Replication of the pathogenic human parvovirus B19 is restricted to erythroid progenitor cells. Although blood group P antigen has been reported to be the cell surface receptor for parvovirus B19, a number of nonerythroid cells, which express P antigen, are not permissive for parvovirus B19 infection. We have documented that P antigen is necessary for parvovirus B19 binding but not sufficient for virus entry into cells. To test whether parvovirus B19 utilizes a cell surface coreceptor for entry, we used human erythroleukemia cells (K562), which allow parvovirus B19 binding but not entry. We report here that upon treatment with phorbol esters, K562 cells become adherent and permissive for parvovirus B19 entry, which is mediated by ␣51 integrins, but only in their high-affinity conformation. Mature human red blood cells (RBCs), which express high levels of P antigen, but not ␣51 integrins, bind parvovirus B19 but do not allow viral entry. In contrast, primary human erythroid progenitor cells express high levels of both P antigen and ␣51 integrins and allow 1 integrin-mediated entry of parvovirus B19. Thus
IntroductionTwo parvoviruses of human origin, the nonpathogenic adenoassociated virus 2 (AAV) and the pathogenic parvovirus B19, have been studied extensively. 1,2 Recombinant AAV vectors have gained attention as a potentially useful alternative to the more commonly used recombinant retroviral and adenoviral vectors in human gene therapy. 3 AAV possesses a broad host range that transcends the species barrier because it utilizes the ubiquitously expressed cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan as a primary receptor for viral binding. 4 We and others have reported the requirement of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and ␣V5 integrin as coreceptors for viral entry. 5,6 Parvovirus B19, on the other hand, has been shown to have an extremely limited tissue-tropism, and the virus replication is restricted to human erythroid progenitor cells, 7 presumably because (1) the blood group P antigen (synonym "globoside"; "globotetraosylceramide") is used as primary cellular receptor for parvovirus B19, 8 (2) putative intracellular factors, largely restricted to human erythroid cells, are required for optimal transcriptional activation of the B19 promoter at map unit 6 (B19p6) and viral replication, 9,10 and (3) B19 capsid protein expression in nonpermissive cells is impaired due to a block in full-length transcription of the viral genome, atypical mRNA splicing, and impaired ribosome loading of structural gene transcripts. [11][12][13] However, P antigen expression is not restricted to erythroid cells, and a number of P antigen-positive nonerythroid cells are nonpermissive for a successful infection by parvovirus B19. 2 In addition, mature red blood cells (RBCs), which are known to express high levels of P antigen, are unlikely to be ideal targets for B19 infection and replication because they lack nuclei. Similarly, B19p6 promoter-driven expression analyses were carried out with plasmid DNA transfections, 11...