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Journal of Virology, February 2006, p. 1807-1816, Vol. 80, No. 4
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.80.4.1807-1816.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Medicine,1 Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794,2 Northport VA Medical Center, Northport, New York 117683
Received 2 September 2005/ Accepted 17 November 2005
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NSP5 contains 198 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of approximately 21 kDa. NSP5 is highly phosphorylated in infected cells resulting in a series of posttranslationally modified isoforms that range from 26 to 35 kDa (2). The initial modification that results in the shift from 21 to 26 kDa is unknown, but the appearance of 28- and 32- to 35-kDa isoforms from a 26-kDa precursor has been ascribed to O-glycosylation and hyperphosphorylation, respectively (2, 6, 47).
Hyperphosphorylation of untagged, full-length NSP5 reportedly requires the expression of the rotavirus NSP2 protein (1, 2, 22, 37). NSP2 is reported to interact with N- and C-terminal domains of NSP5 (18, 32) leading to the formation of viroplasm-like-structures and NSP5 hyperphosphorylation (1, 22). In contrast, it was also shown that deletion of residues 1 to 33 of NSP5 promotes NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and at the same time abolishes interactions with NSP2 (1). The N terminus of NSP5 may also be masked either by interaction with NSP2, or by the addition of N-terminal epitope tags which may mimic the role of NSP2 (32). However, it is still reported that coexpression of NSP2 is required for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and the formation of viroplasm-like structures (18, 19, 42).
Two reports have indicated that specific NSP5 residues are required for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation but these reports differ in both the residues and domains required and the cellular kinases involved. Initially it was reported that serines in the 153 to 165 domain of NSP5 were required for NSP5 phosphorylation by casein kinase II (20). In contrast, this group recently proposed a model indicating that phosphorylation of serine 67 by casein kinase I was essential for NSP5 phosphorylation (18). The model proposed further postulates that NSP5 hyperphosphorylation occurs in trans via a domain-dependent mechanism in which specific domains serve as activators or substrates for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation (18).
In the present study, we show that full-length N-terminally tagged NSP5 is distributed in both soluble and previously unrecognized Triton X-100- and 0.2% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-insoluble cellular fractions. Our findings indicate that normally only insoluble NSP5 accumulates into hyperphosphorylated isoforms and that NSP5 is still hyperphosphorylated following mutagenesis of serine 67; without deleting NSP5 domains; or without coexpression of NSP2. In addition, inhibiting cellular phosphatases with calyculin A resulted in the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms in soluble fractions. Our findings indicate that soluble NSP5 is constitutively phosphorylated and dephosphorylated and that dephosphorylation prevents the accumulation of soluble hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms.
Interestingly, both NSP5 insolubility and the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms were abolished by adding a Myc tag to the NSP5C terminus, indicating the importance of an unmodified C terminus in both processes. However, soluble C-tagged NSP5 was also hyperphosphorylated when phosphatases were inhibited, indicating that C-terminal modifications alter NSP5 solubility but not the ability of NSP5 to be phosphorylated. Fusion of 68 C-terminal NSP5 residues to green fluorescent protein (GFP) conferred both insolubility and GFP localization into viroplasm-like structures, in the absence of hyperphosphorylation, indicating that the NSP5 C terminus directs protein localization into insoluble cellular fractions and viroplasms. Our findings demonstrate that NSP5 solubility is a fundamental parameter that needs to be considered when evaluating NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and that NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and solubility are independent protein properties. These studies further indicate that NSP5 domains recruit both cellular kinases and phosphatases that coordinately regulate NSP5 hyperphosphorylation.
