[Mammalian cell culture as a model for studying the intracellular traffic of densovirus proteins]

The intracellular localization of the fusion protein composed of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and one of the capsid proteins (namely VP1) of the German cockroach densovirus BgDV1 was investigated using the HeLa human cell culture. The intracellular localization of GFP was analyzed in a series of control experiments. Histochemical analysis with GFP antibodies showed that the fusion protein is localized exclusively inside the nucleus of cells because of the transitory expression of the corresponding vector constructions, whereas the GFP is located both in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. We can conclude that the signal of the nuclear localization of the capsid protein of the German cockroach densovirus is functionally active, not only within the cells of this insect but within the human cell culture as well. This observation extends the experimental possibilities for studying the genetic control of intracellular traffic of densovirus proteins.