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D C Porter

Publications and source records attributed to D C Porter.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Encapsidation of genetically engineered poliovirus minireplicons which express human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag and Pol proteins upon infection.

The use of recombinant viruses for the expression of a wide array of foreign proteins has become commonplace during the last few years. Recently, we have described the construction and characterization of chimeric human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-poliovirus genomes in which the gag and pol genes of HIV-1 have been substituted for the VP2 and VP3 capsid genes of the P1 capsid precursor region of poliovirus. Transfection of these RNAs into tissue culture cells results in replication of the RNA genome and expression of HIV-1-P1 fusion proteins (W. S. Choi, R. Pal-Ghosh, and C. D. Morrow, J. Virol. 65:2875-2883, 1991). Here we report on the encapsidation and amplification of the minireplicons to obtain sufficient quantities for biological characterization. To do this, HIV-1-poliovirus minireplicon genomes containing the gag or pol gene were transfected into cells previously infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus (VV-P1) which expresses the poliovirus capsid precursor protein, P1 (D. C. Ansardi, D. C. Porter, and C. D. Morrow, J. Virol. 65:2088-2092, 1991). The chimeric minireplicons replicated and expressed the appropriate HIV-1-P1 fusion proteins as determined by immunoprecipitation with HIV-1-specific antibodies. The encapsidated genomes were isolated by ultracentrifugation. Reinfection of cells with the encapsidated chimeric RNA genomes resulted in expression of the HIV-1-Gag-P1 or HIV-1-Pol-P1 fusion protein. Serial passaging of the encapsidated chimeric HIV-1-poliovirus genomes was accomplished by coinfecting cells with the encapsidated minireplicons and VV-P1, resulting in stocks of the encapsidated minireplicons. Northern (RNA) blot analysis of passaged material revealed that no detectable deletions of the chimeric genomes occurred during 14 serial passages. Infection of cells by the encapsidated minireplicons was blocked by antipoliovirus antibodies. Coinfection of cells with encapsidated minireplicons and type 1 Sabin poliovirus resulted in encapsidation of the chimeric genomes by wild-type poliovirus as measured by immunoprecipitation of the HIV-1-P1 fusion proteins with HIV-1-specific antibodies. The results of this study demonstrate the encapsidation of poliovirus minireplicons which express foreign proteins and point to the future use of this system as a potential vaccine vector.

Capsid↗

Myristylation of poliovirus capsid precursor P1 is required for assembly of subviral particles.

The poliovirus capsid precursor polyprotein, P1, is cotranslationally modified by the addition of myristic acid. We have examined the importance of myristylation of the P1 capsid precursor during the poliovirus assembly process by using a recently described recombinant vaccinia virus expression system which allows the independent production of the poliovirus P1 protein and the poliovirus 3CD proteinase (D. C. Ansardi, D. C. Porter, and C. D. Morrow, J. Virol. 65:2088-2092, 1991). We constructed a site-directed mutation in the poliovirus cDNA encoding an alanine at the second amino acid position of P1 in place of the glycine residue required for the myristic acid addition and isolated a recombinant vaccinia virus (VVP1myr-) that expressed a nonmyristylated form of the P1 capsid precursor. The 3CD proteinase expressed by a coinfecting vaccinia virus, VVP3, proteolytically processed the nonmyristylated precursor P1 expressed by VVP1myr-. However, the processed capsid proteins, VP0, VP3, and VP1, did not assemble into 14S or 75S subviral particles, in contrast to the VP0, VP3, and VP1 proteins derived from the myristylated P1 precursor. When cells were coinfected with VVP1myr- and poliovirus type 1, the nonmyristylated P1 precursor expressed by VVP1myr- was processed by 3CD expressed by poliovirus, and the nonmyristylated VP0-VP3-VP1 (VP0-3-1) protomers were incorporated into capsid particles and virions which sedimented through a 30% sucrose cushion. Thus, the nonmyristylated P1 precursor and VP0-3-1 protomers were not excluded from sites of virion assembly, and the assembly defects observed for the nonmyristylated protomers were overcome in the presence of myristylated capsid protomers expressed by poliovirus. We conclude that myristylation of the poliovirus P1 capsid precursor plays an important role during poliovirus assembly by facilitating the appropriate interactions required between 5S protomer subunits to form stable 14S pentamers. The results of these studies demonstrate that the independent expression of the poliovirus P1 and 3CD proteins by using recombinant vaccinia viruses provides a unique experimental tool for analyzing the dynamics of the poliovirus assembly process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Coinfection with recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing poliovirus P1 and P3 proteins results in polyprotein processing and formation of empty capsid structures.

