Further identification and characterization of novel intermediate and mature cleavage products released from the ORF 1b region of the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus 1a/1b polyprotein.
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The coronavirus 3C-like proteinase is one of the viral proteinases responsible for processing of the 1a and 1a/1b polyproteins to multiple mature products. In cells infected with avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), three proteins of 100, 39, and 35 kDa, respectively, were previously identified as mature cleavage products released from the 1b region of the 1a/1b polyprotein by the 3C-like proteinase. In this report, we show the identification of two more cleavage products of 68 and 58 kDa released from the same region of the polyprotein. In addition, two stable intermediate cleavage products with molecular masses of 160 and 132 kDa, respectively, were identified in IBV-infected cells. The 160-kDa protein was shown to be an intermediate cleavage product covering the 100- and 68-kDa proteins, and the 132-kDa protein to be an intermediate cleavage product covering the 58-, 39-, and 35-kDa proteins. Immunofluorescent staining of IBV-infected cells and cells expressing individual cleavage products showed that the 100-, 68-, and 58-kDa proteins were associated with the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum, and the 39- and 35-kDa proteins displayed diffuse distribution patterns. (+info)
Reverse genetics system for the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus.
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Major advances in the study of the molecular biology of RNA viruses have resulted from the ability to generate and manipulate full-length genomic cDNAs of the viral genomes with the subsequent synthesis of infectious RNA for the generation of recombinant viruses. Coronaviruses have the largest RNA virus genomes and, together with genetic instability of some cDNA sequences in Escherichia coli, this has hampered the generation of a reverse-genetics system for this group of viruses. In this report, we describe the assembly of a full-length cDNA from the positive-sense genomic RNA of the avian coronavirus, infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), an important poultry pathogen. The IBV genomic cDNA was assembled immediately downstream of a T7 RNA polymerase promoter by in vitro ligation and cloned directly into the vaccinia virus genome. Infectious IBV RNA was generated in situ after the transfection of restricted recombinant vaccinia virus DNA into primary chick kidney cells previously infected with a recombinant fowlpox virus expressing T7 RNA polymerase. Recombinant IBV, containing two marker mutations, was recovered from the transfected cells. These results describe a reverse-genetics system for studying the molecular biology of IBV and establish a paradigm for generating genetically defined vaccines for IBV. (+info)
The cytoplasmic tail of infectious bronchitis virus E protein directs Golgi targeting.
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We have previously shown that the E protein of the coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is localized to the Golgi complex when expressed exogenously from cDNA. Here, we report that neither the transmembrane domain nor the short lumenal domain of IBV E is required for Golgi targeting. However, an N-terminal truncation containing only the cytoplasmic domain (CTE) was efficiently localized to the Golgi complex, and this domain could retain a reporter protein in the Golgi. Thus, the cytoplasmic tail of the E protein is necessary and sufficient for Golgi targeting. The IBV E protein is palmitoylated on one or two cysteine residues adjacent to its transmembrane domain, but palmitoylation was not required for proper Golgi targeting. Using C-terminal truncations, we determined that the IBV E Golgi targeting information is present between tail amino acids 13 and 63. Upon treatment with brefeldin A, both the E and CTE proteins redistributed to punctate structures that colocalized with the Golgi matrix proteins GM130 and p115 instead of being localized to the endoplasmic reticulum like Golgi glycosylation enzymes. This suggests that IBV E is associated with the Golgi matrix through interactions of its cytoplasmic tail and may have interesting implications for coronavirus assembly in early Golgi compartments. (+info)
Identification, expression, and processing of an 87-kDa polypeptide encoded by ORF 1a of the coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus.
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Nucleotide sequence analysis has shown previously that the genomic-length mRNA (mRNA1) of the coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) contains two large open reading frames (ORFs), 1a and 1b, with the potential to encode polyproteins of approximately 441 and 300 kDa, respectively. We have characterized the specificity of a set of region-specific antisera raised against the 5'-portion of ORF 1a by immunoprecipitation of in vitro-synthesized, C-terminally truncated 1a polypeptides and used these antisera to detect virus-specific proteins in IBV-infected Vero cells. Two antisera, which had specificity for IBV sequences from nucleotides 710 to 2079 and 1355 to 2433, respectively, immunoprecipitated a polypeptide of approximately 87 kDa from IBV-infected Vero cells. In vitro translation of ORF 1a sequence terminating at nucleotide 5763 did not produce this protein unless the in vitro translation products were incubated with Vero cell S10 extracts prepared from either IBV-infected or mock-infected Vero cells. However, processing of the 87-kDa protein was also observed when the same region was expressed in Vero cells using the vaccinia virus/T7 expression system. This observation indicates that the 87-kDa polypeptide is encoded within the 5'-most 3000 nucleotides of mRNA 1 and that it might be cleaved from the 1a polyprotein by viral and cellular proteinases. (+info)
Membrane association and dimerization of a cysteine-rich, 16-kilodalton polypeptide released from the C-terminal region of the coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus 1a polyprotein.
