Do viruses require the cytoskeleton?

Virology Journal

Teryl K Frey¹  Christie Sleigher¹  Rachel Morgan¹  Jason D Matthews¹ 

[1] Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

关键词: Actin filaments;    Microtubules;    Cytoskeleton;    Virus replication;   

Others  :  1150796
DOI  :  10.1186/1743-422X-10-121

 received in 2012-05-09, accepted in 2013-04-11,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

It is generally thought that viruses require the cytoskeleton during their replication cycle. However, recent experiments in our laboratory with rubella virus, a member of the family Togaviridae (genus rubivirus), revealed that replication proceeded in the presence of drugs that inhibit microtubules. This study was done to expand on this observation.

Findings

The replication of three diverse viruses, Sindbis virus (SINV; family Togaviridae family), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV; family Rhabdoviridae), and Herpes simplex virus (family Herpesviridae), was quantified by the titer (plaque forming units/ml; pfu/ml) produced in cells treated with one of three anti-microtubule drugs (colchicine, noscapine, or paclitaxel) or the anti-actin filament drug, cytochalasin D. None of these drugs affected the replication these viruses. Specific steps in the SINV infection cycle were examined during drug treatment to determine if alterations in specific steps in the virus replication cycle in the absence of a functional cytoskeletal system could be detected, i.e. redistribution of viral proteins and replication complexes or increases/decreases in their abundance. These investigations revealed that the observable impacts were a colchicine-mediated fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus and concomitant intracellular redistribution of the virion structural proteins, along with a reduction in viral genome and sub-genome RNA levels, but not double-stranded RNA or protein levels.

Conclusions

The failure of poisons affecting the cytoskeleton to inhibit the replication of a diverse set of viruses strongly suggests that viruses do not require a functional cytoskeletal system for replication, either because they do not utilize it or are able to utilize alternate pathways when it is not available.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Matthews et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Pollard TD, Cooper JA: Actin, a central player in cell shape and movement. Science 2009, 326:1208-1212.
• [2]Goldman RD, Grin B, Mendez MG, Kuczmarski ER: Intermediate filaments: versatile building blocks of cell structure. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2008, 20:28-34.
• [3]Wade RH: Microtubules: an overview. Methods Mol Med 2007, 137:1-16.
• [4]Radtke K, Dohner K, Sodeik B: Viral interactions with the cytoskeleton: a hitchhiker’s guide to the cell. Cell Microbiol 2006, 8:387-400.
• [5]Matthews JD, Tzeng WP, Frey TK: Analysis of the function of cytoplasmic fibers formed by the rubella virus nonstructural replicase proteins. Virology 2010, 406:212-227.
• [6]Barton DJ, Sawicki SG, Sawicki DL: Solubilization and immunoprecipitation of alphavirus replication complexes. J Virol 1991, 65:1496-1506.
• [7]Frolova EI, Gorchakov R, Pereboeva L, Atasheva S, Frolov I: Functional Sindbis virus replicative complexes are formed at the plasma membrane. J Virol 2010, 84:11679-11695.
• [8]Hardy WR, Strauss JH: Processing the nonstructural polyproteins of Sindbis virus: study of the kinetics in vivo by using monospecific antibodies. J Virol 1988, 62:998-1007.
• [9]Frolova E, Gorchakov R, Garmashova N, Atasheva S, Vergara LA, Frolov I: Formation of nsP3-specific protein complexes during Sindbis virus replication. J Virol 2006, 80:4122-4134.
• [10]Wirth DF, Katz F, Small B, Lodish HF: How a single Sindbis virus mRNA directs the synthesis of one soluble protein and two integral membrane glycoproteins. Cell 1977, 10:253-263.
• [11]Knipfer ME, Brown DT: Intracellular transport and processing of Sindbis virus glycoproteins. Virology 1989, 170:117-122.
• [12]Yang W, Storrie B: Scattered Golgi elements during microtubule disruption are initially enriched in trans-Golgi proteins. Mol Biol Cell 1998, 9:191-207.
• [13]Molla A, Paul AV, Wimmer E: Cell-free, de novo synthesis of poliovirus. Science 1991, 254:1647-1651.