The assembly process of poliovirus occurs via an ordered proteolytic processing of the capsid precursor protein, P1, by the virus-encoded proteinase 3CD. To further delineate this process, we have isolated a recombinant vaccinia virus which expresses, upon infection, the poliovirus P1 capsid precursor polyprotein with an authentic carboxy terminus. Coinfection of HeLa cells with the P1-expressing vaccinia virus and with a second recombinant vaccinia virus which expresses the poliovirus proteinase 3CD resulted in the correct processing of P1 to yield the three individual capsid proteins VP0, VP3, and VP1. When extracts from coinfected cells were fractionated on sucrose density gradients, the VP0, VP3, and VP1 capsid proteins were immunoprecipitated with type 1 poliovirus antisera from fractions corresponding to a sedimentation consistent for poliovirus 75S procapsids. Examination of these fractions by electron microscopy revealed structures which lacked electron-dense cores and which corresponded in size and shape to those expected for poliovirus empty capsids. We conclude that the expression of the two poliovirus proteins P1 and 3CD in coinfected cells is sufficient for the correct processing of the capsid precursor to VP0, VP3, and VP1 as well as for the assembly of poliovirus empty capsid-like structures.

3C Viral Proteases↗

Epidermal growth factor regulates the in vitro sensitivity of human ovarian carcinoma cells to cisplatin.

Cisplatin (DDP) is the most effective drug for the treatment of human ovarian cancer, but the mechanisms that determine sensitivity to the cytotoxic action of DDP are not well understood. Treatment of two human ovarian carcinoma cell lines with epidermal growth factor (EGF) simultaneously increased sensitivity to DDP and caused a persistent change in morphology in the absence of any mitogenic effect. Sensitization to DDP was shown to be dependent on both EGF concentration and EGF receptor number in C127 mouse fibroblasts expressing the human EGF receptor after transfection with a pBPV plasmid construct containing the human EGF receptor gene under control of the transferrin receptor 3'-inducible regulator. Sensitization of human ovarian carcinoma cells to DDP was not blocked by inhibition of protein synthesis. EGF did not enhance sensitivity to DDP or alter morphology in DDP-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cells despite the presence of functional EGF receptors on these cells. These results showed that elements of the signal transduction pathway activated by EGF determined cellular sensitivity to DDP, and that a DDP-resistant phenotype is associated with a defect in this signal transduction pathway.

Animals↗

Egg jelly induces the phosphorylation of histone H3 in spermatozoa of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata.

When spermatozoa of Arbacia punctulata are labeled with 32P and treated with soluble egg jelly, radiolabel is incorporated into histone H3. The time course of labeling correlates with the period of chromatin decondensation of sperm pronuclei in eggs. Phosphorylation is on serine and may result from increased turnover of phosphate on H3. The macromolecular fraction of egg jelly (and not the peptide fraction) is the inducer of H3 phosphorylation. The reaction is dependent on external Ca2+ and is induced by monensin and A23187. H3 phosphorylation is not induced by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX and relatively high (250 microM) concentrations of the protein kinase inhibitor H8 are needed to block the reaction, suggesting that it is cAMP independent. A surprising finding is that merely diluting the cells into Na+ free media is the most effective method to induce the radiolabeling of H3. These results are in contrast to findings on the egg jelly induced phosphorylation of histone H1 in S. purpuratus spermatozoa. These species differences must reflect the great evolutionary divergence between these two sea urchin species in the mechanism of regulation of the phosphorylation of nuclear proteins during fertilization.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

The amino terminal sequence of sea urchin sperm histone H1 and its phosphorylation by egg cytosol.

1. The amino acid sequence of the first 34 residues of sperm histone H1 (SpH1) from Strongylocentrotus purpuratus shows striking similarity with sequences from three South African species. 2. Five contiguous repeats of the tetrapeptide SPBB (where B is R or K) occur between positions 10 and 29. 3. SpH1 was phosphorylated in vitro using egg cytosol as the source of protein kinase and approximately 4.2 mol phosphate were incorporated per mol H1. 4. Sequences of five phosphopeptides of SpH1 show the egg possesses protein kinase activity capable of phosphorylating multiple seryl residues including SPBB in the NH2-, and BBSP in the COOH-end of the protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Extraction of phosphorylated sperm specific histone H1 from sea urchin eggs: analysis of phosphopeptide maps.

