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Transport of cationic amino acids by the mouse ecotropic retrovirus receptor

J W Kim1, E I Closs, L M Albritton

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.

Nature
|August 22, 1991
PubMed

Insights

Murine leukemia virus (MuLV) receptors are identified as amino acid transporters. This discovery reveals a novel cellular function for these viral receptors, impacting cell biology and virology.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Susceptibility to ecotropic murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) depends on a specific membrane receptor.
  • Infected cells produce envelope protein (gp70) that binds this receptor, blocking further infection.
  • The cellular function of the MuLV receptor protein remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cellular function of the MuLV receptor protein.
  • To identify potential similarities between the MuLV receptor and other known proteins.
  • To explore the functional consequences of MuLV receptor-virus binding.

Main Methods:

  • Computer-based sequence comparison of the MuLV receptor against the GenBank database.
  • Analysis of membrane-spanning domains in the MuLV receptor and related proteins.
  • Xenopus oocyte expression system to study receptor function after messenger RNA injection.

Main Results:

  • The MuLV receptor shares structural similarities in its membrane-spanning domains with arginine and histidine permeases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
  • Xenopus oocytes expressing the MuLV receptor exhibited increased uptake of cationic amino acids (L-arginine, L-lysine, L-ornithine).
  • The transport characteristics and expression pattern of the MuLV receptor align with known properties of the mammalian cationic amino acid transporter, y+.

Conclusions:

  • The MuLV receptor protein functions as a cationic amino acid transporter.
  • This finding provides a novel cellular role for a viral receptor.
  • The study links viral entry mechanisms to fundamental cellular transport processes.

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