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Cloning and mutagenesis of NSP5. The full-length gene encoding the RRV NSP5 protein (31) was cloned using purified RNA from RRV-infected cells. At 6 h postinfection, total RNA was extracted using RNeasy (QIAGEN). cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription using random hexamers and 20 units avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase (Roche) in the presence of 1 mM deoxynucleoside triphosphates and 5 mM MgCl2 at 25°C for 10 min, 42°C for 1 h, and 94°C for 5 min. PCR was carried out using specific primers containing the 5' and 3' restriction site adaptors as well as N-terminal His6G or C-terminal His6-Myc tags (Table 1). PCR products representing the entire open reading frame of RRV NSP5 were cloned into pcDNA3.1(+) (Invitrogen) as an N-terminally tagged 6x-His-Gly fusion protein (N-NSP5) or as a C-terminally tagged His6G-Myc (C-NSP5) fusion protein into the EcoRI and XhoI sites. RRV NSP5 was also cloned into pBIND (Promega) as an N-terminally tagged GAL4 fusion protein into the BamHI and XbaI sites and grown in Escherichia coli XL1Blue cells (Stratagene).
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TABLE 1. Sequences of primers used for NSP5 constructs
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Transfection and protein purification. Transfection and protein expression were carried out using 50% confluent COS-7 cells grown in six-well cluster plates using either a modified calcium phosphate method (33) or FuGene6 (Roche) as directed by the company. Cells were lysed 48 h posttransfection for Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) purification under denaturing conditions (16). Denaturing NSP5 purification was carried out by lysing cells in guanidine buffer (6 M guanidine hydrochloride, 0.1 M Na2HPO4, 10 mM imidazole, pH 8.0). Cell lysates were sonicated and 50 µl of Ni-NTA-agarose resin (QIAGEN) was added to the clarified supernatant. Tubes were rotated for 2 h at 20°C, resin was collected by centrifugation and washed four times in guanidine buffer, followed by two washes in wash buffer (25 mM Tris-HCl, 20 mM imidazole, pH 6.8). Residual fluid was removed using a 30-gauge needle, and beads were resuspended in 20 µl of 2x Laemmli sample buffer (4% SDS, 20% glycerol, 100 mM Tris-HCl, pH 6.8, 0.002% bromophenol blue, 10% 2-mercaptoethanol) and loaded on 12 or 15% SDS-PAGE gels.
Analysis of NSP5 solubility. The solubility of N-NSP5 or C-NSP5 expressed protein was examined 48 h posttransfection in the buffers indicated, radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 1% NP-40, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 0.2% SDS); TX-100 lysis buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 10% glycerol, 1% Triton X-100, 1 mM dithiothreitol); NP-40 buffer (150 mM NaCl, 40 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 2 mM EDTA, 10% glycerol, 0.1% NP-40); EMP buffer (5 mM EDTA, 2% Empigen BB in phosphate-buffered saline). Whole-cell lysates were prepared in 2x WCL buffer (125 mM Tris-HCl, pH 6.8, 20% glycerol, 4% SDS). In all cases, lysis was carried out on ice for 20 min, followed by centrifugation at 18,000 x g for 30 min to yield soluble and pellet fractions. Equivalent amounts of each fraction were analyzed by 15% SDS-PAGE, transferred to nitrocellulose membranes, and immunoblotting was carried out using the indicated antibodies as described earlier (28).
Analysis of keratins 8 and 18. Keratins were analyzed using a previously described protocol with minor modifications (13). Briefly, COS-7 cells were transfected with His6G-NSP5 and 48 h posttransfection, approximately 1.2 x 106 cells were pelleted and resuspended in 125 µl of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) fractionation buffer (10 mM EDTA, 0.5 µg of okadaic acid/ml, and protease inhibitor cocktail [Sigma]), lysed by three consecutive freeze-thaw cycles, and centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 15 min to obtain the cytosolic fraction. The pellet was resuspended in 125 µl of 1% NP-40 in PBS fractionation buffer and placed on a rocker for 15 min before being respun to obtain the NP-40-soluble fraction. The pellet was resuspended in 1% Empigen BB in PBS fractionation buffer and again placed on a rocker for 15 min before being respun. The pellet was subsequently resuspended in 2% SDS in PBS fractionation buffer to obtain the SDS-soluble fraction. Equivalent volumes of the different fractions were separated on 15% SDS-PAGE and analyzed by Western blotting using anti-HisG, antivimentin, or antikeratin 8/18 antibodies.
