Immunoprecipitation and subsequent mass spectrometry analysis of the cellular proteins from cells expressing the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) P protein identified the poly(C) binding protein 2 (PCBP2) as one of the P protein-interacting proteins. To investigate the role of PCBP2 in the viral life cycle, we examined the effects of depletion or overexpression of this protein on VSV growth. Small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of PCBP2 promoted VSV replication. Conversely, overexpression of PCBP2 in transfected cells suppressed VSV growth. Further studies revealed that PCBP2 negatively regulates overall viral mRNA accumulation and subsequent genome replication. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence microscopic studies showed that PCBP2 interacts and colocalizes with VSV P protein in virus-infected cells. The P-PCBP2 interaction did not result in reduced levels of protein complex formation with the viral N and L proteins, nor did it induce degradation of the P protein. In addition, PCBP1, another member of the poly(C) binding protein family with homology to PCBP2, was also found to interact with the P protein and inhibit the viral mRNA synthesis at the level of primary transcription without affecting secondary transcription or genome replication. The inhibitory effects of PCBP1 on VSV replication were less pronounced than those of PCBP2. Overall, the results presented here suggest that cellular PCBP2 and PCBP1 antagonize VSV growth by affecting viral gene expression and highlight the importance of these two cellular proteins in restricting virus infections.
Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)is an enveloped RNA virus in the family Rhabdoviridae. The negative-sense RNA genome of VSV is 11,161 nucleotides in length and encodes 5 proteins: the nucleocapsid protein (N), the phosphoprotein (P), the matrix (M), the glycoprotein (G), and the large protein (L). Inside the virion, the viral genome is tightly encapsidated with the N protein to form the ribonucleocapsid complex (RNP or NC) with which the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) complex of P-L proteins (41) is associated. The G protein forms spikes on the surface of the VSV virion and mediates virus attachment as well as entry by clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Based on the low-pH environment of the endosome, the VSV G protein mediates fusion of the viral envelope with the endosomal membrane, releasing the viral RNP into the cytoplasm of the infected cell. Once inside the cytosol, the RNP undergoes primary transcription by the associated RdRp activity of the L protein along with its cofactor P protein. Translation of the transcripts by the cellular translation machinery generates viral proteins, which are used for further steps in the infection process, including genome replication, secondary transcription, assembly, and budding (53).The viral P is a multifunctional protein that modulates the association of viral replicative proteins and is indispensable for viral growth. It is required for viral genome transcription and replication (18) and also pl...