Oligomeric structure of a prototype retrovirus glycoprotein.

The structure of the Rous sarcoma virus envelope glycoprotein complex was studied by sedimentation gradient centrifugation analyses of detergent-solubilized wild-type and mutant envelope (env) gene products. These studies show that the envelope glycoprotein forms an oligomer during biosynthesis, which is most likely a trimer, and that this is the form of the complex found in virions. Our results are consistent with oligomer formation and transport out of the endoplasmic reticulum being closely linked. From analyses of mutant envelope proteins we conclude that the extracellular domain of the glycoprotein is sufficient for oligomer formation but that the transmembrane domain is required to stabilize this complex. Additional experiments suggest that interactions between external domains of the membrane-spanning, gp37 polypeptides are those most important for the formation of trimers. The significance of these observations to retroviral replication and implications for antiviral drug development are discussed.

A simple method for immunoaffinity purification of nondenatured avian sarcoma and leukemia virus gag-containing proteins.

We have developed a one-step purification procedure for proteins containing the N-terminal portion of the gag protein of avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses. In this procedure, a resin with a covalently attached monoclonal antibody to the gag protein p19 is used to bind gag-containing proteins from crude extracts. After washing of the resin, the bound proteins are eluted with 2 M MgCl2. For the transforming protein kinase encoded by Fujinami sarcoma virus p130gag-fps, this procedure gave an enrichment of several thousand-fold, a yield of over 10%, a final purity of over 20%, and no significant loss of protein kinase activity. Similar purifications were obtained with three other gag-containing proteins. The immunoaffinity purification described may be of general utility as a first step in purification of the several other avian retroviral transforming proteins that are synthesized from fusions of an oncogene with the viral gag gene.

A procedure for Northern blot analysis of native RNA.

We describe a modification of the Northern technique that allows the detection of RNA either native and/or containing hidden breaks. We found that the highest sensitivity of the hybridization signals was obtained after denaturation of the RNA in the gel prior to its transfer onto a nylon membrane (GeneScreen) followed by uv irradiation. The sensitivity of the method using native RNA was found to be equivalent to that obtained with denatured RNA.

Intracellular localization and processing of pp60v-src proteins expressed by two distinct temperature-sensitive mutants of Rous sarcoma virus.

The transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, pp60v-src, is known to be a tyrosine protein kinase, but the mechanism of cell transformation remains unclear. In further investigating pp60v-src structure and function, we have analyzed two temperature-sensitive (ts) Rous sarcoma virus src gene mutants, tsLA29 and tsLA32. The mutations in tsLA29 and tsLA32 map in the carboxy-terminal region and the amino-terminal half of pp60v-src, respectively, and encode mutant proteins with either temperature-labile (tsLA29) or -stable (tsLA32) kinase activities. Here we examined the intracellular processing and localization of these pp60v-src mutants and extended our characterization of transformation parameters expressed by cells infected by the Rous sarcoma virus variants. No obvious defects in functional integrity of the tsLA32 pp60v-src could yet be demonstrated, whereas the tsLA29 pp60v-src was perturbed not only in kinase activity, but also in aspects of protein processing and localization. Analysis of transformation parameters expressed by infected cells demonstrated the complete temperature lability of both mutants.

Phosphotyrosine-containing 120,000-dalton protein coimmunoprecipitated with pp60v-src from Rous sarcoma virus-transformed mammalian cells.

Serum from rabbits bearing tumors (TBR serum) induced by the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) was originally developed to identify the RSV src gene protein-pp60v-src. It is also capable of directly or indirectly immunoprecipitating a number of proteins besides pp60v-src from lysates of RSV-transformed cells. This report describes a highly phosphorylated protein of approximately 120,000 Da (pp120) which is specifically immunoprecipitated from RSV-transformed mammalian cells by TBR sera and monospecific antibodies against pp60v-src. However, it was not immunoprecipitated by TBR serum from RSV-transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts. Phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that pp120 contains phosphoserine and phosphotyrosine in relative amounts similar to that found in pp60v-src. Various experimental results indicate that pp120 is not structurally related to RSV virion proteins or to the putative pp60v-src substrate-vinculin. Furthermore, proteolytic peptide mapping and immunoblotting experiments indicate that although pp120 is immunoprecipitated by various anti-pp60v-src antibodies, it does not appear to be related to the RSV transforming protein. These results suggest that pp120 is distinct from previously reported substrates of pp60v-src and may exist in association with the transforming protein in mammalian cell lysates.

Structural and functional motifs of the Rous sarcoma virus src protein.