Treatment with inhibitors. For experiments using inhibitors of cytoskeletal elements, COS-7 cells expressing His6G-NSP5 at 48 h posttransfection were treated with the indicated concentrations of inhibitors for 1 h, washed twice in ice-cold PBS, and lysed using ice-cold RIPA buffer on ice for 20 min. Soluble and pellet fractions were collected after centrifugation at 18,000 x g for 20 min and equivalent amounts of each fraction were analyzed by immunoblotting using anti-HisG antibodies. Okadaic acid (1 nM for 2 h) and calyculin A (2.5 to 200 nM for 0.5 to 5 h) treatment of cells was carried out for the indicated times 40 h posttransfection After washing in PBS, cells were lysed and analyzed as described above.
Fluorescence microscopy. COS-7 cells were transfected with FuGene 6 (Roche) in six-well plates using 1.5 µg of the indicated construct. At 40 to 48 h posttransfection, cells were washed three times in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and fluorescence was observed using a Nikon diaphot fluorescence microscope. In alternate experiments, cells were lysed at 48 h posttransfection using Triton X-100 lysis buffer, and equivalent amounts of soluble and pellet fractions were analyzed by Western blotting using anti-GFP rabbit polyclonal antibody (Santa Cruz). Blots were developed using an ECL kit (Amersham) and the ratio of soluble to pellet protein was calculated for each sample using the NIH Image analysis program.
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FIG. 1. Solubility of N-terminally tagged His6G-NSP5 and GAL4-tagged NSP5 in 1% Triton X-100. COS-7 cells were transfected with NSP5 tagged N-terminally with His6G-NSP5- (A) or GAL4 DNA binding domain (B). Cells were lysed in buffer containing 1% Triton X-100, and proteins present in the supernatant were separated by 15% PAGE and Western blotted with HisG- or GAL4-specific antibodies. Open arrows indicate the position of N-NSP5 protein and the closed arrow indicates the GAL4 tag expressed alone. (C) His6G-NSP5 was expressed and lysed in 1% Triton X-100, and both soluble (S) and pellet (P) fractions were analyzed for the presence of NSP5 by Western blot as in A. The band detected above 66 kDa represents a nonspecific cellular protein detected by the His-G antibody used.
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FIG. 2. Analysis of insoluble N-terminally tagged NSP5. His6G-NSP5-transfected cells were lysed in buffer containing 2% SDS (lanes 1 and 2), 0.2% SDS (lane 3), or 6 M guanidine hydrochloride (lanes 4 and 5). In each case, supernatants were treated with guanidine hydrochloride and N-NSP5 was purified on Ni-NTA-agarose under denaturing conditions. His6G-NSP5 was detected by immunoblot using anti-His G antibody. Basal (B) and hyperphosphorylated (HP) isoforms are indicated.
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FIG. 3. Analysis of NSP5 cytoskeleton association. (A) COS-7 cells expressing His6G-NSP5 were treated (48 h after transfection) with the indicated amounts of colchicine, cytochalasin D, or forskolin, for 1 h. Soluble (S) and pellet (P) fractions were prepared using 0.2% SDS RIPA buffer and equivalent amounts of each fraction were analyzed by Western blotting using anti-HisG antibodies as above. UT, untreated with inhibitors. (B). Cells transiently expressing N-NSP5 were lysed 48 h posttransfection in PBS by three consecutive freeze-thaw cycles, and pellet fractions were sequentially solubilized using 1% NP-40, 1% Empigen, and 10% SDS as described in detail in the text. Equivalent amounts of each fraction were loaded on 15% PAGE and immunoblotted for the presence of His6G-NSP5, keratins 8 (K8) and 18 (K18), or vimentin as indicated. (C). Cells expressing His6G-NSP5 were incubated in the presence of 1 nM okadaic acid for 2 h, and NSP5 was analyzed following solubilization in PBS, NP-40, Empigen, and SDS as described for panel A. Equivalent amounts of each fraction were loaded on 15% PAGE and Western blotted for His6G-NSP5 or keratins 8 and 18. (D) BHK-21 cells were transfected and cell lysates were prepared 48 h later in 1% Triton X-100 for analysis of pellet and soluble fractions by Western blotting using anti-HisG antibody.
