Defining Viral Defective Ribosomal Products: Standard and Alternative Translation Initiation Events Generate a Common Peptide from Influenza A Virus M2 and M1 mRNAs.

ABSTRACT: Influenza A virus gene segment 7 encodes two proteins: the M1 protein translated from unspliced mRNA and the M2 protein produced by mRNA splicing and largely encoded by the M1 +1 reading frame. To better understand the generation of defective ribosomal products relevant to MHC class I Ag presentation, we engineered influenza A virus gene segment 7 to encode the model H-2 K(b) class I peptide ligand SIINFEKL at the M2 protein C terminus. Remarkably, after treating virus-infected cells with the RNA splicing inhibitor spliceostatin A to prevent M2 mRNA generation, K(b)-SIINFEKL complexes were still presented on the cell surface at levels ≤60% of untreated cells. Three key findings indicate that SIINFEKL is produced by cytoplasmic translation of unspliced M1 mRNA initiating at CUG codons withi

SUBMITTER: Yang N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4868770 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature