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Control of cytoplasmic maturation events by cytomegalovirus tegument protein pp150

Ritesh Tandon1, Edward S Mocarski

  • 1Emory Vaccine Center, 1462 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

Journal of Virology
|July 26, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Cytomegalovirus replication requires the UL32 phosphoprotein (pp150) for virion assembly. Mutations in pp150 disrupt nucleocapsid retention, impairing viral maturation at the assembly compartment.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV) replication relies on the conserved 150-kDa tegument phosphoprotein (pp150), encoded by UL32.
  • pp150 is crucial for the final stages of virion maturation within cytoplasmic assembly compartments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of conserved regions 1 (CR1) and 2 (CR2) of pp150 in viral replication.
  • To determine the function of pp150 in nucleocapsid interaction and assembly compartment organization.

Main Methods:

  • Introduction of amino acid substitutions into CR1 and CR2 of pp150.
  • Evaluation of viral replication using transient complementation assays and recombinant viruses.
  • Analysis of cytoplasmic inclusions and cellular localization of the trans-Golgi marker Golgin-97.
  • Electron microscopy of fibroblasts infected with UL32 deletion mutants.

Main Results:

  • Two CR2 point mutants (N201A and G207A) failed to support viral replication.
  • UL32 mutants formed cytoplasmic inclusions but showed altered assembly compartment organization.
  • Replication-defective CR2 mutants phenocopied a complete UL32 deletion.
  • Electron microscopy revealed vesiculated assembly compartments with few nucleocapsids in UL32 deletion mutants.

Conclusions:

  • The primary role of pp150 is to maintain nucleocapsid organization during secondary envelopment at the assembly compartment.
  • pp150 is essential for proper virion maturation and egress in Cytomegalovirus.

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