UL13 Protein Kinase of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Complexes with Glycoprotein E and Mediates the Phosphorylation of the Viral Fc Receptor: Glycoproteins E and I

AbstractHerpes simplex virus 1 encodes a Fc receptor consisting of glycoproteins E (gE) and I (gI) and two protein kinases specified by UL13 and US3, respectively. We report the following: (i) Antibody to UL13 formed immune complexes containing gE and gI in addition to UL13 protein. Immune complexes formed by monoclonal antibody to gE, but not those formed by monoclonal antibody to gI, also contained the UL13 protein. This association may reflect direct interaction between gE and UL13 inasmuch as IgG in preimmune rabbit serum and an antiserum made against another viral protein which does not react with the UL13 protein directly also bound gE and UL13. (ii) In cells infected with the wild-type virus, gE formed two sharp bands and a diffuse, slower migrating band. The slower sharp band was undetectable, and the diffuse slower migrating forms of gE were diminished in lysates of cells infected with a mutant virus lacking the UL13 gene (ΔUL13). (iii) Both gE and gI were labeled with32Pi in cells infected with wild-type or the ΔUL13 virus, but the labeling was significantly stronger in cells infected with the wild-type virus than in those infected with the ΔUL13 virus. (iv) In anin vitroprotein kinase assay, UL13 immunoprecipitated from cells infected with wild-type virus labeled gE in the presence of [γ-32P]ATP. This activity was absent in precipitates from cells infected with ΔUL13 virus. The labeled gE comigrated with the slower, sharp band of gE. (v) gI present in the UL13 immune complex was also phosphorylated in thein vitrokinase assay. (vi) The cytoplasmic domain of gE contains recognition sequences for phosphorylation by casein kinase II (CKII). Exogenous CKII phosphorylated gE in immune complexes from lysates of cells infected with the ΔUL13 mutant or in immune complexes from lysates of cells infected with wild-type virus that had been heated to inactivate all endogenous kinase activity including that of UL13. In both instances, CKII phosphorylated gE in both the slow and fast migrating sharp bands. We conclude that UL13 physically associates with gE and mediates the phosphorylation of gE and gI. UL13 may also be a determinant in posttranslational processing of gE