Membrane rearrangement and vesicle induction by recombinant poliovirus 2C and 2BC in human cells

Poliovirus (PV)-infected cells undergo extensive proliferation and rearrangement of intracellular smooth membranes to generate vesicles on which viral RNA replication occurs. PV proteins 2C and 2BC are known to be tightly associated with these membranous replication complexes and have been proposed to be involved in the formation of these virus-induced vesicles. We have expressed these proteins, and proteins with mutations in the putative nucleotide (NTP) binding motifs, in human cells using recombinant vaccinia viruses and T7 RNA polymerase-directed transcription. To ascertain the subcellular localization properties of these proteins in the absence of other PV proteins and to determine whether they induced ultrastructural changes, cells expressing 2C and 2BC proteins were examined by immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy, electron microscopy (EM), and immuno-EM (IEM). The cytoplasm of cells expressing either 2C or 2BC exhibited vesicles of 50-350 nm in diameter, which resembled those found in PV-infected cells. Both 2C and 2BC were associated with these vesicles. Mutations in the putative NTP binding motif did not affect vesicle induction by 2C or 2BC. Despite the membrane reorganization and vesicle formation induced by 2C and 2BC proteins, no enhanced synthesis of lipid was observed. Guanidine hydrochloride at a concentration that inhibits PV replication, did not have significant effects on the IF patterns of either 2C or 2BC. An additional prominent alteration in cells expressing 2C, but not 2BC, was the formation of extensive tubular membrane structures with a myelin-like arrangement in the lumen of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. IEM analyses showed that 2C was associated with these structures. In the presence of other PV proteins, the tubular membrane structures induced by 2C were not detected. These structures are not observed in poliovirus-infected cells, but likely indicate a novel property of 2C that induces a complex interaction with intracellular membranes.