Analysis of intracellular feline leukemia virus proteins II. Generation of feline leukemia virus structural proteins from precursor polypeptides.

The synthesis and processing of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) polypeptides were studied in a chronically infected feline thymus tumor cell line, F-422, which produces the Rickard strain of FeLV. Immune precipitation with antiserum to FeLV p30 and subsequent sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) were used to isolate intracellular FeLV p30 and possible precursor polypeptides. SDS-PAGE of immune precipitates from cells pulse-labeled for 2.5 min with [35S]methionin revealed the presence of a 60,000-dalton precursor polypeptide (Pp60) as well as a 30,000-dalton polypeptide. When cells were grown in the presence of the proline analogue L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, a 70,000-dalton precursor polypeptide (Pp70) was found in addition to Pp60 after a 2.5-min pulse. The cleavage of Pp60 could be partially inhibited by the general protease inhibitor phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). This partial inhibition was found to occur only if PMSF was present during pulse-labeling. Intracellular Pp70 and Pp60 and FeLV virion p70, p30, p15, p11, and p10 were subjected to tryptic peptide analysis. The results of this tryptic peptide analysis demonstrated that intracellular Pp70 and virion p70 were identical and that both contained the tryptic peptides of FeLV p30, p15, p11, and p10. Pp60 contained the tryptic peptides of FeLV P30, P15, and P10, but lacked the tryptic peptides of P11. The results of pactamycin gene ordering experiments indicated that the small structural proteins of FeLV are ordered p11-p15-p10-p30. The data indicate that the small structural proteins of FeLV are synthesized as part of a 70,000-dalton precursor. A cleavage scheme for the generation of FeLV p70, p30, p15, p11, and p10 from precursor polypeptides is proposed.