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It has been reported that treatment of cells with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid results in the solubilization of keratins 8 and 18 that is accompanied by a shift in the solubility profile of these proteins into PBS- and NP-40-soluble fractions (27). Like keratins 8 and 18, treatment of cells expressing N-NSP5 with 1 nM okadaic acid resulted in a significant shift of N-NSP5 into PBS-soluble fractions (Fig. 3C). These results revealed a similar affect of okadaic acid on the solubility of N-NSP5 and intermediate filaments, which may be significant for NSP5 to provide a structural platform for viroplasms or for NSP5 localization to viroplasms.
Since BHK-21 cells are deficient in keratins 8 and 18 (26), we expressed N-NSP5 in BHK-21 cells and evaluated whether NSP5 insolubility was keratin 8 and 18 dependent. Figure 3D demonstrates that N-NSP5 remains insoluble when expressed in BHK-21 cells that lack keratins 8 and 18. This indicates that the insolubility of N-NSP5 is not dependent on the presence of keratins 8 and 18 in cells and instead suggests that N-NSP5 may have similar solubility properties to that of keratins. However, these findings do not rule out an essential role for other intermediate filaments in N-NSP5 insolubility.
Modifying the NSP5 C terminus alters localization and hyperphosphorylation. A recent study has shown that N-tagged, but not C-tagged, NSP5 forms viroplasm-like structures following transient expression that are indistinguishable from authentic rotavirus viroplasms (32). Here, we examined the solubility and hyperphosphorylation of C-terminally tagged NSP5 (C-NSP5) in the presence of several detergents. Cells expressing N- and C-NSP5 were lysed in the presence of different detergents, and equivalent amounts of soluble or insoluble fractions were analyzed by Western blot. As shown in Fig. 4A, N-NSP5 is hyperphosphorylated and insoluble unless solubilized in 2% SDS. In contrast, C-tagged NSP5 is highly soluble, not detected in pellet fractions, and lacks high-molecular-weight isoforms under all lysis conditions examined (Fig. 4B). These results demonstrate that modification of the NSP5 C terminus alters the fundamental insolubility of NSP5 and blocks the appearance of hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms.
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FIG. 4. Contrasting solubility and hyperphosphorylation of C-tagged (B) and N-tagged (A) NSP5. COS-7 cells were transfected with either N-His6G-NSP5 (N-NSP5) or C-Myc-tagged NSP5 (C-NSP5) and lysed 48 h posttransfection using the indicated detergents. Equivalent amounts of soluble (S) and pellet (P) fractions from each lysate were separated by 15% PAGE and Western blotted using anti-HisG or anti-c-Myc antibodies as above. The asterisk indicates a nonspecific cellular protein detected by the anti-Myc antibody.
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FIG. 5. Phosphatase inhibition results in the appearance of soluble hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms. (A). COS-7 cells expressing His6G-NSP5 were treated with calyculin A (0.20 µM) for the indicated times 48 h posttransfection, and lysed using 1% Triton X-100 lysis buffer. Equivalent amounts of soluble and pellet fractions were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and anti-HisG Western blotting. (B) His6G-NSP5-transfected cells were treated with the indicated concentrations of calyculin A 48 h posttransfection for 1 h and lysed in 2% SDS. Equivalent amounts of lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE and N-NSP5 was detected by Western blotting using anti-HisG antibodies.
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FIG. 6. Calyculin A directs hyperphosphorylation of C-tagged NSP5 but not C-NSP5 insolubility. Forty-eight hours posttransfection, C-NSP5-transfected cells were treated with calyculin A (0.20 µM) for the indicated times. Cells were lysed in 1% Triton X-100, and soluble and pellet fractions were analyzed by Western blot using anti-Myc specific antibodies. UT, untreated.
