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Intermediate filament integrity is required for Junin virus replication

Sandra M Cordo1, Nélida A Candurra

  • 1Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, Piso 4, 1428, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Virus Research
|October 11, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Disrupting intermediate filaments (IF) inhibits Junin virus (JUNV) replication without harming cells. IF integrity is crucial for JUNV multiplication after virus entry.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Cell Biology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • The role of microfilaments (MF) and microtubules (MT) in Junin virus (JUNV) replication is known.
  • The involvement of intermediate filaments (IF) in JUNV infection remains largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of intermediate filaments (IF) in Junin virus (JUNV) replication.
  • To determine if disrupting IF affects JUNV production and viral protein expression.

Main Methods:

  • Treated Vero cells, murine astrocytes, and human foreskin fibroblasts with acrylamide to selectively disrupt IF.
  • Assessed JUNV production, cell viability, viral adsorption, internalization, and protein expression.
  • Utilized immunofluorescence staining to visualize IF network disruption and protein aggregation.

Main Results:

  • Acrylamide treatment inhibited JUNV production in a dose-dependent manner (0.5-3mM) without affecting cell viability.
  • Viral adsorption and internalization were not impacted by IF disruption.
  • JUNV protein expression was significantly reduced with 2mM acrylamide, and IF networks showed disruption with cytoplasmic aggregates of vimentin or GFAP.

Conclusions:

  • Intermediate filaments (IF) play a role in early JUNV multiplication, following virus entry.
  • IF network integrity is essential for normal JUNV replication in neural, fibroblast, and Vero cells.

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