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Rab27a is required for human cytomegalovirus assembly

Alberto Fraile-Ramos1, Victoria Cepeda, Edo Elstak

  • 1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain. alberto.fraile@cnb.csic.es

Plos One
|December 21, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) production requires Rab27a, a protein involved in organelle transport. This study reveals Rab27a

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) envelopment and release mechanisms remain unclear.
  • HCMV final envelopment occurs on intracellular membranes before cell egress.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of Rab27a, a known regulator of lysosome-related organelle (LRO) transport, in HCMV production.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing HCMV assembly and release.

Main Methods:

  • Studied Rab27a expression and localization during HCMV infection.
  • Utilized immuno-gold labeling to assess Rab27a association with viral envelopes.
  • Performed knock-down experiments and analyzed HCMV production in Rab27a-deficient cells (ashen melanocytes).

Main Results:

  • HCMV infection upregulated Rab27a expression and recruited it to intracellular assembly sites.
  • Rab27a was found associated with viral envelopes via immuno-gold labeling.
  • Reduced HCMV production was observed following Rab27a knock-down and in Rab27a-deficient cells.

Conclusions:

  • Rab27a is essential for the HCMV life cycle, specifically for viral production.
  • HCMV appears to utilize molecular machinery common to lysosome-related organelle biogenesis for its envelopment and release.

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