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FIG. 7. NSP5 C-terminal 68 residues direct GFP localization into viroplasm-like structures and protein insolubility. (A) COS-7 cells expressing either GFP fused to the 68 C-terminal NSP5 residues (GFP-C68, top panels) or GFP alone (lower panels) were observed by fluorescence microscopy 48 h posttransfection. Fluorescence, phase, and overlays of fluorescence and phase images are shown in adjacent panels. (B) Cells expressing GFP or GFP-C68 were lysed in 1% Triton X-100 and equivalent amounts of soluble and insoluble fractions were analyzed by PAGE and Western blot using anti-GFP antibodies. Densitometric analysis of band intensities by NIH Image was used to calculate the ratio of soluble to insoluble protein for each construct and is indicated as a ratio of soluble to pellet band densities (S/P ratio). (C) Cells expressing the C-NSP5 plasmid were infected with RRV for 6 h before lysis in 1% Triton X-100 and analysis of the soluble and insoluble fractions. The arrowhead indicates the position of the NSP5 protein detected in samples.
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Earlier reports on NSP5 indicated that C-NSP5 is not localized into viroplasm-like structures unless expressed in cells infected with rotavirus (19). Consistent with this, we hypothesized that rotavirus infection may similarly direct C-NSP5 into the insoluble cellular fraction. Cells expressing the C-NSP5 protein were infected with RRV and lysed in Triton X-100 buffer. As shown in Fig. 7C, rotavirus infection resulted in the redistribution of C-NSP5 to insoluble fractions (lane 1), suggesting that an additional rotavirus protein likely regulates C-NSP5 viroplasm-like structure localization.
Hyperphosphorylation of NSP5 does not depend on serine 67. A recent report concluded that serine 67 was required for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and that mutating serine 67 to alanine blocked NSP5 hyperphosphorylation (18). Since only soluble NSP5 fractions were examined, we mutated serine 67 to alanine (S67A) or aspartic acid (S67D) and examined the importance of serine 67 on the hyperphosphorylation of the NSP5 mutants. As seen in Fig. 8A, S67D and S67A mutants displayed hyperphosphorylated isoforms indistinguishable from those of wild-type NSP5, and similarly hyperphosphorylated mutant NSP5 proteins were predominantly present in Triton X-100-insoluble fractions.
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FIG. 8. Serine 67 is not essential for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation. (A) Serine 67 in N-His6G-NSP5 was mutated either to alanine (S67A) or to aspartic acid (S67D). Cells expressing wild-type N-His6G-NSP5 as well as the S67A and S67D N-NSP5 mutants were analyzed 48 h posttransfection for the appearance of hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms. Soluble (S) and pellet (P) fractions from 1% Triton X-100 lysis of cells were analyzed as described for Fig. 2A by SDS-PAGE and anti-HisG Western blot. (B) S67A and S67D N-NSP5 mutants were expressed in cells and treated with calyculin A (0.20 µM) for 30 min prior to 2% SDS lysis. Equivalent amounts of whole-cell lysates from calyculin A-treated and untreated cells were separated by 15% SDS-PAGE and Western blotted using anti-HisG antibodies.
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Our results indicate that NSP5 is predominately insoluble and that hyperphosphorylated isoforms accumulate in insoluble, but not soluble, cellular fractions. The findings indicate that solubilization of 32- to 35-kDa hyperphosphorylated NSP5 requires the use of 2% SDS or 6 M guanidine hydrochloride, and therefore it seems likely that previous studies of NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and localization have analyzed only soluble NSP5. A single earlier study found that during rotavirus infection NSP5 was present in both Triton X-100-soluble and -insoluble fractions approximately 4 hours postinfection (6). However, the significance of the insoluble NSP5 was not examined further in this or other studies (5, 6). From the results presented here, other studies on NSP5 have reportedly used conditions which yield only soluble NSP5 by our analysis (6, 20, 22, 32, 37, 41, 43, 46). Our studies indicate that the innate insolubility of NSP5 and the primary localization of hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms in insoluble fractions are fundamental aspects of NSP5 function.
Interestingly, the hyperphosphorylation of NSP5 is not the exclusive property of insoluble NSP5 and tagging either the N or C terminus of NSP5 does not determine whether NSP5 is a substrate for phosphorylation. Through the use of phosphatase inhibitors, we found that soluble N- or C-tagged NSP5 also appear in high-molecular-weight hyperphosphorylated isoforms. This indicates that soluble NSP5 is constitutively hyperphosphorylated but that rapid dephosphorylation of soluble NSP5 prevents the appearance of hyperphosphorylated soluble isoforms. These findings demonstrate that both soluble and insoluble forms of NSP5 are substrates for cellular kinases and further suggest the prominent association of cellular phosphatases with soluble NSP5.
Our results demonstrate that neither NSP2 coexpression nor deletion of NSP5 domains is required for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and that serine 67 is completely dispensable for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation. Based on the insolubility of NSP5 and the dephosphorylation of soluble NSP5 reported here, there are several explanations for prior findings that were used to formulate a model of NSP5 hyperphosphorylation (2, 5, 6, 18-20, 22, 32, 37, 43). These principally relate to the insolubility of NSP5 and the lack of prior studies analyzing insoluble fractions.
Although it was proposed that serine 67 was an essential requirement for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation (18), our findings demonstrate that serine 67 is completely dispensable for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and the mutant protein is both insoluble and hyperphosphorylated like wild-type NSP5. Similarly, the presence of domains previously described as NSP5 phosphorylation inhibitory domains (18) clearly does not prevent NSP5 phosphorylation when present in the full-length protein, as previously proposed (18). Additional findings previously interpreted as defining activation and substrate domains on NSP5 (18-20) may alternatively indicate that specific NSP5 domains determine the protein's solubility or alternatively NSP5 interactions with cellular kinases or phosphatases. Similar to phosphatase inhibition, deletion of a domain required to recruit a cellular phosphatase would result in the appearance of hyperphosphorylated NSP5 isoforms. Findings presented here provide a strong rationale for analyzing phosphatase recruitment domains on NSP5 and analyzing the solubility and phosphorylation of previously described NSP5 deletion mutants.
Tagging NSP5 at its C or N terminus has provided further insight into the functions of the protein and the role of end-terminal domains in directing NSP5 to cellular compartments. Interestingly, N-tagged, but not C-tagged, NSP5 proteins accumulate in insoluble fractions. A recent study also showed that NSP5 fused upstream of a GFP tag is unable to form viroplasm-like structures when expressed in cells (32). The highly soluble nature of C-tagged NSP5 indicates that a modification of the NSP5 C terminus prevents its localization to insoluble fractions or viroplasms, suggesting that C-terminal protein-protein interactions are likely to direct NSP5 localization within cells.
In contrast, it was recently shown that GFP present at the N terminus of NSP5 or placed upstream of 68 C-terminal NSP5 residues was sufficient to form viroplasm-like structures (32). We observed that addition of 68 NSP5 C-terminal residues to GFP (GFP-C68) conferred insolubility on GFP constructs and was also localized in a punctate perinuclear pattern characteristic of rotavirus viroplasms. These findings indicate that the ability of NSP5 to form viroplasm like structures is coincident with its insolubility and suggest that insoluble NSP5 is likely to be the relevant form of NSP5 within the cell. These results thus provide a beginning understanding of the biochemical nature of rotavirus viroplasms and suggest that they are highly insoluble structures formed intrinsically by NSP5. However, further work is required to understand the insolubility of NSP5 and its subcellular localization.
Our findings also indicate that NSP5 insolubility depends on a blocked N terminus and suggest the importance of N-terminal NSP5 interactions in directing NSP5 insolubility. The terminal regions of NSP5 are known to interact with other proteins: the N terminus interacts with the NSP2 protein, whereas the C terminus interacts with NSP2 and NSP6, as well as with other NSP5 monomers (1, 20, 22, 24, 42, 43). Thus, a plethora of interactions with other rotavirus proteins could potentially regulate the insoluble localization and formation of viroplasms by blocking either the N or the C terminus of NSP5, similar to the function of epitope tags on the expressed NSP5 protein.
