Disruption of adherens junctions liberates nectin-1 to serve as receptor for herpes simplex virus and pseudorabies virus entry.

Nectin-1, a cell adhesion molecule belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily, can bind to virion glycoprotein D (gD) to mediate entry of herpes simplex viruses (HSV) and pseudorabies virus (PRV). Nectin-1 colocalizes with E-cadherin at adherens junctions in epithelial cells. The disruption of cell junctions can result in the redistribution of nectin-1. To determine whether disruption of junctions by calcium depletion influenced the susceptibility of epithelial cells to viral entry, Madin-Darby canine kidney cells expressing endogenous nectin-1 or transfected human nectin-1 were tested for the ability to bind soluble forms of viral gD and to be infected by HSV and PRV, before and after calcium depletion. Confocal microscopy revealed that binding of HSV and PRV gD was localized to adherens junctions in cells maintained in normal medium but was distributed, along with nectin-1, over the entire cell surface after calcium depletion. Both the binding of gD and the fraction of cells that could be infected by HSV-1 and PRV were enhanced by calcium depletion. Taken together, these results provide evidence that nectin-1 confined to adherens junctions in epithelial cells is not very accessible to virus, whereas dissociation of cell junctions releases nectin-1 to serve more efficiently as an entry receptor.