A Cyclooxygenase-2 Homologue Encoded by Rhesus Cytomegalovirus Is a Determinant for Endothelial Cell Tropism
Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a cellular enzyme in the eicosanoid synthetic pathway that mediates the synthesis of prostaglandins from arachidonic acid. The eicosanoids function as critical regulators of a number of cellular processes, including the acute and chronic inflammatory response, hemostasis, and the innate immune response. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which does not encode a viral COX-2 isoform, has been shown to induce cellular COX-2 expression. Importantly, although the precise role of COX-2 in CMV replication is unknown, COX-2 induction was shown to be critical for normal HCMV replication. In an earlier study, we identified an open reading frame (Rh10) within the rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) genome that encoded a putative protein (designated vCOX-2) with high homology to cellular COX-2. In the current study, we show that vCOX-2 is expressed with early-gene kinetics during RhCMV infection, resulting in production of a 70-kDa protein. Consistent with the expression of a viral COX-2 isoform, cellular COX-2 expression was not induced during RhCMV infection. Finally, analysis of growth of recombinant RhCMV with vCOX-2 deleted identified vCOX-2 as a critical determinant for replication in endothelial cells.
Source: Journal of Virology
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2272256017, SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER, G3466515504, G3964159556, Growth of rheusus cytomegalovirus in macrophages, G6071781397, Molecular Aspects of Cytomegalovirus Latency, A MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE RHESUS CYTOMEGALOVIRUS MODEL, G735020625, REPRODUCTIVE STEROIDS AND EXPERIMENTAL STROKE, G834483484, G9000079540, G9000097804, Molecular Aspects of Cytomegalovirus Latency
OpenAlex ID: W2164651246