Interestingly, expression of NSP2 reportedly enhances NSP5 hyperphosphorylation (1, 10, 20, 42, 46). Although this was proposed to be a result of a transfer of phosphate groups from NSP2 to NSP5 via the nucleoside triphosphatase activity of NSP2 (39, 40, 42, 46), it has since been reported that the nucleoside triphosphatase activity of NSP2 does not affect NSP5 phosphorylation (10). Although we have shown that NSP2 expression is not required for NSP5 hyperphosphorylation our results suggest an alternate mechanism for NSP2 enhancement of NSP5 hyperphosphorylation. NSP2 binding to NSP5 may prevent NSP5 interactions with cellular phosphatases or inhibit the dephosphorylation of soluble NSP5 resulting in the appearance of hyperphosphorylated soluble NSP5 isoforms. It will be interesting to determine whether NSP2 actually competes with cellular phosphatases for a binding site on soluble NSP5.
Viroplasms are sites of rotavirus replication, genome assortment, and assembly, but are biochemically uncharacterized structures (3, 4, 9, 12, 15, 21, 29, 34-36, 38). Several viruses use cytoskeletal elements for virus assembly and replication (17). However, our results indicate that NSP5 is even more insoluble than intermediate filament proteins (keratins 8 and 18) but that NSP5 insolubility is not dependent on the presence of keratin 8 or 18 within cells. This suggests the potential for NSP5 to form insoluble intermediate filament-like structures within cells through its innate insolubility. Although dimerization of soluble NSP5 monomers has been documented (43), it is unknown whether NSP5 assembles into higher-order insoluble oligomeric structures. Future work on this aspect of NSP5 assembly should be of interest since intermediate filaments are known to oligomerize in a phosphorylation- and dephosphorylation-dependent manner (11). Although the insolubility of NSP5 is not determined by hyperphosphorylation, NSP5 similarities to keratins and its presence in viroplasm-like structures suggest the potential for NSP5 to fulfill similar virus-specific cytoskeleton-like functions during infection.
A similar correlation between insolubility and localization into viroplasms is also emerging from recent studies on closely related reoviruses. The 721-amino-acid reovirus nonstructural protein µNS is likely a functional NSP5 homologue since it independently forms viroplasms (7, 8) and since it is also present in Triton X-100-insoluble fractions (44). Although µNS is not hyperphosphorylated like NSP5, a recent study demonstrated that C-terminal residues 421 to 721 are responsible for µNS localization into viroplasms (7). The similarity between the insolubility of reovirus µNS and rotavirus NSP5 proteins and their ability to form viroplasms suggest that the biochemical nature and the precise subcellular location of viroplasms may be closely related in these viruses despite dramatically different sequences, protein sizes, and posttranslational modifications.
The findings presented in this study offer new insights into the nature of NSP5. Based on our results, we propose that NSP5 is localized in both the soluble and insoluble fractions and this process may depend on the interactions of the NSP5 N- and C-terminal domains. Further, insoluble NSP5 is coincident with discrete viroplasm-like structures formed by NSP5 and this property is intrinsic to the C-terminal 68 residues of NSP5. Hyperphosphorylation of NSP5 is also an intrinsic property of the protein that is independent of its insolubility. Soluble NSP5 readily accumulates in hyperphosphorylated isoforms when phosphatases are blocked, demonstrating that determinants of NSP5 phosphorylation are present in soluble forms but the protein is constitutively dephosphorylated. The roles of NSP2 and cellular kinases or phosphatases in regulating NSP5 phosphorylation need to be evaluated.
Although a complete reevaluation of the various NSP5 mutants characterized in other studies is beyond the scope of this report, our findings underscore the importance of considering NSP5 insolubility and constitutive dephosphorylation in future studies on NSP5. In light of our findings, the cellular kinases and phosphatases that interact with NSP5 remain to be determined and their role in NSP5 functions within viroplasms disclosed. Discrete roles of NSP5 hyperphosphorylation and insolubility are apparent from our studies and warrant a further understanding of the function and regulation of NSP5 within rotavirus viroplasms.
Research was supported in part by NIH PO1AI055621, NIH RCE Award, NIH RO1AI47873, and VA Merit Award to E.R.M.
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B to effect rotavirus-specific cellular responses. J. Biol. Chem. 276:19889-19896.
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