RNA viruses show high mutation frequencies partly because of a lack of the proofreading enzymes that assure fidelity of DNA replication. This high mutation frequency is coupled with high rates of replication reflected in rates of RNA genome evolution which can be more than a millionfold greater than the rates of the DNA chromosome evolution of their hosts. There are some disease implications for the DNA-based biosphere of this rapidly evolving RNA biosphere.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) provides significant protection against microbial invasion of the brain. However, the BBB is not impenetrable, and mechanisms by which viruses breach it are becoming clearer. In vivo and in vitro model systems are enabling identification of host and viral factors contributing to breakdown of the unique BBB tight junctions. Key mechanisms of tight junction damage from inside and outside cells are disruption of the actin cytoskeleton and matrix metalloproteinase activity, respectively. Viral proteins acting in BBB disruption are described for HIV-1, currently the most studied encephalitic virus; other viruses are also discussed.

Plasmid vectors were constructed which expressed three adenovirus tumor antigens fused to a portion of the trpE protein of Escherichia coli. Insertion of adenovirus type 2 DNA from early region 1A (E1A) into such a plasmid led to a fusion protein which contained the C-terminal 266 amino acids of the 289-amino acid protein encoded by the viral 13S mRNA. Similarly, insertion of adenovirus type 5 DNA corresponding to the E1B 55-and 21-kilodalton proteins led to production of fusion proteins containing amino acid sequences from these proteins. After induction with indoleacrylic acid, fusion proteins accumulated stably in the E. coli cells. By using a simple extraction of insoluble protein, 1 to 10 mg of fusion protein per liter of culture was obtained. The fusion proteins were purified on preparative polyacrylamide gels and used to immunize rabbits. Specific antisera for the ElA 289and closely related 243-amino acid proteins and the E1B 55-and 21-kilodalton proteins were obtained. These sera were used to immunoprecipitate the tumor antigens in cells infected with wild-type and various mutants of adenovirus or to analyze them by an immunoblotting procedure. Mutant ElA proteins in which the C-terminal 70 amino acids are deleted were phosphorylated to much lower extents than the wild-type ElA proteins. This indicates that the deleted region is important for the process of phosphorylation. The ElA proteins were extracted, sedimented in glycerol gradients, analyzed by immunoprecipitation, and found to sediment primarily as monomers. The portion of the adenovirus genome responsible for the transforming activity of the virus is subdivided into two regions, early regions 1A (ElA) and 1B (EIB) (Fig. 1). These regions are defined by two transcriptional units (2, 8) and two genetic complementation groups (20, 25). Two overlapping mRNAs transcribed at early times of infection from ElA, 13S and 12S, encode two closely related proteins of 289 and 243 amino acids (1, 45). The primary sequences of these proteins differ only by 46 internal amino acids unique to the larger protein (45). During infection two mRNAs accumulate from ElB, a 22S and a 13S mRNA, from which the two major early products of ElB, a 55-kilodalton (kd) and a 21-kd protein, are translated (4, 46, 60). Transcription and translation of these major proteins of ElA and ElB (and others which may be encoded by El mRNAs; see references 11, 18, 26) are important for a variety of reasons. (i) The gene products of ElA and ElB are required for cellular transformation of rodent cells in vitro (14, 16, 22, 25, 58). (ii) The ElA 289-amino acid protein induces the expression of all other early viral genes (3, 24, 42, 48). (iii) Transcription of ElA is regulated by both upstream sequences and sequences within the structural portion of the gene (43, 44; T. Osborne and A. Berk, unpublished data). (iv) ElA sequences or gene products or both may enhance transcription of nonviral genes introduced into cells by infection or transfection (R.

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Mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) targets endothelial and monocyte/macrophage cells throughout the mouse. Depending on the strain of mouse and dose or strain of virus, infected mice may survive, become persistently infected, or die. We surveyed inbred mouse strains and found that for the majority tested the 50% lethal doses (LD 50 s) were >10 4.4 PFU. However, SJL/J mice were highly susceptible to MAV-1, with a mean LD 50 of 10 ؊0.32 PFU. Infected C3H/HeJ (resistant) and SJL/J (susceptible) mice showed only modest differences in histopathology. Susceptible mice had significantly higher viral loads in the brain and spleen at 8 days postinfection than resistant mice. Infection of primary macrophages or mouse embryo fibroblasts from SJL/J and C3H/HeJ mice gave equivalent yields of virus, suggesting that a receptor difference between strains is not responsible for the susceptibility difference. When C3H/HeJ mice were subjected to sublethal doses of gamma irradiation, they became susceptible to MAV-1, with an LD 50 like that of SJL/J mice. Antiviral immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were measured in susceptible and resistant mice infected by an early region 1A null mutant virus that is less virulent that wild-type virus. The antiviral IgG levels were high and similar in the two strains of mice. Taken together, these results suggest that immune response differences may in part account for differences in susceptibility to MAV-1 infection.

