Flux of the paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein through the endoplasmic reticulum activates transcription of the GRP78-BiP gene.

The cellular glucose-regulated protein GRP78-BiP is a member of the HSP70 stress family of gene products, and the protein is a resident component of the endoplasmic reticulum, where it is thought to play a role in the folding and oligomerization of secretory and membrane-bound proteins. GRP78-BiP also binds to malfolded proteins, and this may be one mechanism for preventing their intracellular transport. An induction in synthesis of the GRP78-BiP protein occurs in cells infected with paramyxoviruses (R. W. Peluso, R. A. Lamb, and P. W. Choppin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75:6120-6124, 1978). We have studied the expression and activity of the GRP78-BiP gene and synthesis of the GRP78-BiP protein during infection with the paramyxovirus simian virus 5 (SV5). We wished to identify the viral component capable of causing activation of GRP78-BiP since GRP78-BiP interacts specifically and transiently with the SV5 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein during HN folding (D. T. W. Ng, R. E. Randall, and R. A. Lamb, J. Cell Biol. 109:3273-3289, 1989). Expression of cDNAs of the SV5 wild-type HN glycoprotein and a mutant form of HN that is malfolded but not the SV5 F glycoprotein or SV5 cytoplasmic proteins P, V, and M caused increased amounts of GRP78-BiP mRNA to accumulate, as detected by nuclease S1 protection assays. As unfolded or malfolded forms of HN cannot be detected to accumulate during SV5 infection, the data suggest that the flux of HN through the ER in SV5-infected cells can cause activation of GRP78-BiP transcription.