Effect of actinomycin D and cycloheximide on replication of Sindbis virus in Aedes albopictus (mosquito) cells.

Production of Sindbis virus in the presence of transcription and translation inhibitors was examined in three Aedes albopictus cell lines. Addition of cycloheximide to heat-resistant Sindbis virus (SVHR)-infected mosquito cells arrested viral RNA synthesis completely, in contrast to the effects of this drug on virus-infected vertebrate cells. Production of mature virus by both SVHR (a variant commonly used as a wild-type virus) and SBamr (a mutant which is resistant to the effects of 18 h of pretreatment of vertebrate cells with actinomycin D) in mosquito u4.4, C6-36, and C7-10 cells was inhibited by 2 h of pretreatment with actinomycin D. Pretreatment with this drug for 2 h slightly enhances virus production in vertebrate cells. Treatment of mosquito cells with actinomycin D resulted in shutoff of SVHR RNA synthesis. The mutant SBamr was able to overcome the effects of actinomycin D on viral RNA synthesis and produced both 26S and 49S RNAs, even though no viral structural proteins or mature particles were produced in the presence of the drug. This result suggests that, in the presence of actinomycin, the nonstructural genes of SBamr are translated sufficiently to allow for RNA synthesis but that 26S RNA may not be translated to an extent that allows significant virus production. These data demonstrate that host components are involved in at least two distinct steps in the production of Sindbis virus in mosquito cells: (i) production of viral RNA and (ii) synthesis of viral structural polypeptides.