Factors regulating baculovirus late and very late gene expression in transient-expression assays

Eighteen genes of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus are necessary and sufficient to transactivate expression from the late vp39 promoter in transient-expression assays in SF-21 cells. These 18 genes, known as late expression factor genes (lefs), are also required to transactivate the very late promoter of the polyhedrin gene, polh, but expression from this promoter is relatively weak compared with expression from the vp39 promoter. To further define the factors required for late and very late promoter expression, we first determined that the eighteen lefs were also required for expression from two other major baculovirus promoters: the late basic 6.9-kDa protein gene, p6.9, and the very late 10-kDa protein gene, p10. We next examined the effect of the very late expression factor 1 gene (vlf-1), a gene previously identified by analysis of a temperature-sensitive mutant, in the transient expression assay and found that vlf-1 specifically transactivated the two very late promoters but not the two late promoters. We then surveyed the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus genome for additional genes which might specifically regulate very late gene expression; no additional vlf genes were detected, suggesting that VLF-1 is the primary regulator of very late gene expression. Finally, we found that the relative contribution of the antiapoptosis gene p35, which behaves as a lef in these transient-expression assays, depended on the nature of the other viral genes provided in the cotransfection mixtures, suggesting that other viral genes also contribute to the ability of the virus to block apoptosis.     

Vaccinia virus protein synthesis has a low requirement for the intact translation initiation factor eIF4F, the cap-binding complex, within infected cells

The role of the cap-binding complex, eIF4F, in the translation of vaccinia virus mRNAs has been analyzed within infected cells. Plasmid DNAs, which express dicistronic mRNAs containing a picornavirus internal ribosome entry site, produced within vaccinia virus-infected cells both beta-glucuronidase and a cell surface-targeted single-chain antibody (sFv). Cells expressing sFv were selected from nonexpressing cells, enabling analysis of protein synthesis specifically within the transfected cells. Coexpression of poliovirus 2A or foot-and-mouth disease virus Lb proteases, which cleaved translation initiation factor eIF4G, greatly inhibited cap-dependent protein (beta-glucuronidase) synthesis. Under these conditions, internal ribosome entry site-directed expression of sFv continued and cell selection was maintained. Furthermore, vaccinia virus protein synthesis persisted in the selected cells containing cleaved eIF4G. Thus, late vaccinia virus protein synthesis has a low requirement for the intact cap-binding complex eIF4F. This may be attributed to the short unstructured 5' noncoding regions of the vaccinia virus mRNAs, possibly aided by the presence of poly(A) at both 5' and 3' termini.