Borna disease virus P-protein is phosphorylated by protein kinase Cepsilon and casein kinase II

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a newly classified nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus (order of Mononegavirales) that persistently infects specific brain regions and circuits of warm-blooded animals to cause behavioral disturbances. Viruses within the order of Mononegavirales have phosphoproteins that typically serve as transcription factors and are modulated in functional activity through phosphorylation. To identify the kinases involved in BDV phosphoprotein (BDV-P) phosphorylation, in vitro phosphorylation assays were performed using recombinant phosphoprotein produced in Escherichia coli as substrate and cytoplasmic extracts from a rat glioma cell line (C6) or rat brain extracts as sources of kinase activity. These experiments revealed that BDV-P was phosphorylated predominantly by protein kinase C (PKC) and to a lesser extent by casein kinase II. Partial purification of the PKC from rat brain extract suggested that the BDV-P phosphorylating kinase is PKCepsilon. A role for PKC phosphorylation in vivo was confirmed by using the PKC-specific inhibitor GF109203X. Furthermore, peptide mapping studies indicated that BDV-P is phosphorylated at the same sites in vitro as it is in vivo. Mutational analysis identified Ser26 and Ser28 as sites for PKC phosphorylation and Ser70 and Ser86 as sites for casein kinase II phosphorylation. The anatomic distribution of PKCepsilon in the central nervous system may have implications for BDV neurotropism and pathogenesis.