Publication Date:
2013-11-05
Description:
Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a linear polysaccharide composed of repeating disaccharide units of glucuronic acid (GlcUA) and N -acetyl- d -galactosamine (GalNAc) with sulfate groups at various positions. Baculovirus is an insect-pathogenic virus that infects Lepidoptera larvae. Recently, we found that the occlusion-derived virus envelope protein 66 (ODV-E66) from Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) exhibits chondroitin (CH)-digesting activity with distinct substrate specificity. Here, we demonstrate that the ODV-E66 protein from Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) exhibits 92% homology to the amino acid sequence and 83% of the CH lyase activity of ODV-E66 from AcMNPV. ODV-E66 cleaves glycosyl bonds at nonreducing sides of disaccharide units consisting of nonsulfated and 6- O -sulfated GalNAc residues. We then investigated CS in the silkworm, Bombyx mori , which is the host of BmNPV. CS was present in insect tissues such as the midgut, peritrophic membrane, silk gland and skin. The polysaccharide consisted of a nonsulfated disaccharide unit, mono-sulfated disaccharide at Position 4 of the GalNAc residue and mono-sulfated disaccharide at Position 6 of the GalNAc residue. With regard to immunohistochemical analysis, the staining patterns of the silkworm tissues were different among anti-CS antibodies. Chondroitn sulfate that is digestible by ODV-E66 exists sufficiently in the peritrophic membrane protecting the midgut epithelium from ingested pathogens. Our results suggest that ODV-E66 facilitates the primary infection of the virus by digestion of CS in the peritrophic membrane.
Print ISSN:
0959-6658
Electronic ISSN:
1460-2423
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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