Non-redundant and Redundant Roles of Cytomegalovirus gH/gL Complexes in Host Organ Entry and Intra-tissue Spread

Lemmermann, Niels A. W.; Krmpotic, Astrid; Podlech, Jürgen; Brizic, Ilija; Prager, Adrian; Adler, Heiko; Karbach, Astrid; Wu, Yiquan; Jonjic, Stipan; Reddehase, Matthias J. und Adler, Barbara (2015): Non-redundant and Redundant Roles of Cytomegalovirus gH/gL Complexes in Host Organ Entry and Intra-tissue Spread.
In: PLOS Pathogens 11(2), e1004640

Abstract

Herpesviruses form different gH/gL virion envelope glycoprotein complexes that serve as entry complexes for mediating viral cell-type tropism in vitro; their roles in vivo, however, remained speculative and can be addressed experimentally only in animal models. For murine cytomegalovirus two alternative gH/gL complexes, gH/gL/gO and gH/gL/MCK-2, have been identified. A limitation of studies on viral tropism in vivo has been the difficulty in distinguishing between infection initiation by viral entry into first-hit target cells and subsequent cell-to-cell spread within tissues. As a new strategy to dissect these two events, we used a gO-transcomplemented Delta gO mutant for providing the gH/gL/gO complex selectively for the initial entry step, while progeny virions lack gO in subsequent rounds of infection. Whereas gH/gL/gO proved to be critical for establishing infection by efficient entry into diverse cell types, including liver macrophages, endothelial cells, and hepatocytes, it was dispensable for intra-tissue spread. Notably, the salivary glands, the source of virus for host-to-host transmission, represent an exception in that entry into virus-producing cells did not strictly depend on either the gH/gL/gO or the gH/gL/MCK-2 complex. Only if both complexes were absent in gO and MCK-2 double-knockout virus, in vivo infection was abolished at all sites.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin > Max-von-Pettenkofer-Institut für Hygiene und Medizinische Mikrobiologie
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 1553-7366
• Sprache: Englisch