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Published on: August 16, 2013
A live-cell imaging system for visualizing the transport of Marburg virus nucleocapsid-like structures
Yuki Takamatsu1,2, Olga Dolnik1, Takeshi Noda3,4
1Institute of Virology, Philipps-University Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Straße, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
Background:
Live-cell imaging is a powerful tool for visualization of the spatio-temporal dynamics of moving signals in living cells. Although this technique can be utilized to visualize nucleocapsid transport in Marburg virus (MARV)- or Ebola virus-infected cells, the experiments require biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) laboratories, which are restricted to trained and authorized individuals.
Methods:
To overcome this limitation, we developed a live-cell imaging system to visualize MARV nucleocapsid-like structures using fluorescence-conjugated viral proteins, which can be conducted outside BSL-4 laboratories.
Results:
Our experiments revealed that nucleocapsid-like structures have similar transport characteristics to those of nucleocapsids observed in MARV-infected cells, both of which are mediated by actin polymerization.
Conclusions:
We developed a non-infectious live cell imaging system to visualize intracellular transport of MARV nucleocapsid-like structures. This system provides a safe platform to evaluate antiviral drugs that inhibit MARV nucleocapsid transport.
