Glucosamine metabolism of herpes simplex virus infected cells. Inhibition of glycosylation by tunicamycin and 2-deoxy-D-glucose.

The formation of glucosamine-containing cell surface glycoproteins of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infected BMK cells was studied. Tunicamycin (TM) and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (DG) were used as inhibitors. With both inhibitors the multiplication of HSV was inhibited. DG markedly reduced cellular uptake of radioactively labelled glucosamine while TM interfered with the processing of glucosamine into TCA-insoluble material. Gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G50 gel of cell surface material released by trypsin and further prepared by digestion with pronase indicated that TM and DG reduced the apparent high molecular weights of virus induced surface glycoproteins. In presence of DG the accumulation of a class of glucosamine-containing heterosaccharides (MW less than 3000) not present on DG-free HSV infected cells was observed. In TM treated cells virtually all surface heterosaccharides with molecular weights exceeding 3000 and containing glucosamine disappeared. Moreover, a component compatible with a lipid-linked oligosaccharide present in DG treated cells was not observed in HSV infected TM treated cells. The results exemplifies some different steps in glucosamine metabolism of virus induced cell surface glycoproteins differently affected by tunicamycin and 2-deoxy-D-glucose.