No abstract

The lectins DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR can augment viral infection; however, the range of pathogens interacting with these attachment factors is incompletely defined. Here we show that DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR enhance infection mediated by the glycoprotein (GP) of Marburg virus (MARV) and the S protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and might promote viral dissemination. SIGNR1, a murine DC-SIGN homologue, also enhanced infection driven by MARV and Ebola virus GP and could be targeted to assess the role of attachment factors in filovirus infection in vivo.

Replication of human cytomegalovirus is limited at the level of nucleocytoplasmic transport of viral capsids, a process that requires the disassembly of the nuclear lamina. Deletion of the protein kinase gene UL97 from the viral genome showed that the activity of pUL97 plays an important role for viral capsid egress. Here, we report that p32, a novel cellular interactor of the viral kinase pUL97, promotes the accumulation of pUL97 at the nuclear membrane by recruiting the p32-pUL97 complex to the lamin B receptor. Transfection of active pUL97, but not a catalytically inactive mutant, induced a redistribution of lamina components as demonstrated for recombinant lamin B receptor-green fluorescent protein and endogenous lamins A and C. Consistent with this, p32 itself and lamins were phosphorylated by pUL97. Importantly, overexpression of p32 in human cytomegalovirus-infected cells resulted in increased efficiency of viral replication and release of viral particles. Thus, it is highly suggestive that the cellular protein p32 recruits pUL97 to induce a dissolution of the nuclear lamina thereby facilitating the nuclear export of viral capsids.The transport of macromolecules in eukaryotic cells is subject to a strict compartmentalization into nucleus and cytoplasm. Exchange reactions between the two compartments are mediated through the nuclear pore complex, and thus the integrity of the nuclear envelope, composed of membrane and lamina constituents, is crucial for intracellular transport pathways. The nuclear lamina, underlining the inner nuclear membrane, contains a variable number of lamin isoforms (which are members of the intermediate filament family of cytoskeletal proteins) and forms a rigid, proteinaceous meshwork. During infection with herpesviruses, the nuclear lamina represents a barrier to the nucleocytoplasmic transport of viral capsids (1). Because of the large size of herpesviral capsids (ϳ120 nm), which does not allow their direct cytoplasmic release through nuclear pores, the structural destabilization of the nuclear lamina is an important prerequisite of virus budding. Lamina destabilization requires site-specific phosphorylation of lamins and lamin-binding membrane proteins. Phosphorylation leads to lamin depolymerization and may also permit their release from lamin-binding membrane proteins, including the lamin B receptor (LBR) 2 (2, 3). Protein kinase C and Cdc2 have been identified as kinases phosphorylating lamins during mitosis (3, 4). Interestingly, protein kinase C is involved in the dissolution of the nuclear lamina in cells infected with murine cytomegalovirus (5). In addition to cellular protein kinases, the activity of virus-encoded protein kinases has been suspected as an important additional critical factor for nuclear export of herpesviruses, such as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and pseudorabies virus (6, 7). Concerning the replication of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which is a major human pathogenic herpesvirus, little information has been published on destabilization of the n...

The angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as a receptor for the severe acute respiratory syndrome associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Here we show that ACE2 expression on cell lines correlates with susceptibility to SARS-CoV S-driven infection, suggesting that ACE2 is a major receptor for SARS-CoV. The soluble ectodomain of ACE2 specifically abrogated S-mediated infection and might therefore be exploited for the generation of inhibitors. Deletion of a major portion of the cytoplasmic domain of ACE2 had no effect on S-driven infection, indicating that this domain is not important for receptor function. Our results point to a central role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV infection and suggest a minor contribution of the cytoplasmic domain to receptor function.