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The rep gene of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) encodes four overlapping Rep proteins that are involved in gene regulation and replication of the virus. We studied here the regulation of mRNA transcribed from the AAV p5 and p19 promoters, using transient expression in human 293 cells followed by Northern (RNA) blot analysis of the mRNA. The p5 transcript encodes the larger Rep proteins, Rep78 and Rep68, while the p19 transcript encodes the smaller proteins, Rep52 and Rep40. A plasmid (pNTC3) containing the entire AAV genome with an amber mutation in the rep gene accumulated higher levels of p5 and p19 mRNA than a plasmid containing the wild-type AAV genome. Addition of increasing amounts of the wild-type rep gene in trans from a heterologous promoter inhibited p5 and p19 mRNA accumulation from pNTC3, indicating that the levels of both transcripts were decreased by the Rep proteins. Cotransfections with plasmids producing individual wild-type Rep proteins in trans showed that p5 and p19 mRNA accumulation was inhibited 5- to 10-fold by Rep78 and Rep68 and 2- to 3-fold by Rep52 and Rep40. Analysis of carboxyl-terminal truncation mutants of Rep78 showed that the ability of Rep78 to decrease p5 and p19 mRNA levels was lost when 159 or more amino acids were deleted. Rep78 and Rep68 mutants deleted for the methionine at residue 225 showed decreased abilities to down-regulate both p5 and p19 transcript levels, while mutants containing a substitution of glycine for the methionine resembled the wild-type Rep78. A Rep78 protein with a mutation in the putative nucleoside triphosphate binding site inhibited expression from p5 but not from p19, suggesting that the regulation of p5 transcript levels by Rep78 and Rep68 differs from that of p19. A deletion analysis of AAV cis sequences revealed that an intact terminal repeat was not required for negative regulation of p5 and p19 transcript levels and that the regulation of p19 mRNA levels by Rep78 did not require the presence of the p5 promoter.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) contains a multifunctional nonstructural gene, rep, which is required for AAV DNA replication and has pleiotropic effects on positive and negative regulation of gene expression. All of the parvovirus nonstructural genes contain a region of highly conserved amino acid homology. Within this conserved region is the consensus sequence for a purine nucleotide binding site. We constructed a mutant AAV having a mutation in this site by converting lysine 340 to histidine. The resulting mutant AAV genome, pNTC23, overproduced the mutant Rep proteins, indicating that these proteins are autoregulated. Furthermore, the mutant gene was unable to replicate but was able to inhibit in trans wild-type AAV DNA replication. Thus, pNTC23 represents a dominant negative mutant of AAV. These results suggest that rep has separate functional domains important for DNA replication.

Sendai virus particles bind to human erythrocytes at 4 degrees C and fuse with them at 37 degrees C. The present work describes a new method by which adsorbed virus particles can be removed from human erythrocytes, allowing quantitative determination of the number of virus particles which can bind and fuse with human erythrocyte membranes. Through the use of 125I-labeled Sendai virus particles, it is shown that incubation with 50 mM dithiothreitol removed about 90 to 95% of adsorbed virus particles. Fused virus particles were resistant to treatment with dithiothreitol. Negligible amounts of 125I-labeled Sendai virus particles were removed by treatment with dithiothreitol after incubation of virus-cell complexes at 37 degrees C. Trypsinized virus particles were able to attach to, but not fuse with, human erythrocytes even after prolonged incubation at 37 degrees C. Treatment with dithiothreitol removed as much as 80 to 85% of trypsinized virus particles incubated with human erythrocytes at 37 degrees C. A quantitative determination revealed that about 1,000 to 1,200 and 600 to 800 Sendai virus particles can bind to or fuse with human erythrocytes, respectively.

Apoptosis was postulated as the main barrier to replication of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) in a Spodoptera littoralis SL2 cell line (N. Chejanovsky and E. Gershburg, Virology 209:519-525, 1995). Thus, we hypothesized that the viral apoptotic suppressor gene p35 is either poorly expressed or nonfunctional in AcMNPV-infected SL2 cells. These questions were addressed by first determining the steady-state levels of the p35 product, P35, in AcMNPV-infected SL2 cells. Indeed, very low levels of P35 were found in infected SL2 cells in comparison with those in SF9 cells. Overexpression of p35, in transient-transfection and recombinant-virus infection experiments, inhibited actinomycin D- and AcMNPV-induced apoptosis, as determined by reduced cell blebbing and release of oligonucleosomes and increased cell viability of SL2. However, SL2 budded-virus (BV) titers of a recombinant AcMNPV which highly expressed p35 did not improve significantly. Also, injection of S. littoralis larvae with recombinant and wild-type AcMNPV BVs showed similar 50% lethal doses. These data suggest that apoptosis is not the only impediment to AcMNPV replication in these nonpermissive S. littoralis cells, and probably in S. littoralis larvae, so p35 may not be the only host range determinant in this system.

The adeno-associated virus (AAV) rep gene encodes four proteins (Rep78, Rep68, Rep52, and Rep40) required for AAV DNA replication and AAV gene regulation. In addition, the Rep proteins may have pleiotropic regulatory effects in heterologous systems, and in particular Rep78 may mediate a negative regulatory effect. We analyzed the effects of the AAV rep gene on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gene expression. The rep gene proteins of AAV type 2 (AAV2) inhibited the trans-activating ability of HIV-1. Constructs containing the AAV2 rep gene (pHIVrep) or a CAT gene (pBennCAT) expressed from the 5' HIV-1 long terminal repeat were inducible for Rep78 and Rep68 or CAT expression, respectively, when cotransfected with a plasmid containing the HIV-1 tat gene (pARtat). When equivalent amounts of pHIVrep and pBennCAT were cotransfected with increasing amounts of pARtat, expression of CAT activity was decreased. The pHIVrep construct was more inhibitory than plasmids expressing rep from the wild-type AAV2 p5 transcription promoter. rep expression from pHIVrep almost completely inhibited the replication of an HIV-1 proviral clone as measured by reverse transcriptase activity and p24 protein levels. Inhibition of HIV-1 production by Rep protein was also seen at the transcriptional level in that all HIV-1 transcripts were decreased when pHIVrep was present. The inhibitory effects of pHIVrep appear to be mediated primarily by Rep78 and perhaps Rep68. These results suggest that a trans-acting protein from a heterologous virus might be used to inhibit HIV-1 growth.