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More than 10 mature proteins processed from coronavirus gene 1-encoded polyproteins have been identified in virus-infected cells. Here, we report the identification of the most C-terminal cleavage product of the 1a polyprotein as a 16-kDa protein in infectious bronchitis virus-infected Vero cells. Indirect immunofluorescence demonstrated that the protein exhibits a distinct perinuclear punctate staining pattern, suggesting that it is associated with cellular membranes. Positive staining observed on nonpermeabilized cells indicates that the protein may get transported to the cell surface, but no secretion of the protein out of the cells was observed. Treatment of the membrane fraction prepared from cells expressing the 16-kDa protein with Triton X-100, a high pH, and a high concentration of salts showed that the protein may be tightly associated with intracellular membranes. Dual-labeling experiments demonstrated that the 16-kDa protein colocalized with the 5'-bromouridine 5'-triphosphate-labeled viral RNA, suggesting that it may be associated with the viral replication machinery. Sequence comparison of the 16-kDa protein with the equivalent products of other coronaviruses showed multiple conserved cysteine residues, and site-directed mutagenesis studies revealed that these conserved residues may contribute to dimerization of the 16-kDa protein. Furthermore, increased accumulation of the 16-kDa protein upon stimulation with epidermal growth factor was observed, providing preliminary evidence that the protein might be involved in the growth factor signaling pathway. (+info)
Tissue distribution of avian infectious bronchitis virus following in ovo inoculation of chicken embryos examined by in situ hybridization with antisense digoxigenin-labeled universal riboprobe.
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Chicken embryos were inoculated with 8 different strains of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) representing 7 different serotypes at 17 days of embryonation. At 2 and 5 days postinfection (dpi), tissues were collected for in situ hybridization using an antisense digoxigenin-labeled riboprobe corresponding to the sequence of the mRNA coding for the membrane protein. Extensive antigen staining in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells in the trachea, lung, bursa, and intestine was detected at 2 dpi with all 8 strains of IBV. At 5 dpi, little or no positive staining was observed in these tissues. However, tubular cells of the kidney showed multifocal positive staining with the Wolgemuth strain-, Gray strain-, JMK strain-, and Mass41 strain-infected chickens. No viral RNA was detected in the spleen at any time point. The results demonstrated strict epitheliotropic nature and wide tissue tropism of strains of IBV in the chicken embryo and the universality of our riboprobe. In situ hybridization with this probe will be useful for understanding the tissue tropism and the pathogenesis of IBV in vivo. (+info)
Memory T cells protect chicks from acute infectious bronchitis virus infection.
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Infectious bronchitis has remained one of the most difficult to control diseases in poultry since it was first described in 1931. Previous studies demonstrated that primary CD8(+) T lymphocytes collected at 10 days post-infection (p.i.) are important in controlling acute infection. To further investigate the role of memory T cells in protection, T lymphocytes collected from B19/B19 chicken spleens at 2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks p.i. were transferred to six-day-old syngeneic chicks one day prior to challenging with 10(6) EID(50) of the IBV Gray strain. Memory immune T cells collected at 3 to 6 weeks p.i. provided dose responsive protection from clinical illness. The greatest protection was observed after the transfer of 10(7) T cells collected at 6 weeks p.i., whereas T cells collected at 2 weeks p.i. did not protect. Annexin-V staining of the spleen cells demonstrated that the cells collected at 2 weeks p.i. were undergoing significantly more apoptosis than cells collected at 10 days p.i. Specific antibody production in sera collected at 7 days p.i. did not correlate with protection. T cell subtype depletion demonstrated that CD8(+), not CD4(+), T cells were critical. Memory T cells can be detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells up to at least 10 weeks p.i. These results demonstrated that IBV specific CD8(+) memory T cells generated at 3 to 6 weeks p.i. can protect syngeneic chicks from acute IBV infection. (+info)
In vitro and in ovo expression of chicken gamma interferon by a defective RNA of avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus.
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Coronavirus defective RNAs (D-RNAs) have been used for site-directed mutagenesis of coronavirus genomes and for expression of heterologous genes. D-RNA CD-61 derived from the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was used as an RNA vector for the expression of chicken gamma interferon (chIFN-gamma). D-RNAs expressing chIFN-gamma were shown to be capable of rescue, replication, and packaging into virions in a helper virus-dependent system following electroporation of in vitro-derived T7 RNA transcripts into IBV-infected cells. Secreted chIFN-gamma, under the control of an IBV transcription-associated sequence derived from gene 5 of the Beaudette strain, was expressed from two different positions within CD-61 and shown to be biologically active. In addition, following infection of 10-day-old chicken embryos with IBV containing D-RNAs expressing chIFN-gamma, the allantoic fluid was shown to contain biologically active chIFN-gamma, demonstrating that IBV D-RNAs can express heterologous genes in vivo. (+info)