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Parvoviral nuclear import: bypassing the host nuclear-transport machinery

Sarah Cohen1, Ali R Behzad1, Jeffrey B Carroll1

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.

The Journal of General Virology
|October 13, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Minute virus of mice (MVM) nuclear import involves disrupting the nuclear envelope (NE). This study confirms MVM breaks the NE in infected mouse cells, similar to findings in Xenopus oocytes.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Parvoviruses, including Minute virus of mice (MVM), replicate within host cell nuclei.
  • Mechanisms of parvovirus nuclear import are poorly understood.
  • Previous studies suggested MVM might disrupt the nuclear envelope (NE) for entry.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of MVM infection on host cell nuclear structure.
  • To elucidate the nuclear import mechanism of MVM in infected cells.

Main Methods:

  • Fluorescence microscopy
  • Electron microscopy
  • Infection of mouse fibroblast cells with MVM

Main Results:

  • MVM infection caused significant alterations in nuclear shape and morphology.
  • Changes in nuclear lamin immunostaining were observed in infected cells.
  • Breaks and disruptions in the nuclear envelope (NE) were identified in MVM-infected cells.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support an unusual nuclear import mechanism for MVM involving disruption of the host cell's nuclear envelope (NE).
  • This mechanism, previously observed in Xenopus oocytes, appears to be conserved during MVM infection of mammalian cells.

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