Site-directed mutagenesis techniques have been utilized to define important structural and functional domains within the RSV src gene product, pp60src. Deletion mutations within the amino terminal one-half of the src gene which impinge upon a region of the src protein delineated by amino acid residues 143 to 169 yielded transformation defective viruses. Src proteins encoded by such RSV mutants exhibited diminished tyrosine protein kinase activity in vitro and only slightly reduced levels of in vivo tyrosine protein kinase activity. We speculate that these structurally altered proteins are defective for target protein recognition. Point mutations and linker insertion mutations within the putative catalytic domain of pp60src served to block the transforming activity of mutant viruses. Mutant viruses encode src proteins that exhibited substantially reduced levels of tyrosine protein kinase activity both in vitro and in vivo.

[Virus-specific proteins in cells transformed by the chicken sarcoma virus D6]. / Issledovanie virusspetsificheskikh belkov v kletkakh, transformirovannykh virusom sarkomy kur D6.

The structural proteins and the oncogene product of the avian sarcoma virus (ASV) D6 were analyzed by the radioimmunoprecipitation. ADV D6 was obtained from the chemically induced tumour. ASV D6 contains all the structural proteins found in RSV, but some of them (p19, gp 85) differ from those of RSV. The product of ASV D6 oncogene is pp65src. The protein kinase activity of this src protein is identical to that of wt pp60src. The nature of some other proteins, which can be phosphorylated in this reaction, is discussed.

Fine-structure analyses of lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions of gag protein p19 of the avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses by cyanogen bromide mapping.

In avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses, the gag protein p19 functions structurally as a matrix protein, connecting internal components with the viral envelope. We have used a combination of in situ cross-linking and peptide mapping to localize within p19 the regions responsible for two major interactions in this complex, p19 with lipid and p19 with p19. Lipid-protein cross-links were localized near the amino terminus within the first 35 amino acids of the polypeptide. Homotypic protein-protein disulfide bridges were found to originate from near the carboxy terminus of p19, from cysteine residues at amino acids 111 and 153. These results suggest that p19 is divided into domains with distinct functions. The peptide maps constructed for p19, and for the related proteins p23 in avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses and p19 beta in recombinant avian sarcoma viruses, should serve as useful tools for other types of studies involving these proteins.

It is Rous sarcoma virus protein P12 and not P19 that binds tightly to Rous sarcoma virus RNA.

The interactions between Rous Sarcoma virus (RSV) RNA and the viral proteins in the virus have been analysed by Sen & Todaro (1977) using ultraviolet light irradiation; they showed that the major protein ultraviolet light cross-linked to the viral RNA was P19 as identified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We report here that it is not viral protein P19 but P12 that binds tightly to RSV RNA upon ultraviolet light irradiation of the virus. Therefore, the binding sites of the viral protein along RSV RNA that we have characterized previously should be correctly attributed now to P12 and not P19.

Characteristics of three new avian sarcoma viruses, ASV 9, ASV 17, and ASV 25.

Three new avian sarcoma viruses, ASV 9, ASV 17, and ASV 25, were isolated from spontaneous tumors. They transform chicken embryo fibroblasts but not hemopoietic cells and induce fibrosarcomas in young chicks. All three viruses belong to the envelope subgroup A and cannot replicate without a helper virus, because they lack the pol and most, if not all, of the env gene. ASV 9 and ASV 17 have a genome of 5.0 kb; the genome of ASV 25 is 6.0 kb. The following onc sequences were tested for homology to the genomes of the three new avian sarcoma viruses: src, fps, yes, myc, myb, erbA, and erbB. These tests were negative except for erbB which showed faint hybridization with the genome of ASV 25. ASV 9 codes for a prominent 130-kdalton gag-linked transformation-specific protein. ASV 17 and ASV 25 transformed cells appear to contain multiple gag-linked transformation-specific proteins that still require further study.

Characteristics and regulation of interaction of avian retrovirus pp12 protein with viral RNA.

We investigated the interaction of the avian retrovirus pp12 protein with viral RNA to assess its possible role in virion assembly. Using chemical modification techniques, we found that reagents specific for lysine or arginine residues inactivated the RNA-binding capacity of the protein. The binding of pp12 to 60S viral RNA was also strongly affected by pH (pKapp of 5.5); the affinity for viral RNA decreased by as much as 40-fold after protonation of one or more titratable groups on the protein. When the protein was cleaved by cyanogen bromide, each of the two polypeptide products bound to RNA (with low affinity), but pH dependence was lost. Thus, an intact protein was required for this effect. Since histidine and phosphoserine residues have pKa values close to the pKapp of the pp12-RNA interaction, they were studied to determine whether they were involved in this process. Each of the two histidyl residues in pp12 had pKa values of 6.2, as determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance titrations, values too high to account for the pKapp of binding. The involvement of phosphoserine residues, which have pKa values similar to the pKapp, was investigated by removal of phosphate from pp12. When phosphate groups were chemically or enzymatically removed from the avian myeloblastosis virus, Rous sarcoma virus (Pr-C), and PR-E 95C virus pp12 proteins, the Kapp for binding 60S viral RNA was reduced 100-fold at pH 7.5. Thus, it seems possible that phosphorylation of the pp12 protein could favor viral nucleocapsid formation by increasing its affinity for the viral RNA genome. Dephosphorylation could provide for its release from the viral RNA during reverse transcription after viral infection of cells.

