Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication
Enhanced replication of rubella virus (RuV) and replicons by de novo synthesized viral structural proteins has been previously described. Such enhancement can occur by viral capsid proteins (CP) alone in trans. It is not clear whether the CP in the virus particles, i.e., the exogenous CP, modulate v...
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/6/683 |
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| author | Min-Hsin Chen Cara C. Burns Emily Abernathy Adaeze A. Ogee-Nwankwo Joseph P. Icenogle |
| author_facet | Min-Hsin Chen Cara C. Burns Emily Abernathy Adaeze A. Ogee-Nwankwo Joseph P. Icenogle |
| author_sort | Min-Hsin Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Enhanced replication of rubella virus (RuV) and replicons by de novo synthesized viral structural proteins has been previously described. Such enhancement can occur by viral capsid proteins (CP) alone in trans. It is not clear whether the CP in the virus particles, i.e., the exogenous CP, modulate viral genome replication. In this study, we found that exogenous RuV CP also enhanced viral genome replication, either when used to package replicons or when mixed with RNA during transfection. We demonstrated that CP does not affect the translation efficiency from genomic (gRNA) or subgenomic RNA (sgRNA), the intracellular distribution of the non-structural proteins (NSP), or sgRNA synthesis. Significantly active RNA replication was observed in transfections supplemented with recombinant CP (rCP), which was supported by accumulated genomic negative-strand RNA. rCP was found to restore replication of a few mutants in NSP but failed to fully restore replicons known to have defects in the positive-strand RNA synthesis. By monitoring the amount of RuV RNA following transfection, we found that all RuV replicon RNAs were well-retained in the presence of rCP within 24 h of post-transfection, compared to non-RuV RNA. These results suggest that the exogenous RuV CP increases efficiency of early viral genome replication by modulating the stage(s) prior to and/or at the initiation of negative-strand RNA synthesis, possibly through a general mechanism such as protecting viral RNA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:48:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66a9e9d81c6649cd97657f02a3156207 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:48:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-66a9e9d81c6649cd97657f02a31562072023-11-23T18:25:14ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172022-06-0111668310.3390/pathogens11060683Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome ReplicationMin-Hsin Chen0Cara C. Burns1Emily Abernathy2Adaeze A. Ogee-Nwankwo3Joseph P. Icenogle4Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USACenter for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USADivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USAEnhanced replication of rubella virus (RuV) and replicons by de novo synthesized viral structural proteins has been previously described. Such enhancement can occur by viral capsid proteins (CP) alone in trans. It is not clear whether the CP in the virus particles, i.e., the exogenous CP, modulate viral genome replication. In this study, we found that exogenous RuV CP also enhanced viral genome replication, either when used to package replicons or when mixed with RNA during transfection. We demonstrated that CP does not affect the translation efficiency from genomic (gRNA) or subgenomic RNA (sgRNA), the intracellular distribution of the non-structural proteins (NSP), or sgRNA synthesis. Significantly active RNA replication was observed in transfections supplemented with recombinant CP (rCP), which was supported by accumulated genomic negative-strand RNA. rCP was found to restore replication of a few mutants in NSP but failed to fully restore replicons known to have defects in the positive-strand RNA synthesis. By monitoring the amount of RuV RNA following transfection, we found that all RuV replicon RNAs were well-retained in the presence of rCP within 24 h of post-transfection, compared to non-RuV RNA. These results suggest that the exogenous RuV CP increases efficiency of early viral genome replication by modulating the stage(s) prior to and/or at the initiation of negative-strand RNA synthesis, possibly through a general mechanism such as protecting viral RNA.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/6/683rubella viruscapsidexogenousgenome replication |
| spellingShingle | Min-Hsin Chen Cara C. Burns Emily Abernathy Adaeze A. Ogee-Nwankwo Joseph P. Icenogle Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication Pathogens rubella virus capsid exogenous genome replication |
| title | Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication |
| title_full | Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication |
| title_fullStr | Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication |
| title_short | Exogenous Rubella Virus Capsid Proteins Enhance Virus Genome Replication |
| title_sort | exogenous rubella virus capsid proteins enhance virus genome replication |
| topic | rubella virus capsid exogenous genome replication |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/6/683 |
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