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Short Communication |
From the McDonald Research Laboratories/The iCAPTUR4E Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, St. Pauls Hospital/Providence Health Care, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| Abstract |
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The ubiquitin/proteasome pathway is a major intracellular protein degradation pathway in eukaryotic cells.3 Proteasomes are large intracellular protein complexes that catalyze the rapid degradation of abnormal proteins or short-lived regulatory proteins. Substrates are first conjugated to multiple units of the polypeptide ubiquitin, and then degraded by the proteasome. In addition to disposal of damaged, misfolded, or unnecessary proteins, this pathway has been found to be involved in various intracellular functions, including cell-cycle regulation, apoptosis, antigen processing, and transcriptional regulation, processes important in the progression of many diseases.4,5 For example, several cell-cycle proteins, including cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (p21, p27), and tumor suppressors (p53) are all substrates of the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway.3,4,5
In addition to the well-known role of polyubiquitination in protein degradation, monoubiquitination of some proteins, such as calmodulin, histones, actin and some membrane receptors, has been suggested to regulate protein function, including membrane envelopment and histone-mediated transcriptional regulation, and monoubiquitination is not evidently involved in cytosolic degradation.6
We have previously shown that the cell-cycle protein cyclin D1 and the tumor suppressor p53 are down-regulated during CVB3 infection of HeLa cells.7 This reduction is abrogated when specific inhibitors of the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway are used. Perhaps most interestingly, we have shown evidence that CVB3 facilitates the ubiquitination of cyclin D1, which suggests a direct mechanism of protein degradation during CVB3 infection. Our results raise the possibility that the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway may be used during CVB3 infection to promote viral replication and infectivity. Thus, in the present study, we attempted to explore the role of proteasome inhibition in CVB3 infectivity and the mechanisms contribute to proteasome inhibitor suppression of CVB3 replication in a murine cardiomyocyte culture model.
| Materials and Methods |
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The immortalized cardiomyocyte HL-1 cell line, generously provided by Dr. William C. Claycomb (Louisiana State University Health Science Center), was established from mouse atrial cardiomyocyte tumors.8 These cells proliferate and can be serially passaged, while maintaining the ability to contract and retaining the differentiated cardiomyocyte phenotype. HL-1 cells were grown in Claycomb medium (JRH Biosciences, Lenexa, KS) containing 10% fetal bovine serum, 0.1 mmol/L norepinephrine, and 2 mmol/L L-glutamine.
Virus Infection
HL-1 cells were infected at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 50 to 100 with CVB3 (Kandolf strain) or sham-treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 1 hour. Cells were washed with PBS and cultured in fresh Claycomb medium containing 10% fetal calf serum. For inhibitor experiments, HL-1 cells were preincubated with proteasome inhibitor MG132 (BIOMOL, Plymouth Meeting, PA) or lactacystin (Calbiochem, San Diego, CA) for 30 minutes. Cells were then infected with CVB3 for 1 hour, washed with PBS, and placed in Claycomb media containing fresh inhibitor.
In Situ Hybridization
In situ hybridization was performed as previously described with slight modification.9 Fixed cells were hybridized with digoxigenin-labeled CVB3 antisense riboprobes, which were prepared from the full-length CVB3 cDNA using an in vitro transcription kit according to the manufacturers instructions (Promega, Madison, WI). Hybridized riboprobes were detected using an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated anti-digoxigenin antibody (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) and a color substrate Vector Red (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Cells were counterstained with hematoxylin.
Western Blot Analysis
Western blot was performed as previously described.7 Equal amounts of protein were subjected to SDS-PAGE and then transferred to nitrocellulose membranes. The membrane was blocked with 5% nonfat dry milk solution containing 0.1% Tween 20 for 1 hour. The blot was then probed for 1 hour with the rabbit polyclonal anti-CVB3 VP1 antibody (Accurate Chemical & Scientific, Westbury, NY), followed by incubation for 1 hour with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody. VP1 protein expression was visualized by chemiluminescence (Amersham Biosciences Inc.).
Plaque Assay
The amount of CVB3 produced was measured on monolayers of HeLa cells by agar overlay plaque assay of supernatant cultures as previously described.9 Cell supernatant was serially diluted and overlaid on monolayers of HeLa cells. Following 1 hour of incubation, medium was removed and complete Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium containing 0.75% agar was overlaid. Three days post-infection, cells were fixed with Carnoys fixative (25% acetic acid, 75% ethanol) and then stained with 1% crystal violet. Viral titer was determined as plaque forming unit (PFU) per milliliter.
Cell Viability Assay
A modified 3, 4-(5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxy phenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium salt (MTS) assay, which measures mitochondrial function, was used to determine cell viability according to the manufacturers instruction (Promega). Sixteen hours post-infection, cells were incubated for 2 hours in MTS solution, and absorbance was measured at 490 nm with an ELISA reader. CVB3-infected HL-1 cells were also examined for morphological changes by phase-contrast microscopy.
