Influence of pr-M cleavage on the heterogeneity of extracellular dengue virus particles.

Junjhon J, Edwards TJ, Utaipat U, Bowman VD, Holdaway HA, Zhang W, Keelapang P, Puttikhunt C, Perera R, Chipman PR, Kasinrerk W, Malasit P, Kuhn RJ, Sittisombut N.

Citation

Junjhon J, Edwards TJ, Utaipat U, Bowman VD, Holdaway HA, Zhang W, Keelapang P, Puttikhunt C, Perera R, Chipman PR, Kasinrerk W, Malasit P, Kuhn RJ, Sittisombut N. (2010) Influence of pr-M cleavage on the heterogeneity of extracellular dengue virus particles. Journal of Virology 84(16):8353-8358.

Abstract

During dengue virus replication, an incomplete cleavage of the envelope glycoprotein prM, generates a mixture of mature (prM-less) and prM-containing, immature extracellular particles. In this study, sequential immunoprecipitation and cryoelectron microscopy revealed a third type of extracellular particles, the partially mature particles, as the major prM-containing particles in a dengue serotype 2 virus. Changes in the proportion of viral particles in the pr-M junction mutants exhibiting altered levels of prM cleavage suggest that the partially mature particles may represent an intermediate subpopulation in the virus maturation pathway. These findings are consistent with a model suggesting the progressive mode of prM cleavage.