Sea urchin spermatozoa contain a unique histone H1 (SpH1) with an unusual primary structure. Within 12 minutes postinsemination SpH1 is phosphorylated and lost from the chromatin. Both sperm and egg kinases phosphorylate SpH1 in vivo. Until now the analysis of the phosphorylation of SpH1 in eggs in vivo during the first 12 minutes has been impossible because of the enormous volume of the egg relative to the sperm nucleus. Here we present the first such analysis based on the direct extraction of [32P]-labeled SpH1 from eggs, fractionation by HPLC, cleavage by CNBr and isolation of the two CNBr-generated fragments of SpH1 by HPLC. Two dimensional maps of the [32-P]-peptides show that at least five sites in the amino-terminal fragment, and five sites in the carboxyl-terminal fragment, are phosphorylated by 1 minute postinsemination.

Animals↗

CAMP-dependent protein kinase of sea urchin sperm phosphorylates sperm histone H1 on a single site.

The phosphorylation of sperm specific histone H1 in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus occurs both in vivo and in vitro on a single serine site in the sequence Arg-Lys-Gly-Ser(P)-Ser-Asn-Ala-Arg. This is a preferred sequence for cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The in vitro phosphorylation is completely dependent on cAMP and is inhibited by the peptide protein kinase inhibitor. The protein kinase inhibitor H-8 blocks the in vivo phosphorylation of H1 without damaging motility, the acrosome reaction or the ability of sperm to fuse with and activate eggs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Monoclonal antibodies to a membrane glycoprotein induce the phosphorylation of histone H1 in sea urchin spermatozoa.

Two groups of mAbs reacting with external domains of a major sea urchin sperm membrane glycoprotein of 210 kD were isolated. Previous studies have shown that group I mAbs inhibit the acrosome reaction induced by egg jelly and also cause large increases in intracellular Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i). Group II mAbs, at comparable levels of cell surface binding, neither inhibit the egg jelly-induced acrosome reaction nor cause increases in [Ca2+]i. In this paper, we investigate the ability of these mAbs to induce the cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of sperm histone H1. Group I mAbs induce H1 phosphorylation to the same level and on the same peptide, as occurs upon treatment of sperm with egg jelly. These mAbs also activate adenylate cyclase to the same extent as egg jelly. Group II mAbs do not induce H1 phosphorylation and are only poor activators of adenylate cyclase. Group I mAbs compete with each other, but not with group II mAbs, for binding to the cell surface. These data indicate that the activation of adenylate cyclase is an initial event in the pathway leading from the binding of mAbs to a specific domain of the 210-kD protein at the cell surface, to the discrete phosphorylation of histone H1 in highly condensed sperm chromatin. The domain on the 210-kD protein recognized by group I mAbs plays a critical role in signal transduction during the early events of fertilization.

Acrosome↗

Dispersal of sperm surface antigens in the plasma membranes of polyspermically fertilized sea urchin eggs.

Polyspermically fertilized Strongylocentrotus purpuratus eggs were fixed at varying times after insemination and exposed to a monoclonal antibody (mAb J18/29) directed against a group of sperm surface antigens. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy reveals that the sperm surface components recognized by mAb J18/29 are quickly incorporated into the egg plasma membrane and begin to disperse as early as 1.5 min after insemination. At subsequent times after insemination, they undergo further dispersal so that by 45 min they are distributed evenly over the entire surface of the egg. These results provide evidence for the free lateral mobility of sperm membrane components in the fertilized egg.

Animals↗

Phosphorylation of sperm histone H1 is induced by the egg jelly layer in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

Phosphorylation of histone H1 occurs when spermatozoa of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus are treated with the macromolecular fraction of solubilized egg jelly. Phosphorylation is on serine residues in the N-terminal fragment of H1 bisected with N-bromosuccinimide. Phosphorylation is maximal by 4-8 min and dependent on Ca2+, but independent of Na+ or increased intracellular pH. Phosphorylation of H1 can be dissociated from the induction of the acrosome reaction. Only a fraction of the H1 molecules become phosphorylated upon treatment of sperm with egg jelly. The amount of phosphate per mole of H1 increases from 0.15 moles before jelly treatment to 0.46 moles after maximal phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of H1 occurs in a cAMP-dependent manner as indicated by the ability of the phosphodiesterase inhibitors IBMX and SQ20009 to induce H1 phosphorylation. This phosphorylation reaction can be blocked by digesting the sperm surface with Pronase, or preincubation of sperm in wheat germ agglutinin, showing that a ligand in egg jelly must interact with a sperm surface receptor to activate the kinase phosphorylating H1.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