The spike protein of infectious bronchitis virus is retained intracellularly by a tyrosine motif.

ABSTRACT: We have analyzed the intracellular transport of the spike (S) protein of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), an avian coronavirus. Surface expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy, by surface biotinylation, and by syncytium formation by S-expressing cells. By applying these methods, the S protein was found to be retained intracellularly. Tyr1143 in the cytoplasmic tail was shown to be a crucial component of the retention signal. Deletion of a dilysine motif that has previously been suggested to function as a retrieval signal did not abolish intracellular retention. Treatment of the S proteins with endoglycosidases did not reveal any differences between the parental and the mutant proteins. Furthermore, all S proteins analyzed were posttranslationally cleaved into the subunit

SUBMITTER: Winter C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2258963 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature