stomatitis (VS) virions was solubilized with a Triton X-100 high-salt solution. The polymerase activity was purified on glycerol gradients and by phosphocellulose column chromatography; the viral proteins present in the active enzyme fractions were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It was demonstrated that L protein, but not NS protein, was required for in vitro RNA synthesis on the VS viral nucleocapsid template. Solubilized L protein rebinds to the ribonucleoprotein template when the transcription complex is reconstituted, and the RNA synthesized in vitro by purified L protein hybridizes to virion RNA. Cyanogen bromide peptide fingerprints indicate that the large L protein is a unique polypeptide chain. It is concluded that the L protein functions as the transcriptase, and the nucleocapsid NS protein is not essential for in vitro RNA synthesis.

RNA synthesis in temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus

T-particle-free stocks of temperature-sensitive mutants representing the four Glasgow complementation groups of the Indiana serotype of vesicular stomatitis virus were used to study RNA synthesis at the permissive and nonpermissive temperatures of 31 and 39 C, respectively. Mutants selected from the four Glasgow complementation groups were characterized on the basis of particle and ribonucleoprotein formation. Intracellular RNAs were further characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. ts G22 (group II) and ts G41 (group IV), previously characterized as RNA negative at the nonpermissive temperature, synthesized low levels of RNA which could not be attributed to contaminating levels of revertants. Furthermore, the levels of synthesis could not be reduced by the addition of cycloheximide. These data suggest that ts G22 (group II) and ts G41 (group IV) contain a thermally stable, virion-encapsidated transcriptase, but fail to amplify RNA synthesis due to a thermally labile function presumably necessary for the synthesis of viral RNA. ts G31, a group III mutant, synthesized intracellular RNA at amplified levels at the nonpermissive temperature. Intracellular ribonucleoprotein complexes were isolated in copious amounts; however, no particles corresponding in size to finished virions were observed. These data suggest a thermally labile maturation factor or envelope associated structural protein to be defective in ts G31 (group III). ts G11 (group 1) showed no detectable RNA synthesis at the nonpermissive temperature. These data suggest ts G11 (group I) contains a thermally labile component involved in early transcription. This group may contain a number of mutants defective in different components of the transcription apparatus, which may not complement in vivo because of the physical improbability of subunit exchange between virion particles of the incoming inoculum.