Structure and assembly of double-headed Sendai virus nucleocapsids.

Paramyxoviruses, including the mumps virus, measles virus, Nipah virus and Sendai virus (SeV), have non-segmented single-stranded negative-sense RNA genomes which are encapsidated by nucleoproteins into helical nucleocapsids. Here, we reported a double-headed SeV nucleocapsid assembled in a tail-to-tail manner, and resolved its helical stems and clam-shaped joint at the respective resolutions of 2.9 and 3.9 Å, via cryo-electron microscopy. Our structures offer important insights into the mechanism of the helical polymerization, in particular via an unnoticed exchange of a N-terminal hole formed by three loops of nucleoproteins, and unveil the clam-shaped joint in a hyper-closed state for nucleocapsid dimerization. Direct visualization of the loop from the disordered C-terminal tail provides structural evidence that C-terminal tail is correlated to the curvature of nucleocapsid and links nucleocapsid condensation and genome replication and transcription with different assembly forms.

Cationized gelatin-HVJ envelope with sodium borocaptate improved the BNCT efficacy for liver tumors in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a cell-selective radiation therapy that uses the alpha particles and lithium nuclei produced by the boron neutron capture reaction. BNCT is a relatively safe tool for treating multiple or diffuse malignant tumors with little injury to normal tissue. The success or failure of BNCT depends upon the 10B compound accumulation within tumor cells and the proximity of the tumor cells to the body surface. To extend the therapeutic use of BNCT from surface tumors to visceral tumors will require 10B compounds that accumulate strongly in tumor cells without significant accumulation in normal cells, and an appropriate delivery method for deeper tissues.Hemagglutinating Virus of Japan Envelope (HVJ-E) is used as a vehicle for gene delivery because of its high ability to fuse with cells. However, its strong hemagglutination activity makes HVJ-E unsuitable for systemic administration.In this study, we developed a novel vector for 10B (sodium borocaptate: BSH) delivery using HVJ-E and cationized gelatin for treating multiple liver tumors with BNCT without severe adverse events. METHODS: We developed cationized gelatin conjugate HVJ-E combined with BSH (CG-HVJ-E-BSH), and evaluated its characteristics (toxicity, affinity for tumor cells, accumulation and retention in tumor cells, boron-carrying capacity to multiple liver tumors in vivo, and bio-distribution) and effectiveness in BNCT therapy in a murine model of multiple liver tumors. RESULTS: CG-HVJ-E reduced hemagglutination activity by half and was significantly less toxic in mice than HVJ-E. Higher 10B concentrations in murine osteosarcoma cells (LM8G5) were achieved with CG-HVJ-E-BSH than with BSH. When administered into mice bearing multiple LM8G5 liver tumors, the tumor/normal liver ratios of CG-HVJ-E-BSH were significantly higher than those of BSH for the first 48 hours (p < 0.05). In suppressing the spread of tumor cells in mice, BNCT treatment was as effective with CG-HVJ-E-BSH as with BSH containing a 35-fold higher 10B dose. Furthermore, CG-HVJ-E-BSH significantly increased the survival time of tumor-bearing mice compared to BSH at a comparable dosage of 10B. CONCLUSION: CG-HVJ-E-BSH is a promising strategy for the BNCT treatment of visceral tumors without severe adverse events to surrounding normal tissues.

Paramyxovirus ultrastructure and genome packaging: cryo-electron tomography of sendai virus.

Members of the Paramyxoviridae such as measles, mumps, and parainfluenza viruses have pleomorphic, enveloped virions that contain negative-sense unsegmented RNA genomes. This is encapsidated by multiple copies of a viral nucleocapsid protein N to form a helical ribonucleoprotein complex (termed the nucleocapsid), which acts as the template for both transcription and replication. Structure analysis of these viruses has proven challenging, owing to disordered regions in important constituent proteins, conformational flexibility in the nucleocapsid and the pleomorphic nature of virus particles. We conducted a low-resolution ultrastructural analysis of Sendai virus, a prototype paramyxovirus, using cryo-electron tomography. Virions are highly variable in size, ranging approximately from 110 to 540 nm in diameter. Envelope glycoproteins are densely packed on the virion surface, while nucleocapsids are clearly resolved in the virion interior. Subtomogram segmentation and filament tracing allowed us to define the path of many nucleocapsids and in some cases to determine the number of putative genomes within a single virus particle. Our findings indicate that these viruses may contain between one and six copies of their genome per virion and that there is no discernible order to nucleocapsid packaging.

The HVJ-envelope as an innovative vector system for cardiovascular disease.

Recently promising results of gene therapy clinical trials have been reported for treatment of peripheral vascular and cardiovascular diseases using various angiogenic growth factors and other therapeutic genes. Viral vector and non-viral vector systems were employed in preclinical studies and clinical trials. Adenoviral vector and naked plasmid have been used most in the clinical studies. HVJ (hemagglutinating virus of Japan or Sendai virus)-liposome vector, a hybrid non-viral vector system with fusion of inactivated HVJ virus particle and liposome, has developed and demonstrated high transfection efficiency in preclinical studies of many different disease models, including a wide range of cardiovascular disease models. However, some limitations exist in the HVJ-liposome technology, especially in the scalability of its production. Recently an innovative vector technology, HVJ envelope (HVJ-E) has been developed as a non-viral vector, consisting of HVJ envelope without its viral genome, which is eliminated by a combination of inactivation and purification steps. HVJ-E is able to enclose various molecule entities, including DNA, oligonucleotides, proteins, as single or multiple therapeutic remedies. The therapeutic molecule-included HVJ-E vector can transfect various cell types in animals and humans with high efficiency. In this review, vector technology for cardiovascular disease and the biology of HVJ-E vector technology is discussed.

Characterization of temperature-sensitive HVJ (Sendai virus) infection in Vero cells: inhibitory mechanism of viral production at 41 degrees.

In a previous study, it was found that the synthesis of hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ; Sendai virus)-specific proteins was inhibited at the transcriptional level at 41 degrees in LLC-MK2 cells. During an investigation of the temperature sensitivity of HVJ production in other host cells, the synthesis of HVJ-specific proteins was recognized even at 41 degrees in Vero cells. Viral production, however, was not detected, indicating the inhibition of steps after the synthesis of viral proteins. Hemadsorption activity was not detected at 41 degrees, suggesting problems with the envelope proteins, especially hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein, at the cell membrane. Immunofluorescent staining and surface immunoprecipitation showed that HN protein was not present on the surface in spite of its localization in the cytoplasm. Further, analysis of the cell membrane fraction suggested that fusion (F) protein was integrated into the cell membrane but HN protein was not at 41 degrees. Electron microscopic observation showed that budding sites with spike structures formed and nucleocapsids assembled under the sites at 41 degrees without HN protein, although budded HVJ virions were not detected. At this time, F protein was exposed to the cell membrane and interacted with matrix and nucleocapsid proteins. The results suggested that the suppression of HVJ production at 41 degrees was due to the absence of HN protein in the membrane of Vero cells.

Changes in fused cells induced by hvj (sendai virus): redistribution of cytoplasmic organelles and cytoskeletal reorganization.

To understand the relationship between the location of organelles and cellular function, we examined the dynamic state of cytoplasmic organelles and cytoskeleton in polynuclear Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) cells fused with hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ; Sendai virus) by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Irregular fused cells gradually became spherical during culture, and nuclei and mitochondria were redistributed in the fused cell; nuclei formed a cluster surrounded by mitochondria. F-actin, vimentin, and microtubules were also reorganized with the redistribution of cell organelles. Further, when the morphological change was inhibited by L4-1, a chlorophyll-like substance derived from silkworm faeces, or pyropheophorbide-a, the arrangement of organelles and cytoskeleton remained disturbed, suggesting that the movement of the cytoskeleton is closely associated with cell shape and the distribution of cytoplasmic organelles.