fThe mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) Gag protein directs the assembly in the cytoplasm of immature viral capsids, which subsequently bud from the plasma membranes of infected cells. MMTV Gag localizes to discrete cytoplasmic foci in mouse mammary epithelial cells, consistent with the formation of cytosolic capsids. Unexpectedly, we also observed an accumulation of Gag in the nucleoli of infected cells derived from mammary gland tumors. To detect Gag-interacting proteins that might influence its subcellular localization, a yeast two-hybrid screen was performed. Ribosomal protein L9 (RPL9 or L9), an essential component of the large ribosomal subunit and a putative tumor suppressor, was identified as a Gag binding partner. Overexpression of L9 in cells expressing the MMTV(C3H) provirus resulted in specific, robust accumulation of Gag in nucleoli. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and coimmunoprecipitation analyses demonstrated that Gag and L9 interact within the nucleolus, and the CA domain was the major site of interaction. In addition, the isolated NC domain of Gag localized to the nucleolus, suggesting that it contains a nucleolar localization signal (NoLS). To determine whether L9 plays a role in virus assembly, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown was performed. Although Gag expression was not reduced with L9 knockdown, virus production was significantly impaired. Thus, our data support the hypothesis that efficient MMTV particle assembly is dependent upon the interaction of Gag and L9 in the nucleoli of infected cells.
Since its discovery as a milk-transmitted agent in the 1930s, the oncogenic retrovirus mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has served as an important model in breast cancer research and immunology (1). However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that govern MMTV assembly. The 9-kb MMTV RNA genome consists of the common retroviral elements gag, pro, pol, and env, as well as dut (dUTPase) (2), sag (superantigen) (3), and rem (regulator of export of MMTV mRNA) (4, 5). Like all retroviruses, MMTV uses full-length viral RNA to transcribe the viral structural proteins Gag, Gag-Pro, and Gag-Pro-Pol. The Gag protein directs assembly of complete, immature viral capsids in the cytoplasm, which are subsequently transported to the plasma membrane for release by budding.Unlike acutely transforming retroviruses like Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), MMTV does not carry an oncogene and instead induces tumors primarily by integrating near cellular oncogenes and disrupting their regulation. In addition, the MMTV Gag and Env proteins also promote tumorigenesis independently of the proviral integration site (6, 7). Moreover, differences in pathogenesis between the highly tumorigenic MMTV(C3H) strain and the tumor-attenuated MMTV hybrid provirus (HP) strain map to the CA and NC regions of the Gag protein (6), which led us to hypothesize that the Gag proteins from the C3H and HP strains might differentially interact with cellular proteins to promote malignant transformation.The eukaryotic ribos...