Viral Proteolytic Processing
Viral proteolytic activity was determined by pulse-chase metabolic labeling as described previously.10 Briefly, HL-1 cells were labeled with 150 µCi/ml of [35S] methionine for 1 hour, and the synthesis of viral proteins was analyzed by SDS-PAGE with subsequent autoradiography. Proteolytic activity was quantitated by measuring the ratio of viral precursor polyprotein to processed protein products.
Proteasome Activity
Fresh cytoplasmic extracts were used to measure proteasome activity as described previously.11 Briefly, cytoplasmic proteins were incubated with assay buffer (20 mmol/L Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 1 mmol/L adenosine triphosphate, and 2 mmol/L MgCl2) in the presence of the synthetic fluorogenic substrate for the proteasome (Suc-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-AMC; Calbiochem) at 30°C for 30 minutes. The fluorescence product AMC in the supernatant was measured at 460-nm emission, using a fluorometer.
| Results and Discussion |
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B nuclear translocation and activation of the receptor-mediated apoptotic pathway.3,4,5
However, thus far the potential role of proteasome inhibitor in viral infection remains largely unknown. In this study, we used two chemically distinct proteasome inhibitors, MG132 and lactacystin, to explore the effect of proteasome inhibition on CVB3 replication. The peptide-aldehyde MG132 is a highly potent and reversible inhibitor of the chymotryptic-like activity of the proteasome.13
In contrast, lactacystin is highly specific and inhibits the proteasome irreversibly by covalent modification of the proteasome ß-subunits.13
Murine cardiomyocytes, HL-1 cells, were incubated with varying concentrations of proteasome inhibitors (MG132 and lactacystin) and then infected with CVB3. Sixteen hours post-infection, supernatant was collected and plaque assay was performed to determine the effects of these proteasome inhibitors on viral progeny release. As shown in Figure 1A
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Although our data demonstrate that proteasome inhibitors reduce both viral RNA and protein levels, we have not yet determined whether the reduction in viral RNA is due to a direct inhibition of viral RNA transcription or due to a decrease in viral protein translation which leads to reduced synthesis of viral polymerase. Meanwhile, we do not yet know whether the reduction in viral proteins is secondary to a decrease in viral RNA transcription or due to a direct inhibition of viral protein translation.
The ubiquitin/proteasome pathway has been implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes. Most recently, studies by three independent groups have found that ubiquitin is involved in a late stage of the retroviral life-cycle, specifically, viral budding and release.14-16 They showed that proteasome inhibition interferes with the processing of viral Gag polyproteins and decreases release and infectivity of secreted virions. They further demonstrated that proteasome inhibition reduced the level of free ubiquitin in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infected cells and prevented monoubiquitination of p6Gag. However, to our knowledge, our results are the first to demonstrate that the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway is involved in virus replication.
Viral proteases 2A and 3C are responsible for the cleavage of viral precursor polyproteins into structural and enzymatic proteins, which are essential for viral replication. To determine whether the inhibitory effects of proteasome inhibitors on CVB3 replication depend on viral protein 2A and 3C protease activities, we examined the effect of proteasome inhibitors on the proteolytic processing. As shown in Figure 2D
, addition of proteasome inhibitors (MG132 and lactacystin) led to a dramatic reduction of processed viral protein products (VP1, 3D, and 3CD). However, we did not observe an accumulation of viral precursor polyproteins (P1) which has been previously shown to occur with the protease 3C inhibitor.10
These data suggest that it is unlikely that proteasome inhibitors target the proteolytic activities of viral proteases.
The molecular mechanism underlying regulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system can occur at two levels: the ubiquitination process and/or the proteasome degradation.3,4,5
We first examined the proteasome activity following CVB3 infection and to determine the effect of proteasome inhibitors on its activity. As shown in Figure 3
, as compared to sham-infected samples, proteasome activity was unchanged in CVB3-infected cells. In contrast, proteasome inhibitor MG132 dramatically inhibited proteasome activity in both sham- and CVB3-infected cells. This observation suggests that a precursor step, eg, ubiquitination, may play a role in the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway-mediated CVB3 replication or protein degradation. Indeed, we have previously shown that CVB3 infection facilitated ubiquitination of cyclin D17
and our studies using Affymetrix microarray technology has demonstrated that the expression of several ubiquitin-related genes were up-regulated following CVB3 infection, such as human ubiquitin-like protein (unpublished data).
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It has been reported that cells arrested at G1 or G1/S phase produce high levels of CVB3.21 Dysregulation of cell-cycle progression may affect CVB3 replication. Proteasome inhibitors prevent cell-cycle progression and induce G1 arrest by increasing the cellular levels of p53 and its target gene product p21.22,23 Thus, it is unlikely that the inhibition of viral replication by proteasome inhibitors is due to cell-cycle dysregulation.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated here that inhibition of the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway effectively reduces CVB3 replication in a murine cardiomyocyte culture model as determined by decreases in both viral RNA production and protein synthesis. Our results suggest that the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway may be a novel therapeutic target by which to mitigate viral myocarditis.
| Footnotes |
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Supported by grants from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of British Columbia and Yukon (H.L. and B.M.M.), and a doctoral traineeship from the Dr. David Hardwick Foundation (C.C.).
Accepted for publication May 1, 2003.
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