We demonstrated functional associations between mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) early region 1A (E1A) protein and both the mouse retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and the mouse pRb-related protein, p107. Interactions between MAV-1 E1A and mouse pRb or mouse p107 proteins were examined in infected cell lysates using a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line infected with wild-type and mutant MAV-1 viruses. Using a polyclonal antibody to MAV-1 E1A, exogenously added mouse pRb or mouse p107 was coimmunoprecipitated from wild-type, dIE105 (CR1 delta)-, and dIE106 (CR3 delta)-infected cell lysates. No coimmunoprecipitation was seen with cell lysates from dIE102 (CR2 delta) or pmE109, a mutant virus that produces no detectable E1A protein due to an ATG to TTG point mutation in the initiator methionine. Introduction of mouse pRb into SAOS-2 cells resulted in a flat and enlarged cell phenotype, whereas cotransfection of mouse pRb and MAV-1 E1A resulted in a significant reduction of flat cells, presumably due to E1A binding pRb. CR1 delta and CR2 delta E1A proteins were less effective at reducing the number of flat, enlarged cells induced by pRb expression than were the CR3 delta or wild-type E1A proteins. The reduced ability of these mutants to inactivate pRb relative to wild-type E1A correlated with their reduced ability to bind pRb in the in vitro coimmunoprecipitation experiments. As a measure of p107/MAV-1 E1A complex formation in MAV-1-infected cells, we used mobility shift assays to examine cell extracts for the presence of p107-containing E2F protein-DNA complexes. Mock-, dIE102-, and pmE109-infected cell extracts formed a p107-containing complex, whereas wild-type-infected cell extracts did not. Thus the formation of a p107-E2F complex in wild-type- or these mutant-infected extracts inversely correlated with the presence of E1A-p107 complexes identified in the vitro coimmunoprecipitation experiments. This is consistent with E1A-p107 complexes forming in wild-type MAV-1-infected cells.

In situ nucleic acid hybridization and immunohistochemistry were used to determine the histological localization of mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) during acute infection of adult mice infected either intraperitoneally or intranasally with 1,000 PFU of wild-type virus. Organ samples were collected from days 1 to 17 postinfection for the intraperitoneally infected mice and from days 1 to 13 for the intranasally infected mice. Endothelial cells of the brain and spinal cord showed extensive evidence of MAV-1 infection. Endothelial cells in lungs, kidneys, and other organs were also positive for MAV-1, indicating a widespread involvement of the systemic circulation. The presence of viral nucleic acid and/or antigen was also demonstrated in lymphoid tissue. The spleens, Peyer’s patches, and peripheral lymph nodes showed positive staining at various times postinfection in mice infected by either route. Virus-infected cells in the spleen exhibited a stellate shape and were localized to the red pulp and germinal centers, suggesting that they are cells of the mononuclear phagocytic system.

Studies of the pathogenesis of adenovirus respiratory disease are limited by the strict species-specificity of the adenoviruses. Following intranasal inoculation of adult C57BL/6 mice with mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1), we detected MAV-1 early region 3 (E3) and hexon gene expression in the lungs at 7 days post-infection (dpi). We detected MAV-1 E3 protein in the respiratory epithelium at 7 dpi. We did not detect viral mRNA or protein at 14 dpi, but MAV-1 DNA was detected by PCR at 21 dpi. Chemokine transcript levels increased between 7 and 14 dpi in the lungs of infected mice. MAV-1 infection induced a patchy cellular infiltrate in lungs at 7 and 14 dpi. This is the first report demonstrating the presence of MAV-1 in the respiratory epithelium of infected mice and describing chemokine responses in the lung induced by MAV-1 respiratory infection. MAV-1 infection of mice has the potential to serve as a model for inflammatory changes seen in human adenovirus respiratory disease.