The entry mechanism of murine amphotropic retrovirus (A-MLV) has not been unambiguously determined. We show here that A-MLV is internalized not by caveolae or other pinocytic mechanisms but by macropinocytosis. Thus, A-MLV infection of mouse embryonic fibroblasts deficient for caveolin or dynamin, and NIH 3T3 cells knocked down for caveolin expression, was unaffected. Conversely, A-MLV infection of NIH 3T3 and HeLa cells was sensitive to amiloride analogues and actin-depolymerizing drugs that interfere with macropinocytosis. Further manipulation of the actin cytoskeleton through conditional expression of dominant positive or negative mutants of Rac1, PAK1, and RhoG, to increase or decrease macropinocytosis, similarly correlated with an augmented or inhibited infection with A-MLV, respectively. The same experimental perturbations affected the infection of viruses that use clathrin-coated-pit endocytosis or other pathways for entry only mildly or not at all. These data agree with immunofluorescence studies and cryo-immunogold labeling for electron microscopy, which demonstrate the presence of A-MLV in protrusion-rich areas of the cell surface and in cortical fluid phase (dextran)-filled macropinosomes, which also account for up to a half of the cellular uptake of the cell surface-binding lectin concanavalin A. We conclude that A-MLV use macropinocytosis as the predominant entry portal into cells. (1, 2). Although initial attachment of virions to the cell surface might be mediated through other factors, including glycosaminglycans (3) or fibronectin (4), Pit2 is required for entry of the virus and infection (1, 2). Pit2 is a conserved membrane protein with five presumed extracellular loops, of which the first loop forms the binding site for A-Env (1). Pit2 is distributed between the cell surface and intracellular stores (5), and upon A-MLV infection, Pit2 is downregulated from the cell surface and localized to an uncharacterized membrane compartment. The known ability of cells to increase their capacity for phosphate influx when deprived of phosphate in the medium may reside not in changes in Pit2 distribution but rather in posttranslational modification of surface-resident Pit2 transporters (6).
IMPORTANCE
Binding and entry of virus particles into mammalian cells are the first steps of infection. Understanding how pathogens and toxins exploit or divert endocytosis pathways has advanced our understanding of membrane trafficking pathways, which benefits development of new therapeutic schemes and methods of drug delivery. We show here that amphotropic murine leukemia virus (A-MLVViruses have evolved to utilize practically every known mechanism of endocytosis for cellular entry, including clathrin-coatedpit endocytosis, clathrin-independent internalization pathways, including caveolae and non-caveolin-dependent pathways, and macropinocytosis (7-9). Caveolae are small (50-to 60-nm) omega-shaped invaginations of the plasma membrane carrying a coat structure of caveolin-1 (and -2). They are essentially stable an...