Real-time tracking of vaccinia virus entry using a split luciferase complementation assay

A recombinant vaccinia virus (vA4-HiBiT) was constructed with a short, split luciferase HiBiT tag at the C-terminus of the A4 core protein open reading frame. When HeLa or A549 cells stably expressing LgBiT were infected with vA4-HiBiT, the interaction of the split luciferase fragments reconstituted NanoLuc enzyme activity. Upon addition of a membrane-permeable luciferase substrate, a strong luminescence signal indicated core entry into the cytoplasm within 5 min after infection and was proportional to virus multiplicity within the range of 0.5-80 PFU/cell. This direct entry assay was dependent on a functional virus entry-fusion complex, was inhibited by a neutralizing antibody, and was unaffected by an inhibitor of protein synthesis. Entry was enhanced by brief pH 5 treatment of cell-bound virus relative to pH 7 and prevented by pH 3 treatment. Bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of endosomal acidification, exhibited greater inhibition of entry in A549-LgBiT cells compared to HeLa-LgBiT cells, as did treatment with ammonium chloride, suggesting variations in entry pathways or cell metabolism. Inhibition of entry by latrunculin A and cytochalasin D indicated a role for actin polymerization in both cell lines. Despite the discovery of a conserved furin cleavage consensus sequence in the A16 subunit of the entry-fusion complex, a furin inhibitor did not reduce virus entry unlike results obtained with a human papillomavirus control. These data support the use of this NanoBiT assay for studies of vaccinia virus entry, with application to basic research, antivirals, and neutralizing antibodies.

Assays to measure virus entry into cells mostly rely on post-entry events such as gene expression, cytopathic effects, or virus yields. Although fluorescence and electron microscopy can provide direct analyses, such methods are labor intensive and semiquantitative. Here we describe a rapid and quantitative real-time direct entry assay for vaccinia virus with application to basic research, antivirals, and neutralizing antibodies.