Isolation of monoclonal antibodies that recognize the transforming proteins of avian sarcoma viruses.

Thirteen clones of hybrid cells which synthesize antibodies directed against the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) transforming protein, pp60src, were isolated. Mouse myeloma cells were fused with spleen cells from mice that had been immunized with purified pp60src from bacterial recombinants which direct the synthesis of the RSV src gene. The hybridomas which survived the selection medium were screened by immunoprecipitation of pp60src from 32P-labeled lysates of RSV-transformed cells. Monoclonal antibodies produced by subclones derived from 13 hybridomas recognized pp60src encoded by the Schmidt-Ruppin and Prague strains of RSV and the cellular homolog of pp60src. Antibody from clone 261 had a high affinity for the viral yes gene product, and antibodies from clones 443 and 463 recognized the transforming proteins encoded by viruses containing the related transforming genes fps and ros. Several other clones had a low affinity for the viral yes, fps, and ros gene products which could be detected by in vitro phosphorylation of the transforming proteins after immunoprecipitation with the monoclonal antibody. All of the monoclonal antibodies allowed phosphorylation of pp60src and casein in an immune complex-bound reaction.

Complete amino acid sequence of the nucleic acid-binding protein of bovine leukemia virus.

The complete amino acid sequence of the nucleic acid-binding protein p12 of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) has been determined. Peptides were generated by enzymatic digestion and formic acid cleavage, purified by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and subjected to automated Edman degradation. BLV p12 is a proline-rich linear polypeptide composed of 69 amino acids with Mr 7558. A comparison of the p12 structure to that of the avian and murine type C retroviral nucleic acid-binding proteins shows significant homology only in the putative binding domain. This conserved region is duplicated BLV p12 as in the avian homolog.

Analysis of two phosphoproteins related to pp60src from Schmidt-Ruppin D virus particles.

During endogenous phosphorylation of partially purified pp60src from virus particles, besides pp60src two additional phosphoproteins, 45K and 42K, were found. These proteins copurify with pp60src. They were shown to be proteolytic degradation products due to the action of the virus-associated protease p15. All three phosphoproteins were present in particles of two different sarcoma virus strains, Schmidt-Ruppin D and Prague C, indicating that this phenomenon is general rather than strain-specific. The degradation rate of pp60src was reduced by the presence of 3 mM-ZnCl2, which acts as a protease inhibitor.

Glycosidase analysis of large acidic-type glycopeptides from viral and cellular membrane glycoproteins. Evidence for a common oligomannosyl core with branch sugar heterogeneity.

The asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of the complex acidic-type from [3H]mannose-, [3H]glucosamine- or [3H]galactose-labelled membrane glycoproteins of BHK21 cells and Rous-sarcoma virus were analysed by gel filtration combined with extensive digestion with endo- and exo-glycosidases from bacterial and eukaryotic sources. The neutral products from the digestion with a mixture of exoglycosidases and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase D from Diplococcus pneumoniae included a series of [3H]mannose- and [3H]glucosamine-labelled neutral oligosaccharides that were all converted by digestion with eukaryotic beta-N-acetylglucosaminidases into free N-acetylglucosamine and a small oligomannosyl core containing two alpha-linked mannose residues and a third mannose residue beta-linked to N-acetylglucosamine. These studies suggested that the complex acidic-type oligosaccharides from cellular and viral membrane glycoproteins contained a common oligomannosyl core region (Man2 alpha leads to Man beta leads to GlcNAc2), with heterogeneity in the number and/or linkage of outer branch N-acetylglucosamine residues resulting in partial resistance to beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase from a bacterial source.

Cytoplasmic localization of the transforming protein of Fujinami sarcoma virus: salt-sensitive association with subcellular components.

Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV) encodes a transforming protein of 130,000 daltons (P130) which is associated with a tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity. To elucidate mechanisms involved in cell transformation by FSV, we have studied the intracellular location of P130 in rat cells nonproductively infected with FSV. Immunofluorescent staining of several FSV-transformed rat cell lines with a tumor regressor antiserum specific against the fps sequences of P130 showed that the major staining was localized in the cytoplasm. Staining was also seen in cell ruffles and in some cases at areas of cell contact. The cytoplasmic location of P130 staining in cells infected with temperature-sensitive mutants of FSV was unchanged when they were grown at permissive or nonpermissive temperature. Cell fractionation of FSV-transformed cells under various conditions showed that the ionic strength used during cell fractionation had a striking effect on the distribution of P130. At 10 mM NaCl, 70% of P130 sedimented in the large granule fraction, whereas at 500 mM NaCl 70 to 90% of P130 was recovered in the cytosol fraction. Furthermore, a combination of ionic and nonionic detergents that effectively solubilized subcellular membranes was insufficient to solubilize P130 unless the salt concentration was raised. We conclude that the majority of P130 and its associated protein kinase activity are localized in the cytoplasm and that P130 is not an integral membrane protein.

Amino-terminal amino acid sequence of p10, the fifth major gag polypeptide of avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses.

We have identified p10 as a fifth gag protein of avian sarcoma and leukemia viruses. Amino-terminal protein sequencing of this polypeptide purified from the Prague C strain of Rous sarcoma virus and from avian myeloblastosis virus implies that it is encoded within a stretch of 64 amino acid residues between p19 and p27 on the gag precursor polypeptide. For p10 from the Prague C strain of Rous sarcoma virus the first 30 residues were found to be identical with the predicted amino acid sequence from the Prague C strain of Rous sarcoma virus DNA sequence, whereas for p10 from avian myeloblastosis virus the protein sequence for the same region showed two amino acid substitutions. Amino acid composition data indicate that there are no gross composition changes beyond the region sequenced. The amino terminus of p10 is located two amino acid residues past the carboxy terminus of p19, whereas its carboxy terminus probably is located immediately adjacent to the first amino acid residue of p27.

A lymphoma protein with an in vitro site of tyrosine phosphorylation homologous to that in pp60src.

The major in vitro substrate for a tyrosine protein kinase in the particulate fraction of the lymphoma cell line LSTRA is a protein of molecular weight of 58,000 (pp58) (Casnellie, J. E. Harrison, M. L., Pike, L. J., Hellstrom, K. E., and Krebs, E. G. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 79, 282-286). In order to determine if this protein was related to pp60src, the transformation-specific protein from Rous sarcoma virus, partial proteolysis maps of in vitro 32P-labeled pp58 and pp60src were prepared using Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and papain. The maps were clearly different, indicating the pp58 is distinct from pp60src. However characterization of the tryptic fragment containing the single site of in vitro tyrosine phosphorylation in pp58 has revealed that the amino acid sequence around this site is extremely homologous to, if not identical with the sequence around the site of tyrosine phosphorylation in pp60src.

Antiserum specific for the carboxy terminus of the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus.

An antiserum specific for the carboxy terminus of p60src, the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, was produced by immunization of rabbits with a conjugate of bovine serum albumin and the synthetic peptide NH2-Tyr-Val-Leu-Glu-Val-Ala-Glu-COOH. The carboxy-terminal six amino acids of this peptide correspond in sequence to that deduced for the carboxy terminus of the p60src of the Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus of subgroup A. The p60src proteins of the several strains of Rous sarcoma virus and the cellular homolog of the viral transforming protein, p60c-src, comprise a polymorphic family of polypeptides. The anticarboxy-terminal serum reacted readily with the p60src proteins of three different strains of Rous sarcoma virus. In contrast, no precipitation of cellular p60c-src could be detected with this serum. This suggests that the viral p60src proteins have identical carboxy termini and that the carboxy terminus of cellular p60c-src may be different from that of viral p60src. The anticarboxy-terminal serum reacted poorly with the subpopulation of viral p60src which is present in a complex with two cellular phosphoproteins. Apparently, the presence of the two cellular proteins interferes with the recognition of p60src by the anticarboxy-terminal serum. It seems likely, therefore, that these two cellular proteins bind to the carboxy-terminal domain of p60src.

Single-stranded regions on unintegrated avian retrovirus DNA.

Using chromatography on benzoylated naphthoylated DEAE-cellulose, we found that greater than 99.5% of the unintegrated linear viral DNA species detected in quail embryo cells infected with Rous sarcoma virus contained single-stranded regions, even at 16 h after infection. These regions were distributed across the genome and, on average, were primarily of plus-strand DNA. Within most of the linear viral DNA species, the minus strand was interpreted as being of genome size with two copies of the large terminal redundancy, LTR. In contrast, the plus strands in the linear viral DNA species were exclusively subgenomic.